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onyxrosess · 3 months

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Pain is My Hometown

vergil x reader [multi-chapter series]

Chapter I: Prisoner of Your Own Reflection

Chapter I [you're here!] | Chapter II | Chapter III | Chapter IV | Table of Contents writers notes: hello loves! for those who didn't find me on ao3, I'm posting my ongoing book/series here! Though for those who found me on ao3, this isn't a new chapter BUT chapter four is coming out very very soon!

・warnings/tags: mature topics, drinking, endless banter (it's dmc that's all they do)

( cross posted on ao3 )

“Nero! For fucks sake pick up your tools, I almost just died again because they're all over the floor!” The hot summer day did not help your crushing annoyance, bringing a hand to your ankle, nursing the soon-to-be bruise. Hoping the children were outside as you didn’t think yelling would be a fond childhood memory. Hindsight is 20/20, what do you do anyway?

“If you put on your glasses you wouldn’t trip over them!” Nero shouted back, seemingly in the kitchen inside the house. A frustrated grunt left your mouth, removing your helmet, little hairs sticking against your sweaty forehead. The motorcycle stood parked on the concrete, and the culprit of your trip was stuck under the tire of your bike. Stupid socket wrench, why was it on the ground anyway? Whatever, maybe Nero will stub his toe on it and see how he likes it.

“I don’t know how Kyrie has put up with your displacement of practically everything you own.” Your eyes floated over to the bedside light on the kitchen counter. “This is my house you’re crashing by the way so I don’t see how you have any say in it.” Nero defended himself as his hands poked and prodded at the lamp, from the looks of it he was attempting to fix it. Keyword; attempt.

“Smart ass.” Turning on your heel she left him to “fix” the lamp. Making it to your room rather; Nero and Kyrie’s guest room you’ve been hoarding, your steps became heavier the closer you got to your bed. Dragging your feet you plopped down onto the bed with a grunt you’d likely hear from an elderly person.

Too hot. Way too hot. Peeling off the protective gear for your bike- why can’t you just regenerate limbs like Nero could instead of having to be careful with this thick-ass clothing that supposedly protected you? It, unfortunately, did do its job, just way too warm. A plug-in fan panned around the span of the room, clicking every so often, the cool air was lovely. A shower is what was needed, immediately.

After confirming with Kyrie she didn’t need the bathroom for one of the children, or herself, you have since put the metaphorical flag on top of the hill proclaiming this was your bathroom for the next hour and a half. Leaning forward into the mirror above the sink, your hands instinctively drove to your face, squeezing and picking anything you could see on your face.

Stepping foot into the bathtub-shower combo, the cold water hit your body, not without a shiver of course. Even if you felt like you were on fire and how tingly your hands felt, damn them. Music playing from the radio was atrocious, only two of the songs were halfway decent on this channel. Your actual nice CD player had fallen into the tub a week prior, which was unfortunate because she couldn’t even be mad since one of the kids thought it was a bathtime toy. You really did need to put things up higher.

After a record time of only 47 minutes in the shower, you stepped onto a towel laid on the floor, soaking up the droplets from your hair and body. Wrapping a towel with stains from previous hair dye adventures around your body. The mirror’s reflection was obscured by the condensation, you wiped it down with the end bit of the towel. Your hair was a disheveled mess, combing through the strands, it somehow dripped with more water.

“(Name)! Dantes calling for you!” Kyrie shouted from downstairs. Dante…Nero’s uncle- got to admit their family situation was odd. Though not far from your own. You scurried down the stairs with messy wet hair and clothes that were barely put on correctly. You held the cold piece of plastic to your ear, “Hello?” “Hey, you wanna go out for drinks tonight? I thought it would be a change of pace.” Dante’s dancing around the subject and your history of going out to bars, especially on your birthday, was admirable. And the delicacy of the topic was appreciated. “Will Lady and Trish be coming?” You asked, leaning against the kitchen counter, tapping your fingers. “You think they’d let you go to a bar with just me?” Dante’s smile was apparent when he was talking, almost to a chuckle. You just let out an amused huff. “I guess I could’ve answered that question myself.”

“Where are we going anyway?” “A new bar opened up recently— Trish and Lady seemed to enjoy it so, whatever they say.” You hummed in agreement. “I’ll see you at 9 then.” Dante agreed and hung up. Quickly rushing back upstairs to finish drying your hair, hopefully, you didn’t drip water all over the kitchen tile like a wet dog.

The sun was still visible, illuminating the sky with its brightness and awful heat. You walked out from ‘your’ room, where Kyrie was cleaning dishes with her cute little apron on, how domestic. Nico, who was originally the one who was the oddball staying in Nero and Kyrie’s house has since been promoted to slightly less odd since you’ve crashed their house. Nico opened the door to the garage, walking inside with grease covering her hands and some spots scattered around her arms and face.

“Who’s got you all dressed up?” Nico gave her a sly smirk, wiggling her eyebrows as obnoxiously as it sounds. “Well first off, I’m barely dressed up, and secondly just Dante, Lady, and Trish.” Nico let out a huff, hoping for something new, not Dante . Officially stamped the worst flirt signed by Nicoletta Goldstein. “Fine, at least Lady and Trish know how to have actual fun.” Nico walked to the kitchen sink, luckily it was big enough for both her and Kyrie. “Do you wanna tag along?” “Shit!- I mean” She realized how loud she cursed, “I got work to do on the stupid van, Nero did somethin’ to it. He just doesn’t know how to speak mechanic like I do.” Nico dried her hands on a towel on the counter. Kyrie just chuckled at her comment, Nero did have a history of being a cheap mechanic. He knew the basics but you would never let him touch your bike. Not since you made that mistake the first time. “Enjoy yourself, (Name), call me or Nero if you need anything.” Kyrie looked over her shoulder as she scrubbed plates. That woman was sent from heaven, you were fully convinced. “I’ll be alright Kyrie, thanks though.”

Stepping into the garage the socket wrench has since migrated from under your bike, Nero definitely stubbed his toe on it. You chuckled to yourself as you put on your helmet, you were not above being safe, but you were going out, and the shop wasn’t too far from here so your protective- hot ass gear can stay.

The sun wasn’t quite setting but the sky was still vibrant, driving a little above the speed limit when driving through the streets. Subtly tapping your foot to the beat of the music drumming in your ears. Weaving through familiar streets, you turned down the alleyway behind Devil May Cry. You kicked her bike stand down, making sure the thing didn’t fall- your precious child. Luckily you didn’t get sweaty on the ride over so your hair was mostly intact.

Walking through the back door, to hear Dante and Lady playfully bickering, as always. Trish leaned against the counter of the kitchen, “Look who made it!” Trish announced to Lady and Dante who were up front. Trish greeted you with a hug and Lady also followed suit. Dante just slapped you a little too hard on the shoulder, he has to know he’s strong, and that sometimes leaves a mark. “I’m surprised I didn’t get a message saying I’m in bed, maybe another time.” Dante interjected, “That’s only happened a few times okay?” You just rolled your eyes. “Cut her some slack Dante, you’re a party animal, and she actually ages unlike you. At least in a meaningful way.” Lady defended you. Dante just held up his hands in surrender. You weren’t that old you just got into your 30’s… 5 years ago. God Lady’s right.

“Mid-life crisis aside, let’s go drink, shall we?” Trish urged as she started walking out the front door. The rest tagged along quickly, and you trailed behind. And this bar that was “close to the shop” was like 4-5 blocks down the street. Of course, the demon hunters had no problem walking a ways but you were quite frankly out of shape, nowhere near as strong as you used to be. Walking up to a storefront with a flickering neon sign that said “Eddy’s Bar” with a logo next to it.

Upon entering the building, many voices began to jumble together into one noisy building, masking the music that you could barely hear even if you tried. Dante of course b-lined it for the bar, Lady and Trish ventured off into the crowd, for some reason, they usually get drinks first. You just shrugged mentally. Dante sat down at the bar stool, man spreading per usual, his gloved hands resting on the countertop. Why he barely changes his attire besides his shirt and pants- which all looked the same to you- still puzzles you a tiny bit. You joined Dante, sitting next to him on the neighboring stool, he motioned for the bartender.

“What could I do for you two?” The bartender questioned, preemptively going for an empty glass. “Brandy Alexander,” Dante answered, panning over to you. “And for the lady?” The bartender looked at you- the lady? You suppose Dante and you look like a couple right now, gross. You shook it off with a slight tug at your lips. “Midori Sour, please.” Fidgeting with your hands, the bartender nodded, within a minute he handed you and Dante your drinks and wandered off. “The lady , huh?” Dante smirked, smug bastard. “Yeah, the lady apparently.” You just shook your head, putting your glass to your lips. “Where did Lady and Trish go?” You tried searching for them with your eyes, or if you could hear one of them. “I dunno, maybe they were looking for fun.” Dante mimicked you, sipping from his glass. “Us four were supposed to go out, not just me and you.” You sighed, holding your drink in your hands which sat on the counter. “Wowww, I’m hurt.” Dante dramatically faked his ‘hurt’. “Well I get to talk to the girls about girl things, you wouldn’t get it.” Still trying to locate the two women, it’s not like they were too short that they sunk into the crowd.

Dante clutched his heart, again, what a drama queen. You would’ve thought he was a theater kid if you didn’t know any better. “Nothing against you Dante- but I would much rather save my dignity than talk to you about girl things.” “Oh, you have dignity left?” Dante’s face had a sly smile plastered on his face. Reminded of an unpleasant memory of your past adventures with Dante going out to bars. Never again, even if the memory was just fragmented because you were so so so drunk. “I was more drunk than I had ever been in my entire life- my drink at that point could’ve been laced with an aphrodisiac.” Dante just chuckled, “Yeah whatever you say, with your dignity .” This smug little bastard, not a doubt he remembers the entire thing. Hell, he could probably drink an entire bottle of Everclear and only be tipsy.

Through the crowd came Lady and Trish, Lady was practically dragging Trish. Their faces said it all. “(Name)! There is a smoking hot guy over there, like seriously, even for your standards.” Lady exclaimed, very proudly. She and Trish had been almost searching for men for you, since your last outing with a man ended up with trauma and far more physical scars that reminded you. But now is not the time to be drowning in that side of your past.

“I need more alcohol to speak to any man right now.” You sighed, still having your current drink in your grasp. “I guess that's better than nothing.” Trish sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. Dante ordered a round of shots, vodka, of course. You lift the shot glass to your lips and the liquid burns as it goes down your throat. You definitely made a face. Squeezing your eyes shut and opening them back again, you realize the half-devils barely even feel alcohol like a human does. Ugh, whatever, more for you.

Trish and Lady drag you out to the floor of the bar, slipping through the crowds of dancing people, trying not to bump into too many people without a ‘sorry’. “You look so stiff, just relax (Name). You have the best demon hunter and best man-eater here protecting you, all three of us will kill anyone who tries to do anything to you. You have my word.” Lady spoke over the music, trying to soothe your bubbling nerves. You just nodded as she let go of your hand, like sending off your child to college. Taking a step backward, your back collided with something, namely, someone. You turned around immediately to apologize for your clumsiness, even though that's the name of the game in this mess of a bar which at this point, it seemed more like a mosh pit.

The man you bumped into was a little taller than yourself, he just smiled. “No problem.” He went and walked off somewhere else. You cursed at yourself, that would’ve been a smooth way into a: “You wanna dance with me because I’m lonely”. Sighing you retreated closer to the edges of the crowd, you need another shot. Dante still perched on the seat you left him in. Weird, he’s usually quite the party animal, always has been, according to Lady.

You approached the corner of the bartop that you and Date were sitting at earlier, leaning against the counter, “I need another shot.” You said with a small exhale. “The smokin’ hot guy is too much for you? You seemed to handle me quite well that one time.” Dante is too good at this, if you were in your 20s again, Dante’s clumsy attempts at flirting would definitely be working. “That one time was strictly one time.” You quickly ordered another shot from the bartender, Dante called one for himself as well. “And yes, the ‘smoking hot guy’ was too much for me to handle with just one shot in me.”

Dante barely gave a response before tapping the shot glass on the table twice with you before the two of you downed the rough liquor in unison. You shook your head slightly, whispering a curse. It had definitely been a while since you drank. “I’ll scream if I need your assistance, Dante.” With that, you bid him farewell and wiggled your way through the crowd at the center of the bar. You had seemed to lose Lady and Trish at the moment, in your haste, your shoulder collided with another. You turned to face the person and attempted to apologize and continue your search for the man from earlier.

“You keep bumpin’ into me like that, it's gonna make me think you’re into me.” The voice came from next to you, and your body froze. Well, you found him. That was your opening— for fucks sake live a little, trying to push yourself. “Maybe I do.” You just smiled, yup the alcohol was hitting a little. The man looked quite frankly handsome under this lighting, the occasional flashing lights of random colors and the haze that clouded your better judgment. “Stay for a little, if you’ll indulge me.” His words were sickly sweet like honey. But the fog in your brain melted, and now like a spider claiming its prize, he wrapped a gentle hand around your waist. Closing the gap between you two, and now you were smelling him, a sweet smell of dark chocolate and fresh rainfall swept into your senses. How a man can be so bold and yet so sweet was an experience you’ve yet to have up until this moment.

And how the night went on, with risqué moves rather than dancing. And without a doubt, a couple more shots. His hands wherever they migrated to, it was a ghost of a touch, it was gentle, surprisingly so. He pulled you away from the crowd, with a hand around your wrist, and occasionally glanced over his shoulder to check if you were still with him. You landed at the other side of the bar with him, thank god, far away from Dante, but you knew he could see you. Very clearly.

“What kind of shots do you like?” The man- whom you didn’t get the chance to know the name of, quizzed you. “Vodka.” You answered plainly, a glaze over your eyes when you looked at him. He ordered another shot, he sat down on a stool. You sunk the familiar taste, yet the feeling was yet to fade. You hoped you didn’t scrunch your face too much, setting the glass down, he looked at you, not saying a word. At this height, you didn’t have to crane your neck to see his eyes were beautiful, a dark green, seeing the speckles of yellow across his iris. He stayed silent until you realized how awkward of a staring contest this was and turned away to meet the other side of the bar.

A thumb and an index finger pulled your chin away from your musings. You were back at his eyes again, the glittering flower field on a spring day, yet the fierceness of a flowing river, the undercurrents sweeping you under into its grasp. A breath fanned over your lips. Now you were completely submerged. His lips were soft against yours, so soft, but pulling you closer, enough to keep you reaching for more. Your hand perched itself against his chest, the button-down he wore was opened slightly. The kiss continued, it barely felt like you had to do anything as your hand moved slightly to connect with his bare skin. Your other hand played with the hem of your shirt, the only place to exile your excitement because going full throttle into this kiss didn’t seem like the appropriate move.

You broke away from his mouth, finally getting your head above water. You could feel the heat in your cheeks and the racing of your heart, working unpaid overtime. “I liked that.” Your words came out before you had a chance to proofread them. A smile formed on his lips, and slight stubble moved with the skin. “I liked that too.” Matching the simplicity and honesty of your words. “I didn’t expect you to be so gentle.” You admitted, for why? You had no idea. “Why is that?” He asked you, if you were sober you wouldn’t have been so easily fooled by his question, which was obviously just to stroke his own ego. “I guess it’s the way you smell, and maybe the stubble.” Your hand reached out, connecting with the side of his cheek, the rough hair touching your palm. His expression morphed into a more surprised one, then softened again. “I did ask, so I can’t be surprised with the results.” Your hand left his cheek, did you offend him? You certainly did not have that intention, “I mean in like a good way- I noticed how you smelt when I got closer to you. It wasn’t anything bad, it was really great actual-“ Your sentence was quickly brought to a halt when his lips met yours again, but this time it was more like a raging river with the rain thundering down on top of the water. Both of his hands now pulled you closer, meeting your bodies. You stood between his legs as his hand covered your lower back, slipping under your shirt just the slightest bit. His teeth caught your lower lip, and your eyes fluttered open, to see him looking directly at you. The embarrassment was too much, you closed your eyes, letting your tongue invade his mouth. Thankfully it seemed to have been received well as you became dancing, metaphorically of course. His hands did not wonder, much to your disappointment since you were at the bartop. Oh my god, you were having a make-out session- at the counter of the bar, where people were sitting close to you.

He separated from you- maybe he felt your face heat up like a tea kettle. He just looked at you and chuckled, before your embarrassment could not exceed its limit now you shoved your face into his chest and collar bones. A laugh that vibrated his chest escaped him. “What did you get so embarrassed over?” He asked as you made your retreat from the safety of his chest. “I-“ “I think I need another shot.” Was all you could mutter without your head spontaneously combusting.

So many rounds after another, really it was only a couple of rounds. You downed another shot, did you count how many? Nope, and did you care? Also no. “It feels awkward now, but, what's your name?” You sheepishly asked, as you now sat at the bar stool next to him. “It’s Kane, and no it's not awkward.” He tapped a finger on the counter. You tested the name out on your lips; “Kane.” He responded with a hum. “How do you like it?” Kane asked. “It’s simple, and gentle, like you. I like it.” Your sentence was a little jumbled from your brain frankly being jumbled from the alcohol too. “Do I have to ask the question now?” Kane chuckled as he spoke. “What question?” You tilted your head- oh right. “What's your name?” Kane asked, not without a laugh. You smiled, jeez you were slow right now. “(Name).” You responded, more calmly than the racing thoughts of your mind. “Then, (Name), would you mind exchanging phone numbers with me?” God, you felt like you were back in high school again asking your crush out for the spring dance. You nodded, “I didn’t think I’d be able to leave without it.”

Kane reached for a napkin, and clumsily found a pen, with barely any ink left in it. You grabbed the pen, trying not to punch a hole through the papery fabric. You re-read the sequence of numbers to make sure it matches. “I have roommates— if you want to call them that, so they might answer instead.” Kane nodded. “One more drink?” You asked as he shoved the napkin into his back pocket. “I thought you’d never ask.”

That one more drink pulled the two of you back into the pit of swarming people, it was all moving so fast, and now the two of you were actually dancing- well dancing as in; the clubbing type of way. His hands moved far more freely with the alcohol running through his veins. And you definitely moved more smoothly with the same alcohol.

And now you were being pulled to the side again by Kane’s hand on your wrist. Peaking through the veil of the crowd, you saw Trish and Lady speaking to a couple of guys at a booth. Kane stood in front of the table, holding you like he had just caught you cheating on the chem test. “These are your friends right (Name).” He barely asked, less of a question more of a confirmation from Trish and Lady. He still had his wits about him, you however barely had anything intelligent left in you. Lady couldn't bear to hold in her laugh. The two men that were talking to them excused themselves, Trish whispered something to the man you didn't quite catch. “I am far too gone myself to take her home, and the two of you look like a safer option.” Kane basically was asking them to take you home, he was leaving. “Yeah, she does look pretty fucked up.” Lady admitted, not without a ‘hey’ from yourself. “We’ll take her home,” Trish spoke up. “Thank you.” Kane turned to you and let go of your wrist, “I’ll call you okay?” You just nodded as you leaned your weight against the table, Kane walked off and it felt like you’d never see him again- would he even call you- would he abandon you? Just like Treyvon did? Tears pricked at the corner of your eyes. Trish quickly stood next to you as you now shifted your weight onto her. Not without a quick sniffle of your nose, Dante wandered over and regrouped. “Yeah, she’s just gonna have to stay at the shop tonight.”

Thank you for reading! I hope you will stick around for my bullshit :) - onyxroses

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andromedaesresolve · 2 years

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Love's Labour's Thoroughly Groaned At | Dante x reader

In which you read to Dante.

Word count: 618

SFW

Fluff, drabble, reader-insert / x reader, gender-neutral reader!

I just wanted an excuse to write you sitting between his legs on the floor while he snuggles you

Dante had all but sneered at your choice of book, remarking that you've spent too much time around Vergil. You had rolled your eyes and shrugged, turning the dusty page of the ornate, leather-bound book.

He sighed. He had not kept up a hygenic routine today—inclusive of laundering his clothes!—for you to just sit on the sofa and read a stuffy book. He huffed, readjusting his stance as he stood there in front of you, arms crossed.

You looked up at him incredulously, only to be met with a boyish pout that made you laugh.

"Dante," you sighed, exasperated, but your amused smirk brought a grin to his face.

He fidgeted on his feet again and loosened his crossed arms somewhat.

He may be leagues more vocal and expressive than his twin, but that didn't mean you didn't have to squeeze his thoughts out of him. That seemed to be a Sparda family trait. You had long since grown quite attuned to what they wouldn't outright express, but it never ceased to frustrate and amuse you.

You raised a brow at him as you lowered your book. Dante responded with a quirky grin.

"What would you like to do?" You asked.

He visibly loosened, and shrugged at you, "Dunno,"

You snorted as he stepped forward, uncrossing his arms and vaguely gesturing toward the floor. You stood up and he plunked himself down, pressing his back against the couch, beckoning you to sit between his legs.

You can feel how damn near giddy he gets when you oblige. His embrace is so warm and unabashedly affectionate that you can't even pretend to be throwing him a bone with this.

"Whatcha readin' anyway?" He rests his chin on your shoulder, his long locks brushing against your neck.

"Shakespeare," you exhale. "You've caught me on a tacky one." You inform him.

"As if Shakespeare itself isn't tacky enough," Dante snorts, further planting his head on your shoulder, hand resting on your knee.

"Ah, you whoreson loggerhead! You were born to do me shame." You read aloud. "Guilty, my lord, guilty! I confess, I confess."

He rolls his eyes, bringing his other hand under your arm to clutch your shoulder as you continue reading to him. You roll his previous hand over and thoughtlessly draw shapes into his palm. He snuggles into you further in response, a small, content grin on his lips.

"Sweet lords, sweet lovers, o, let us embrace! As true we are as flesh and blood can be!" You melodramatically read to him as he groans, pressing his face into your shoulder.

He chuckles and shakes his head before returning to looking over your shoulder. "This really is somethin', huh?"

"I warned you," you snicker.

You continue nonetheless, Dante pressing the side of his head against yours, squeezing at your shoulder every now and then. He eventually captures that fiddling hand of yours and intertwines it with his. He absentmindedly rubs his thumb over yours, prompting you to bring it to your lips for a little peck.

In Vergil's stead, you covet the younger twin's well-behaved relative quiet. He gives the occasional hum, quip, or sigh, but he sits and listens cooperatively. You have to mindfully bite back verbal praise, knowing that would surely prompt him. You instead opt to lean into him and rub his thumb.

He litters you with the occasional small peck or nuzzle, and he wraps an arm around your middle at some point, pressing his face into you.

Dante would not say that he enjoyed the contents of your reading, but you both thoroughly enjoyed this little endeavor, and as he curled into your arms that night, you brainstormed what you could read to him next.

#dmc fic #dante dmc #dante sparda #dante x reader #gender neutral reader #does 'brief implication of Dante being a little spoon' deserve to be tagged?#I say Yes #shameless fluff #sfw fic #featuring: my masculine urge to praise him #devil may cry fanfiction #entries are from shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost #devil may cry

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silverselfshippingchaos · 2 years

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Asking these for Dante since you mentioned him. Warheads, Hersey Gold, and red vines.

thank you for the ask!

Warheads- What shenangians do you and your platonic fave get up to? Any pranks or rebellious behavior?

What I love about these two is that they are pure chaos. The funny thing is that when she's not off hunting demons, Ash is an ordinary person with a regular office job who leads the most boring life ever. Then you meet her in the game and in the land of the demons. She's bold and bright, swears like a sailor, flirts with everything that moves. In a sense, they're pretty similar in terms of personality. She's what happens if Dante got his life together haha

Rebellious behavior is all they do, but their favorite thing to do together is hunt demons! These games are all about being stylish, so they're always trying to outclass each other.

Seeing how many demons they can kill in a certain amount of time, seeing who's a better shot ("It's totally me!" "I have more guns than you do, pal."), stuff like that.

"Oh, come on! Anything Dante can do, I can do better!"

It's not often that they meet in the human world, but some casual drinks or a shitty, fast food dinner outside the Theme Park isn't off the table.

(Dante actually doesn't even recognize her in the human world at first! Her clean, professional clothes as opposed to her blood-stained and ripped, tight shirt. She also has her hair down in the human world. You know how some of the devil boys have white hair? Ash is half-demon, half-human. Ash's hair is white at the back, so it stays hidden when she has it down. She has her hair tied up when she's fighting though.)

Ash isn't particularly close with Dante's pals (she has beef with Vergil, and despite thinking that Kat is fantastic, she doesn't get many opportunities to hang with her), so a lot of their bonding time is when Dante needs an extra hand while he's cleaning up.

They do hang out a little more after the end of the game, and although Ash isn't used to the more serious and responsible version of Dante, she's so proud of how far he's come.

(The white hair does make her laugh though. She gets onto her tippy toes, ruffling his hair,

"Hey, look at you, big guy! You finally look like one of us!")

Hersey Gold- Do you have matching bracelets, necklaces, or other various items?

This is a really good one! Dante only wears one bit of jewelry, and that's the pendant his mom gave him before she... uh... yeah... (RIP Eva)

But if Ash is anything like me (which is kinda the point LMAO), she loves jewelry!

I think she'd get matching bracelets after the events of the game.

Dante just smirks,

"You coming onto me or something? Sorry, but-"

"Yeah, yeah, you wish. I have one too, so... Keep it. We won't be seeing each other as often now, will we? And, as much as I hate to admit it... You're an asshole, but I don't hate your company, Dante."

"You're gonna make me blush!"

He won't admit it, but he takes good care of that bracelet.

Red Vines- If you two started a band, what would you name it?

Oooh, this is fun. These two would make a great band together.

(Also, the ost of this game is soooo good!)

Ash is no good at naming things, and neither is Dante.

(Though he does have some pretty funny lines)

Demonic Angels

Dante is half-angel, after all!

("You couldn't have been a bit more original?" "What? At least I'm trying! We're honoring Eva's memory!")

They're both kinda stupid, but I think they'd make good music. Great band, if I do say so myself!

#thank you for the ask! this was very fun!#answered #platonic f/o ask game

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nirgilis · 4 months

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Lost Soul Aside some thoughts and speculations

This post will use a mix of 2021 and 2023 versions of gameplay demo, since 2023 has more polished graphics, but 2021 has English subtitiles. Also this translation of 2023 presentation with developers was used in the process.

Kazer

Piece of fabric, which could've been a scarf but isn't, waving in the wind seems like a wing? Something akin to Sephiroth's black wing, but not corporeal.

It's somewhat peculiar that he has green eyes. Especially protags tend to have almost any other eye color, but not green. And even if they do, it's more likely to be paired with blond hair, not black.

In a way in himself Kazer collected all base RGB colors. Blue from Arena-weapons, Red from his clothes and Green from eyes. Though this might hardly has any meaning.

2. Ventas

There might be a possibility that at some point Ventas will take off his modern looking religious dress/coat? Bc underneath he clearly has a blue suit with golden ornament. (Author of the post can't help it, but this belt under the coat which is possibly purposed to additionally make sure the coat won't fall off, looks like a car seatbealt).

While Ventas' clothes are heavenly/holy themed, most of his skills seems cosmic.

Swords orbiting him to create a shield.

When his sword leaves shining afterimage it recembles an arm of a galaxy.

These things aren't cosmic objects, but there's maybe no better way to describe them but "throwing stars."

4. Ability which, bc of visible rings, recemblases armillary sphere or astrolabe, but ultimately is supposed to be a celestial body with him at the core.

3. Story speculations

Very doubtful that this manga and its anime could've been one of inspiration for LSA, it probably has only a combination of elements, which can be present in other media, but author of this post recalled this one. Somehow LSA shares some main characters' elements with 2006 manga Hakkenden and its 2013 anime.

There's an older than protag character, Satomi Riou, who is aligned with Church in theocracic country, having not low, but nor the highest position there, but his interests aren't 100% aligned with the Church. They have complicated relationship with protag, in some ways being both enemies and friends.

Protag Inuzuka Shino is in symbiotic state with the strongest demon, Murasame. Murasame is initially is a living sword spirit and can't have a physical form unless has a vessel, which uses Shino as. While not in a connected combat state Murasame takes a form of a crow and usually follows Shino around. If Shino will fall unconsious and thus won't be surpressing Murasame, he will go berserk.

As both Murasame and Riou's familiar are demons, the Church views them as enemies. But in Riou's case he comes from a family of 1 of 4 Sacred beasts, power of which the Church wants for itself, so it takes chosen by beasts children under its wing.

Shino came into possession of Murasame on the edge of death, when Rio gave him a choice, either to die, or accept the demon to survive.

The event of Shino surviving has a number of rather strange circumstances happening in the row. That Riou visited the village when it got attacked, that he had Murasame with him, with it's being unknown how he got it.

With similarities between Hakkenden and LSA, and assumption what kind of character Ventas is supposed to be judging from characters he was possibly based on, Ravus from VS13/FF15 and Vergil from DMC.

Ventas' words about Kazer "This inhuman power, seems like I've got the right person," might have another meaning, that he had a hand in Kazer meeting Arena and it was his intention for things to happen like this.

Regardless of this assumption, it doesn't seem that Ventas will really pursue Kazer, since when he was leaving what he said was close to: "The next time we meet, I want to ask you something."

And their fight is more of a duel, otherwise there's not much point in crossing blades at the start then to move away in different directions.

4. Collectible items

Choice of colors for collectible items might've been for gameplay reasons, that they will be decently visible even in dark environment. Though this might still change for the release.

Kazer's clothes is black and red, which in manhuas and donghuas is used as a sign that character has relations to demonic side, so Kazer might be walking a rather dark road from a worldview of general population in LSA.

Somehow collectible items are of the same color as Ventas' robe, so in Church colors. Even though Kazer might be at odds with the Church, what looks like its small blessings in the form of collectibles is still useful to him.

#Lost Soul Aside #LSA #LSA Kazer #LSA Ventas

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shallliveoninsong · 9 months

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SHIPPING INFO //ANSWER THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR MUSES SO PEOPLE KNOW HOW SHIPPING WORKS ON YOUR BLOG.

◇ First for Jing Yuan--

WHAT IS YOUR OTP FOR YOUR CHARACTER(S)?

Him x Sleep - in all seriousness I don't really have one for him. I don't read him to be a character who is very focused on attraction (sexual or romantic). Like it's just not something that crosses his mind very often. There are only so many hours in the day and he's focused on too many other things!

I will say though, I first and foremost see everyone in the HCQ being buddies first and foremost, so while it's not a strict no, I honestly prefer Jing Yuan to be platonic with the HCQ members over anything romantic. (Though him x Jingliu is a hard no since she's his mentor).

HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE?

Ages for long-life species are a bit all over the place so I'd say just any of the characters that look and/or act younger than around 25 feels like too much of a gap given Jing Yuan is thousands of years old.

HOW FAR DO STEAMY MOMENTS HAVE TO GO BEFORE THEY ARE CONSIDERED NSFW?

If anything starts happening under the clothes basically, discord only for that don't really like that floating around on dash.

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING?

Yeah I'm pretty picky ngl, but my chances of shipping with someone goes up a ton if I'm just asked and not hinted at IC and OOC that kinda feels like arm-twisting to me.

WHO ARE OTHER CHARACTERS YOU SHIP YOUR CHARACTER WITH?

Theoretically and if the vibes and interactions just meshed well possibly Welt.

DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU?

Yes. I will definitely not ship without being asked and will feel put off if IC interactions have a feeling of the ship being expected or treated as canon.

ARE YOU SHIP-OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE-OR-LESS?

Ships aren't really my focus on rping. I like cool plotlines and chaotic adventures more : >

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SHIP IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM?

Jing Yuan & Sleep and Trailblazer & Trashcans

FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU?

Interact with my muse, talk to me OOC, have our muses develop a rapport together. Should you see it making taking a romantic and/or sexual turn just let me know OOC, please don't be all 'wink wink nudge nudge' about it.

◇ Second for Lady--

WHAT IS YOUR OTP FOR YOUR CHARACTER(S)?

I find Lady x Dante during their dmc 5 and on selves neat c: Her and Trish isn't bad either. Also feel her and Vergil have good potential.

HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE?

At one point I knew all the math of all the ages of the dmc characters but I've since forgotten them, but since around 5 Lady is like, 34ish iirc I'd say anything over with a 7-year difference is weird.

HOW FAR DO STEAMY MOMENTS HAVE TO GO BEFORE THEY ARE CONSIDERED NSFW?

Same as in JY's section

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING?

Same as in JY's section

WHO ARE OTHER CHARACTERS YOU SHIP YOUR CHARACTER WITH?

There ain't many main characters in dmc so I'd say I've covered it lol.

DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU?

Same as in JY's section

ARE YOU SHIP-OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE-OR-LESS?

Ships aren't really my focus on rping. I like cool plotlines and chaotic adventures more : >

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SHIP IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM?

Dante x Pizza

FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU?

tagged by: @maskednihilism thx for reminding me lol

tagging: you!

#maskednihilism #ooc: Mew mews #(I'll do other muses at some point but these are the most active rn so)

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polarisbibliotheque · 2 years

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Dante & Vergil being sick and their s/o taking care of them

Pairings: Dante x Reader; Vergil x Reader

Summary: Who would've ever thought the children of Sparda could get sick just like humans did? Having learnt to deal with this on their own, it was the very first time they would actually be cared for - at least for once.

WARNING: Dante and Vergil have a fever and the reader puts them in a shower to get the temperature down. Nothing happens, it's just one taking care of the other, but, naturally, Dante and Vergil are naked during this part. There isn't any NSFW description, but if it bothers you, feel free to skip it ;)

Author's notes: I figured we have them taking care of their s/o when sick, Vergil and his s/o taking care of sick Nero, so why not Dante and Vergil receiving some love? While I was having some bad health days and going through an exam that required sedation and such, I realized how much it matters when I have someone by my side caring for me while I'm not at my best. I guess Dante and Vergil wouldn't really know how that feels like and found it interesting thinking about their reaction while being taken care of for a change.

Dante

“Ok, big guy. You definitely don’t look good.”

“Heh, I’m fine…!”

You just raised one of your eyebrows while staring at the half-demon in front of you.

Dante had just woken up and still looked tired. It was afternoon already and, even if he wasn’t an early riser, Dante usually didn’t enjoy waking up too late. He also didn’t keep his sleeping pants on for too long, but there he was wearing his graphite gray sweats and a couple of fluffy slippers you gave him on his birthday – sleeping with shirts on, as he would say himself, was forbidden.

Nevertheless, there he was, sporting your too-big-for-your-frame red silk, Japanese style robe, adorned with colorful flowers, carps and golden intricate patterns. Still open and hanging lazily on his shoulders, but it wasn’t common for him to put something on in the mornings… Out of cold?

It wasn’t even that cold.

“You’re wearing a robe, which almost counts as a shirt. That is wrong.” You pointed out, leaning on the kitchen counter, following his movements with your eyes.

“I know ya love seein’ me half-naked, hot stuff…” And Dante winked at you – which would’ve been lovely if his sky-blue eyes weren’t lined with a filigree of pinkish red, adorned with a cloud of subtle purple. It seemed like he didn’t have a good night sleep in days. “But this mornin’ is kinda chilly. You gonna have to settle for this, babe.”

As he spoke, Dante ran his free hand on the skin showing from his chest – the other busy in trying to find his mug for a hot morning drink.

‘Morning’.

“I can always settle for you wearing my fancy robe, but…” And you approached him, taking the mug filled with drawings of little happy strawberries he loved so much – sitting right in front of his distracted eyes. “You look like hell, Dante. It isn’t even that cold today.”

“Ya know, I…”

But Dante was interrupted by running away from you in order to have enough room for one of his scandalous sneezes without hitting you as collateral damage.

“You were saying…?” You leaned by the counter again, a contempt and calm smile bright in your lips as he just looked back at you, clearly annoyed.

Bantering to the point of annoying Dante was a feat in itself – only Vergil could get to that point and only if he pressed the right buttons. Needless to say, the Dark Slayer praised this natural ability you had.

“Look. This isn’t my first rodeo. I know how to take care of myself, y/n.” Now Dante was serious, and both your eyebrows were raised in awe: that was another outstanding feat from you – even have him call you by your name instead of one of his many cute nicknames. “You’re worrying for nothin’, babe, really. Trust me when I say it isn’t serious, ok?”

You sighed, looking back at your huge half-demon lover, suddenly so stoic in that bright silk clothing. It was a sight to see, to be honest.

“Ok… But.” And you pointed at him. “If you get worse, I’ll be taking the reins, cowboy.”

“Alright…!” Dante responded in his usual sing song manner, playfully striking your chin in the process. “You won’t need to, sheriff!”

He would soon come to regret that statement.

If mess had a name, that would be ‘Dante’.

He found himself tossed on the couch, sitting like a bag of potatoes that was just left there. His head leaning back, he’d be able to stare at the ceiling if his eyes weren’t closed. Still wearing his pajama’s pants, Dante didn’t even take your robe off to put on his usual navy-blue shirt – if Lady saw him like that, she’d certainly be taken back to the day they first met.

Only he used to wear a red leather long coat, not your colorful robe filled with carps and golden filigrees.

“Dante…?” You were coming down the stairs, having just put on your normal clothes in order to buy some groceries you were missing for the next week. Seeing your red devil in that state during a sunny afternoon outside, though, was mildly concerning to say the least. “Ei, love…? Are you alright…?”

“Peachy…” Was the only thing he murmured, barely paying attention to your words. You furrowed your brows, immediately walking up to him.

Now, Dante was usually hotter than the average person – you learnt that with time, and he explained a bit about his body temperature the first time he got sick. As you approached him, you could see how his forehead and chest were glistening with a thin coat of sweat – and it took a lot to make him even start sweating.

Placing your hand on his forehead, you could safely say Dante was on fire.

“Oook, cowboy. You’re definitely not alright.”

“I’ve been…” He murmured back, slightly opening his tired eyes without even moving his head. “Worse… Don’t…”

“If you tell me not to worry, I’m calling Trish to kick your ass.” Not that you couldn’t do it yourself. But Trish had lived enough with Dante to act like his sister – plus, she had the perk of looking like Eva. It was like bringing Dante’s mother from Heaven itself to scold him into allowing himself to be taken care of. “If you saw yourself right now, you’d know why I’m worrying about you. C’mon, cowboy.”

With those words, you wrapped one of Dante’s arms around your neck and used yours to go around his torso, trying to make him lay down on the couch.

Trying, because Dante was knowingly huge. Laying down that half-demon brick house wasn’t an easy task – you obviously wouldn’t give up, but having someone else around would most certainly be helpful.

Again, Trish was amazing to drag Dante around – she made it seem like his weight was nothing.

“Ok, big guy. Legs up, c’mon.” You let him go for a while, only to help him put his limp legs on the couch. The huge, leather, black couch of the Devil May Cry was big enough to fit half of the crew with a lot of space in between – but having Dante lay down on it? Well, it wasn’t big enough for your red devil. “Phew. You’re quite heavy, you know…?”

“Babe… I can…” Once again, though, Dante’s words were interrupted by one of his own sneezes. You could swear the whole neighborhood could hear him sneeze. “I’ll… Take a shower…”

“No, you won’t. At least not without me around.” You fixed his legs comfortably on the couch, only to wrap your arms around him again to pull Dante in a better position. He looked terribly uncomfortable if you didn’t do a little bit of work to help him. That would count as your exercises for the day. “You’re burning, babe. I’ve never felt you so hot.”

“I’d… Disagree, ya know…” And, even if he wasn’t at his best, Dante still managed to flash you a sexy look – or at least try to.

“You’re the worst, Dante.” Even if you scolded him, though, you had a smile on your lips, leaning in to quickly kiss him, making Dante mirror your expression. “I’ll go get some pills and a thermometer. If you need me, just scream, ok?”

“No worries.” He calmly smiled back as you took his hair away from his damp forehead, checking his temperature in the process. It was funny to you how he resembled Vergil so much when you brushed his hair back like that – they were a lot more similar than they thought. “I… Won’t go anywhere, babe.”

“Oh, good. It’d be hell to hunt down a sick volcano devil through town.” With those words, Dante laughed a bit, closing his eyes in the process while you left your place by his side to search for the things you needed to take care of him.

Dante definitely wasn’t used to that. All his life, he spent his days and nights alone in the Devil May Cry – heaven knows how many times he got burning fevers like that, barely able to get up, trembling on a corner and hoping it would just pass. He had learnt to take care of himself, yes, even keeping a couple of medicines at the shop – but, whenever he got like that, it took him a lot of energy and will to get to the pills and take them on his own, sitting under the water in the shower and praying to whoever would hear him he didn’t need a hospital.

It wasn’t like Dante could go into the ER and say “hey, I’m a half-demon with a fever and I need help”. Most people would be scared, doctors most certainly didn’t understand his peculiarities being a half-half and it would probably end up in chaos rather than helping him – therefore, Dante spent all his life alone, learning to care for himself on his own; even if he wasn’t really good at it.

Whenever he got badly sick, though, something inside him wanted to believe Eva was watching over him, like an angel caring for her son even after her death. Dante always thought, after he got better, it was because of Eva’s watchful eyes and loving hands.

“How are you feeling, red devil?” As you came back to the room, Dante remembered how he wasn’t alone this time – and that he wasn’t used to.

“Well… I’ve been better.” He answered with a sigh, looking back at you as you approached and sat on the couch by his side. You placed your hand on his forehead again – it was so unusual, Dante didn’t even know what to do. His body tensed a little, but soon he relaxed, watching as you checked the thermometer to make sure it was still functioning. “Gotta warn you, babe… It’ll probably… Break.”

“Damn, you think you’re that hot?” You raised one of your brows, looking back at his goofy, relaxed smile. “I know you’re that hot, but you really think the thermometer will break…?”

“It did once… I was… Fifteen? I think…?” He tried to get things out of his memory, remembering the first time he got really sick. As all humans would do, Dante tried to check his temperature to see how bad it was, but… Well, it was really bad. Even for him. After that, he didn’t know what to do with himself, buying all medicines he could with his short money as soon as he could get up on his feet again. “Never used… Those things again. Got only for you, babe.”

You watched him for a while as Dante closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It never crossed your mind how your mundane stuff was only recently acquired at the Devil May Cry because Dante would never make use of those human tools.

“Well… If it breaks, I’ll get another one later.” You shrugged, raising one of his arms to place the thermometer. “Now that I’m thinking… I still haven’t learnt too much on devilish medicine with Vergil…”

“Hmmm…” Dante furrowed his own brows as he watched you taking a look at the many pills you had in hand. It was true: human medicine didn’t work the same way for him. You’d have to test a few things: Dante usually drank some Holy Water and waited for things to pass instead of taking some painkillers or other human pills to alleviate his symptoms. It was how he had learnt to deal with things. “Whatever dose you take… It’s probably double for me.”

“Hmmm… Ok. But I’m keeping two eyes on you, big guy.”

With that, you doubled the dosage, a little scared of what would happen – but Dante had already been bitten by the strongest of demon poisons and dealt with it only by, again, drinking his Holy Water and going through it. A few human medicine pills wouldn’t be his downfall.

At least, you hoped it wouldn’t.

It had been a couple hours and you could swear Dante was worse.

Now he was literally sweating, his hair so wet you combed it all backwards – a perfect reminder of Vergil – and he could barely stay awake. Every time you tried to move him, Dante mentioned how his body was sore and he didn’t want to get up from the couch, and a couple of times, you could swear he was going to pass out.

“Hey, dear…? Look at me?” You caressed one of his brows with your thumb, making Dante lazily open his eyes to look at you. To him, you were like an angel sent from Heaven itself caring for him during that awful day – he never really had that, and he had to admit: it was really nice. “Here, I brought you some chips. Try to eat a few, ok?”

“Thanks… Y/n…” And even though he didn’t look his best, Dante still smiled back at you.

You had managed to build a makeshift hospital bed for him, placing yours and his pillows on his back, having Dante lay there as comfortably as possible. He didn’t even have enough words to thank you: Dante just held your hand, mindlessly caressing your skin, impeding you to get up from his side and do whatever else you needed to do. You spent all your time just talking nonsense with him, and he seemed to enjoy having you by his side.

Dante did look a little livelier after you fed him the potato chips, though. Carefully, you placed them in his mouth, receiving a few playful nips on your fingers every now and then, both of you chuckling in the process as he gave you some thankful, caring looks. As time went by, Dante’s words became a lot scarcer – and, judging by the way he looked, you guessed his blood pressure must have been very low.

Enter the potato chips – not the healthier of options, but salty enough to make him come back and avoid Dante to pass out.

Because, if he did pass out, you wouldn’t know what to do. Dante bragged from time to time you were one of the strongest humans he had ever met, but there was no way you could drag his body anywhere to search for immediate help. You’d have to enlist Trish, Nero or Vergil to help you – and drag your red devil to Kyrie: the only one with enough experience taking care of a demon-human on their sick days.

Combing his hair back once more, you kissed Dante’s forehead again. His fever had come down a bit, but it seemed it was going back up. Before calling Kyrie or Vergil for a few insights, though, you had to at least stabilize Dante in a better condition – you couldn’t, and you wouldn’t, leave him during a spike of symptoms.

“Ok, dear. Can you get up?” As you asked him, Dante opened his eyes once more, watching as you took one of his hands to wrap around your shoulders once more. He foolishly wondered if you were prepping yourself to carry him around.

“I think so… Are ya gonna try… To carry me, y/n…?” He had to ask, even if now Dante did his best to put his own weight up alongside you. “’Cause that… Not gonna work, angel…”

“Well, I will drag you around if I have to, Dante. Never doubt that.” Your voice had such a certainty, he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. As you sat him on the couch by your side, Dante kept looking down while you wrapped one of your arms around his waist, under the silky robe. His skin was damp, which would help your hand not to slipper while aiding his walk. “I’ll do whatever it takes to care for you, dear.”

“You already do.” He murmured back, a smile hidden in his words. That only made you grip him tighter.

“Ok. On three, we’ll get up. One, two… Three! C’mon!”

With that, you helped Dante drag his feet from the couch to the stairs. It was a daunting task, but you wouldn’t give up. He unconsciously leaned too much of his weight on you, and it certainly felt like carrying a bag of bricks on your shoulder, but it was Dante. You would never give up on him – even if the stairs suddenly looked too long to climb up.

“Ya know… You don’t need to… Do all this, y/n…” Dante mumbled as you adjusted his weight on your shoulders and helped him tackle the first step of the stairs.

“I don’t. But I want to, Dante.” Your voice had a tone to discourage anyone from arguing with you, even your red demon. “I’m here for better or for worse, babe. I’m not gonna run away when you need me most. Now, if you need to sit mid-way up, we’ll take a break. But we’re getting there, ok?”

“Ok.” Dante wouldn’t even disagree. Something inside his chest warmed up, and he knew he could put all his defenses and survival instincts down. He didn’t have to fend off sickness by himself anymore – now, he had you by his side, and he could just relax, knowing you’d do whatever it took to get him to feel better.

It took some time – and a lot of strength from your part – but you finally reached the top of the stairs. As you did so, you immediately got Dante in the bathroom, taking his clothes off as he just sat there, by the bathtub, watching you with inquisitive eyes.

“Your temperature is still high. My mom used to have me take a slightly warm shower to help it go down, I think it might work for you.” Your explanation helped him understand all you were doing, as you pulled Dante up by his hands and helped him walk under the shower water.

“Damn! The water is cold!” The way his body reacted, it seemed like you had just thrown a bucket of ice water on him – but the walls of the bathroom were already getting foggy, proving it was warmer than his body felt.

“It isn’t cold, babe. You’re too hot right now. It’ll pass, trust me.” Seeing as Dante unconsciously avoided the water, you took your shoes, socks and shirt off, getting under the water alongside him. “Hey. You gotta be under it for a while. At least until your shivers wear off.”

“Babe… You’re gonna…” But before he could state you’d get all wet under the cold water with him, there you were, completely soaked – clothes and all. By your expression, Dante knew you couldn’t care less: you had eyes only for him, caressing his hair back and striking his tense neck and shoulders. “You’re gonna be a mess…” Either way, he mumbled a bit, while you got closer, massaging his hands. Dante shivered under the water, but it was easier to stand there in the ‘cold’ with you than all alone.

“I’m gonna stay here with you until you feel better, big guy.” Your tone was calm and lowered, bringing him comfort even if Dante felt like he was freezing. “Like I said, for better or for worse, Dante. We’re getting through this mess.”

And you could see how his shoulders turned a lot less tense, your lover melting under your fingers – even if still shivering for a while. You wrapped your arms around Dante in a promise to help him stand up and he didn’t even argue – only doing his best to stand alongside you, closing his eyes while giving you a tired hug.

It didn’t matter how long it would take – Dante wanted to hold you forever.

“What I’m most scared of…” You could hear his voice from the room while you served your cups of hot tea, appearing from the kitchen door as Dante observed you from the couch. “Is sick-days food. Never really did that, babe.”

“Oh, I can imagine. Your sick-days food must be terrible junk food and ice cream.” You raised one eyebrow, leaving the hot tea on the center table.

Dante was now wrapped around a cozy blanket, wearing his pajamas for cold days – a set of warmer pants and sweaters he had, nothing fancy, as always – tiredly sitting on the huge Devil May Cry sofa. His fever wore off after the shower and you managed to find a dose of painkillers that cared for his sore muscles and headache. After that big scare, Dante didn’t look like he was going to pass out and, for the moment, he had only a sore throat, annoying sneezes, and a little bit of cold.

Which forced him to stay on the couch while you prepared dinner – and your nighttime fun while he couldn’t do much but sit and wait his body to recover. That being said, now Dante watched you drag the TV to the room, as you always did every time you wanted to watch something.

Only Patty had a good use for that when she hanged around the Devil May Cry and watched her soap operas. You and Dante didn’t really use the TV much – the days you weren’t hunting, you were out or just spending some time together, talking, laughing, listening to music and having a bite to eat.

“Well… Comfort food still counts as sick food.” Dante shrugged, making you giggle with that statement. Of course, he would say that. “Bet you gonna make me eat some garlic soup or somethin’.”

“Now I’m thinking Eva straight up tortured you while you were sick.” You had your hands on your waist, watching him after finally finding the perfect place for the TV. “C’mon, garlic soup? That’s mean.”

“Nah, she wouldn’t do that. Only if me and Verge misbehaved.” And, by the way he looked at you after that phrase, you knew it was more often than one would expect – provoking laughs on you. “But soup was only for the days we were really bad, ya know?”

“You don’t consider yourself really bad today?” You shot back, making Dante deny nonchalantly. You did know, though, he wouldn’t consider that as a bad sickness day – you had already seen how demon poison could be a lot worse and, after those days, Dante could barely eat. So, you had an idea what bad meant on his dictionary.

Suddenly, you heard a knock on the door. Dante just curiously watched as you talked to whoever was there – if it was a job, he knew you’d turn it down because of him, but he wanted to say you could call Nero or Vergil to help and go to work. He watched in expectation until you returned with a white box on your hands.

“I do think pizza counts as sick-days food, though.”

As you said those words, a huge smile appeared on Dante’s lips, complemented by a hearty laugh. He always thought you were perfect to his eyes, but you never ceased to amaze him.

“Hah! Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!” You thought it should be forbidden to be as happy as he was with that, but it was Dante. He got happy with such little things; it was so easy for you to make him smile. You opened the box of pizza right by the cups of tea, turning the TV on to enjoy the movie you had chosen that night. “No plates?”

“I know you enjoy eating your pizza by hand, red devil.” You slouched by his side, allowing Dante to wrap you under his blanket alongside him, cuddling up against your lovely half-demon. “Tonight, it’s Zorro and pizza night.”

“Hey, have I ever said you’re perfect?” Dante’s tired eyes smiled as he made you comfortable in his arms. If there was one thing he loved doing with you, was cuddling under the blankets on a cozy night like that. “’Cause you are, babe.”

“You are too…” You took his face with one of your hands, placing a warm kiss on his cheek – making Dante close his eyes and smile as he felt your lovely lips on his harsh skin. “My whacky woohoo pizza man.”

Among laughs and cuddles, you and Dante began your night of movies, pizza and some warm tea to count as caring for his sickness. He enjoyed every moment around your arms, every time your giggles took over the Devil May Cry, and every sigh as he closed his eyes and rested his tired head on your shoulders.

It turns out, being sick wasn’t that bad, after all. Now that he had you around to watch over him, Dante would never fear being alone through his hard times once more – he knew you’d always be there to hold him and assure his soul everything would be alright. It felt good not to be alone for a change.

Vergil

“You really are like Monty Python’s black knight.”

“And you are starting to sound like Dante.”

You just sported a half smile on your lips as you watched Vergil search for his latest read. He moved slowly, his eyes seeming to do all in his power to focus. Those silvery moons were surrounded by a reddish-purple aura, making him look positively exhausted. Vergil closed his eyes for a few seconds and took a deep breath before going back to his search.

“Currently, I’ll take that as a compliment.” You crossed your arms, leaning by the door frame. You knew precisely where the book was, but you wanted to see how far his headstrongness would take him. “You look terrible, Vergil.”

“I am fine.”

“’Tis but a scratch!” When the words left your lips, you started giggling as Vergil’s silvery eyes turned at you in a deadly fashion. “Are you going to start biting demon’s ankles as well, love?”

Vergil sighed, turning his whole body towards you, and kept his eyes closed for a while. Once he opened them again, he crossed his arms, as if he was about to face a horde of demons.

Or lecture you. It always had the same feel to it.

“I have already been through worse on my own. When I say it’s nothing, it’s because it is nothing, love.” Even though his words sounded harsh, his tone had some care hidden in it. “You don’t have to worry about me. I know how to deal with my sick body. I will tell you if…”

But, before he could say anything else, Vergil started coughing uncontrollably. You just stood there, watching him, eyebrows raised as you waited for your lover’s sudden cough fit to be over.

And, as he was done, Vergil’s eyes immediately found yours, seeing the ‘I told you so’ hidden in your expression.

“Not. A. Word.”

His voice was coarse and all you could do was stop yourself from laughing, agreeing with Vergil’s annoyed, harsh words.

He usually knew when you were right.

You settled for reading your own book, resting on the bed, while Vergil decided to go back to his studies by his desk. It was warm for both of you to remain on the same room in silence – your presences were reassuring to each other, but you didn’t need to spend social energy. That type of energy was quickly drained from you in any situation, but when it came to Vergil, he barely had any. The fact you understood his quietness wasn’t indifference, was lovely heartwarming for him.

It was, also, a very good way to keep an eye on and care for Vergil without him taking notice or being annoyed by it.

Your book was strategically placed on your bent legs, as to look like you were concentrated on your read instead of glancing him from time to time. Vergil sometimes closed his eyes, eventually taking his glasses off and leaving it on the desk, rubbing his forehead while letting out a deep exhale. He did look somber almost all the time, but not like that – it seemed he was bothered by something, not being able to fully concentrate on his work.

Vergil not focusing on reading was completely out of his character. That made you only more alert.

And your alertness paid off: suddenly, Vergil got up from his chair, making you immediately look into his eyes.

“Verge? Are you alright…?”

But, before he could answer to your words, Vergil’s head bent down. That made you close your book and leave it on the bed, carefully watching him. It seemed he tried to mutter something in the lines of “yes”, but his hand could barely reach his forehead and his mouth seemed not to answer to his commands anymore.

“Vergil!”

Before you could get up from the bed, he tried to take a step forward, only to have his legs falter and fall on the ground, barely conscious.

“Vergil!” You called again, running towards your blue devil – looking so homely with his dark long-sleeved shirt, pants and blue slippers you insisted on buying him – completely limp on the floor. “Hey! Open your eyes!”

Talking to him was to no avail. Vergil was completely out: eyes closed, mouth slightly open, forehead damp with sweat. You placed your hand on the skin of his neck.

“For the love of Sparda, Verge, you’re hotter than Hell…” You had your eyes wide open, checking his temperature again on his forehead. Vergil was naturally hotter than you, but he had taught you once how to check for his body temperature changes – as Vergil always had to be in control of everything to feel safe, he immediately accepted when you asked him to teach you demonic medicine and how to take care of him during an emergency. “I never thought this would be the emergency, love… Why didn’t you tell me how bad you were…? Vergil!”

You called him once again, noticing his eyes weren’t totally gone. He barely opened them, trying to focus on you – it seemed like a veil was between the two of you, his look foggy and caught between two worlds.

“I’m… Hmmm…” He used all the strength in his being at that moment to try to voice the words going through his head – but everything was hazy, and he could hardly keep his eyes open. Closing them once more, Vergil was about to fall.

“Hey! Stay here with me!” You grabbed his shoulder, giving him a gentle shake and forcing him to come back. Vergil looked at you, but it was clear he would soon fall again. “Stay awake for me, ok? Don’t sleep. Can you do that? For me?”

He couldn’t answer clearly, but he could mutter. Voicing a sound you couldn’t distinguish as words, Vergil barely made a movement with his head, confirming he would do everything he could to fulfill your request. Before leaving the room, though, you placed a quick peck on his knuckles – going to the kitchen right after, as fast as you could.

It had to be his blood pressure – you only saw Vergil close to that once when Dante brought him back home badly injured. On that day, Dante treated his brother with your help and a lot of demonic medicine, which strained his body and made Vergil get caught between being awake and dangerously passing out from a very low blood pressure.

Dante, then, taught you a mighty medicine for situations like that.

“Here, love. Open your mouth.” You didn’t even spend a minute out of the room, finding Vergil fighting his own body to remain aware. He couldn’t lift his silvery eyes to watch you, but he could obey.

A generous pinch of salt under the tongue and a shot of Holy Water. You held Vergil’s head up by placing one of your hands on the back of his neck and he took the shot as quickly as he always did. Keeping your gaze on his face, you watched as Vergil’s eyebrows furrowed and he bared his teeth, as if it burned him from the inside.

The expected reaction of Holy Water based medicine, as he always told you.

“Vergil…? Can you look at me…?” It took him a few seconds to properly open his tired eyes and raise them to you, a tinge of red as clouds surrounded the silver and paleness of his face. You entangled the fingers from your free hand with his, caressing the burning skin. “Can you squeeze my hand?”

“Yes…” His voice was grave and dragged, as Vergil barely squeezed your fingers back. It seemed more like he was caressing you rather than actively trying to press your hand.

You smiled, noticing as his lips tried to curve up before letting out a heavy sigh. Still holding his hand, you rested Vergil’s head on your thighs in order to use your other hand to run through his silver hair. He closed his eyes while inhaling deeply, making you call him again. As Vergil’s silvery gaze found yours once more, he didn’t scold you: it was important that he remained awake, or he could pass out and then things would get complicated.

Nevertheless, Vergil couldn’t find words to talk to you at the moment – if you wanted to have a conversation to keep him conscious, he wouldn’t mind gathering his strength to answer you. He enjoyed, though, having your fingers caressing his hair like that: Vergil wasn’t used to kindness and affection, he wasn’t used to that kind of touch. Laying tiredly on the floor with his head on your lap while you showed how much you cared for him… It was new.

And, even if he was extremely weak from being sick, something fluttered in Vergil’s chest – something he wasn’t used to experiencing.

“You are burning, love. We need to lower your temperature.” You still ran your fingers through his locks once you noticed that made his breathing even and helped Vergil remain focused on keeping his eyes open and his consciousness right there with you.

“Hmmm.” He barely agreed with his head, still caressing your hand. Usually, when Vergil started a gesture like that, he would take a long time to stop. He wouldn’t be too aware of it, though. “I need… A shower…”

“I’m afraid so.” You smiled back, glad to have such a responsible lover – even though his stubbornness led to that situation – and placing a long kiss on his flaming forehead. “I will do my best to carry you there, love. But I don’t think I’ll be able to carry a 6’5” heir of the powers of Sparda half-demon King of Hell all on my own – I’ll need some help.”

Vergil let out a slight chuckle as you mentioned that, closing his eyes while still caressing your fingers, as if to summon all his strength to aid you in that task. You weren’t exactly weak – but Vergil wasn’t exactly light as well. He wasn’t built like Dante, but his height and his fit physique made him a little too heavy for you to do it all on your own.

The fact you were willing to carry him made that same thing that was stirring in Vergil’s chest before come back twice as strong.

“Let’s go.” And as his voice sounded resolute with his eyes opening back with all their focus, you helped Vergil get up from the floor.

His legs, though, weren’t as resolute as his will. They couldn’t keep his weight up and you had to keep a strong grip on his shirt, one of his arms across your shoulders, so your blue devil wouldn’t fall once again. Vergil blinked a couple of times, letting out a few heavy sighs, barely able to keep himself up on his feet.

If it wasn’t for you, he would be on the floor. Again.

“Are you ok? I can’t put you under the water if your blood pressure is still low. It would be dangerous.” You placed your palm over his heart, checking how it was beating inside his chest. Vergil took another deep breath, turning his eyes to you – his forehead almost touching yours.

“I am ok. Getting up… It all turned black for a while.” He stated with an exhale by the end of the phrase – making you notice how much strength Vergil was putting into helping you care for him. “Don’t worry.”

“Oh, love. I’ll always worry and care about you.” You shook your head, a gentle smile playing in your lips as you held one of Vergil’s hands and placed the other on his waist in order to get him in the bathroom.

That something stirred once more inside Vergil’s chest with those words, making his eyes fill with water. Keeping his head low so you wouldn’t notice how they were glistening, Vergil didn’t want you to see how much that seemed to affect him – your care, your attention, your love.

He didn’t have to do everything on his own. He didn’t have to drag his tired body to his salvation all by himself. He didn’t have to muster all his strength to give a few steps just so he could live… No. He could lean on your shoulders and allow himself to have the help he needed to reach care.

With you around, Vergil wasn’t alone anymore. And that was so… Foreign. A kind of foreignness that made his breath shorter and his eyes threaten to show how much his heart was overflowing from your actions – like a hurt creature being touched with kindness for the first time in ages of longing.

If you kept being so kind to him, Vergil soon wouldn’t be able to hold back his tears so expertly.

“Can you take your clothes off or do you need my help?” You helped him sit by the bathtub, his legs still too weak to make Vergil stand tall as he always had.

“Hmmm. I can do it.” He muttered back, watching as you immediately started to run the shower water. Taking off his slippers, Vergil slowly began the process of getting undressed, starting by his shirt. His voice, though, came back in an almost inaudible murmur. “Thank you, y/n.”

You turned around, eying him intently as Vergil kept his head low, dealing with his pants. It looked like he was absorbed by his task at hand, but you knew your blue devil enough to know it wasn’t the case: Vergil hoped to avoid your eyes, probably trying to hide how much it all affected him.

With his hair already falling on his forehead, his silvery gaze was hidden behind his locks, therefore you couldn’t see what was going on in his soul. Vergil always tried to remain serious, with his emotions meticulously under control, rejecting whatever kind of expression that could indicate a vulnerability. You knew he didn’t do it because he tried to look strong, but rather because he was terrified of being vulnerable.

And, that day, Vergil was as vulnerable as he could be.

If any demon decided to attack, it would be on you to take Yamato and slay all of them mercilessly in a matter of seconds, just like your lover used to do. Vergil would have to sit back and hope for the best – and that was extremely alien to him. He wasn’t used to have someone else who would risk anything and everything to keep him safe.

“You don’t need to thank me, Vergil. I’ll do this a thousand times if I have to.” You murmured back, provoking no reaction on him. As Vergil tried to stand up, you approached your lover, holding his hands to offer him somewhere to lean on.

As he got up, towering over you as always, you noticed Vergil kept his head low, hair over his gaze, in order to avert your eyes.

“I will thank you… A thousand times if I have to.” His voice was barely a whisper, making you smile – even though the situation at hand was a little more complicated. Standing by his side again, you wrapped one arm around his waist in case Vergil lost his balance and threatened to fall.

“Let’s see what I can do for today, at least.”

With that, you helped Vergil get under the water – winning an instant glare from him as soon as it touched his skin. You could almost hear all the curses going through his head, letting out a quick giggle as he sighed and accepted his fate. The water must have felt freezing cold, given how hot he was, but Vergil knew it was all for him to feel better – he could never scold you for being so kind to him.

And, as your hands helped him shower and your voice kept talking the most varied of subjects to him, Vergil allowed his eyes to finally overflow the stirring in his chest – mixing with the water pouring on his body, you would never notice how much emotion he had inside for you.

Or, at least, you would pretend not to.

“Do you need any help…?”

“I needed you to stay cozy and quiet where I left you in the couch, my lovely hazelnut.” You turned around, sighing from seeing Vergil practically dragging himself to the kitchen – even if he was almost depleted of energy, he would offer help so not to feel completely useless. His head was strong as a hazelnut: so difficult to break open. “Alas, here you are.”

“Hmmm. I… Can do something.” Vergil’s eyebrows were furrowed, still not completely sold on being cared for without doing nothing. Whenever someone was nice to him, it always came with a price – Vergil most certainly wasn’t used to receive so much without having to give nothing back. And, even if he knew you would never ask anything from him, that only made him want to do something.

Whatever it was. Even if you just asked him to caress your face.

“You don’t need to. The only thing you need to do is rest.” You approached to hold one of his hands, playing with his now cold fingers for a while before walking him to one of the chairs by the kitchen island. “Or better yet, now you need to eat.”

“I…?” Vergil raised one of his brows as he sat down, watching you turn off the stove and place a ceramic bowl in front of him.

“I’ll be joining you. Don’t worry.” You smiled calmly, placing another bowl across the island. Between you two, you finally rested the pan with warm soup.

“Hmmm.” He gave it a long look, not knowing exactly what to make of it. “Is it… Garlic…?”

“Oh, no. Don’t worry, I won’t put you through that sort of torture, love.” You quickly giggled, making Vergil’s expression lighten up – a small smile appearing on his lips. “I wonder if Eva ever resorted to this kind of ancient human medicine.”

“Only when she had to correct our behavior.” He chuckled back, remembering the days he and Dante misbehaved so much – usually getting into so many fights – she used garlic soup as dinner to teach them a lesson. “It was efficient.”

“I can see that. I guess now I have a weapon when you and Dante won’t stop arguing.” As you saw the way Vergil twisted his nose, you laughed, pouring him some soup in his bowl. “This is a simple potato soup. My great grandmother used to do it and my mom made it for me when I was too sick and barely able to eat. I guessed it would be nice for you today.”

Vergil thanked with a gesture from his head, taking the bowl in his hands. He watched as you served yourself, while blowing a spoonful of soup so his tongue wouldn’t burn in the process. Once it touched his lips, Vergil lost his breath for a while.

It tasted like safety.

Precisely the days he ruthlessly left behind, the human part he buried so deep inside his soul – that taste of a long, lost past when he was warm, loved, lively and safe. When he had someone to patch his bloody knees when he fell; when he would be held when his body was too weak to carry him through the day; when he could close his eyes and fall asleep in a warm, cozy place, feeling a gentle stroke on his cheeks and having the knowledge nothing could hurt him.

Those… Emotions. Vergil thought them to be lost, right where he buried his weak self in order to survive. But there they were: warming his chest with tinges of gold, taking away the air from his lungs, trembling the silver spoon in his hands – making his eyes threaten to need another shower.

“Vergil…? Is everything alright…? Does it taste bad…?” He was sitting perfectly still, looking at the bowl with teary eyes, making you wonder. It was fine to you, but maybe his sense of taste was altered enough so he wouldn’t be able to eat properly.

“No. It is…” He took a deep breath, exhaling with a small tremble in his voice. “Perfect. Thank you.”

You never imagined you would hear him thanking you twice in a day. Smiling to yourself, you decided to leave Vergil to his thoughts – and, as always, he was grateful you understood the time he needed to understand his own feelings.

That night, you slept with Vergil’s head laying safe and sound on your chest, calm as the moonlight itself while he listened to his favorite song.

Your heartbeat.

262 notes · View notes

icycoldninja · 3 months

Note

Perhaps writing the DMC men catching the reader singing to herself when she thought that she was alone while hanging clothes out to dry

She’s not exactly shy but she’s not exactly bold either, just somewhere in between but for singing…deadass not wanting to sing anywhere publicly, which results in her awkwardly sitting in a karaoke booth with her frunk friends hyping her up and she’s just “-_-“

So when they said they’ll be out to get groceries or go on a mission, she takes this time to sing to herself:

1/ Dante: Would That I - Hozier

2/ Vergil: Brooklyn Baby - Lana Del Rey

3/ Nero: La Vie En Rose - Edith Paif

4/ V: I’m a fool to want you - Frank Sinatra

Yeah, OK. Here ya go.

Sparda boys + V x Singing!Reader headcannons

¤ Dante ¤

-Dante knew you were pretty closed off in terms of singing, as whenever he took you out for karaoke nights with the rest of the DMC crew, you would just sit in the booth, watching as he and probably Nero screamed their drunken heads off.

-He assured you just couldn't sing or were just too nervous to do it in front of others, and he respected that.

Then he happened to walk out on you singing to yourself while hanging up your laundry.

-"And it's not tonight Where I'm set alight And I blink in sight Of your blinding light Oh, it's not tonight Where you hold me tight Light the fire bright Oh, let it blaze, alright

Oh, but you're good to me Oh, you're good to me Oh, but you're good to me, baby"

-Dante was stunned to hear you could sing like this, and ended up stealthily following you outside when you did your laundry, just to hear you sing.

-At some point he couldn't control himself any longer and decided to sing along with you, nearly giving you a heart attack.

■ Vergil ■

-Vergil was never one to be nosy, so if you choose not to sing around others, then that's your problem, and not his.

-He doesn't make any assumptions or anything about why you choose not to sing in public, because he genuinely doesn't care.

-He can't sing to save his life, but would sooner die than have you know that, so he'll keep his mouth shut.

-At one point he walked outside, where you were hanging up laundry, only to find you belting out some tunes.

-"Well, my boyfriend's in a band He plays guitar while I sing Lou Reed I've got feathers in my hair I get down to Beat poetry And my jazz collection's rare I can play most anything I'm a Brooklyn baby I'm a Brooklyn baby

Ta-da-da-da-da-da-da Ta-da-da-da-da-da-da Pa-ta-da-da-da-da"

-Vergil has to admit, he's impressed. He's not gonna follow you around to hear your singing, but he will leave the window open so he can quietly listen in without fear of getting caught.

□ Nero □

-Nero enjoyed singing himself, though he only ever showcased this ability when Dante dragged him out for a get-together with the others, where he would inevitably drink too much beer and lose his self control.

-He won't pressure you into doing something so potentially embarrassing, so whether you want to sing in front of him or not is entirely up to you.

-He is a little bit curious, however. Do you have a hidden talent that you're too nervous to show, or do you suck really bad?

-He happened to be taking a stroll outside when he caught wind of singing that wasn't coming from a pair of speakers. It was coming from a person, and that person was you, singing Edith Paif.

-"Des nuits d'amour à plus finir Un grand bonheur qui prend sa place Des ennuis, des chagrins s'effacent Heureux, heureux à en mourir"

(Translation from Google: Nights of endless love, a great happiness that takes its place. Troubles, sorrows fade away. Happy, happy to die)

-Nero didn't understand a word of what you were saying, but that didn't matter cause your voice was epic as hell.

● V ●

-V doesn't sing, since his voice isn't exactly made for that, but he would love to hear you sing.

-He is a tad bit disappointed that you don't want to sing, but everyone has their aversions and such, so he let it go.

-He happened to be passing by the open kitchen window, outside of which you were hanging up the laundry, and heard your singing for the first time.

-"I'm a fool to want you I'm a fool to want you To want a love that can't be true A love that's there for others too"

-V was pleasantly surprised that you'd decide to sing outside, doing such a mundane task, and was also quite happy since his wish had finally been granted.

-Since he happened to love the song you were singing, he couldn't help himself and began singing along, startling you with his raspy, mummy-with-a-sore-throat singing.

31 notes · View notes

vetrenar · 2 years

Text

Hell yeah, I’m back! Or, more precisely, we: I and “Promises and requests”, second chapter!

For ones who find it by chance, you can read the first chapter here. So… Jackpot!

No big actions, just a dumbass of uncle and an angrybird of nephew continue their respective adjustment to the situation, during which Nero gets back some of his equipment and Dante fills some white spots on the mental map that his brother and nephew are. Unsurprisingly, some of these discoveries are hard to swallow, but... Well, it's nothing new for the Sparda bloodline.

"I need to go to Fortuna," Nero says.

Dante looks at him over the pages of the magazine. The kid is sitting on the floor, numerous parts of the revolver are laid out on a piece of cloth in front of him like some kind of fancy Lego constructor, badass world edition. This, as Dante already knows, is his favorite way to pass the time. Nero turned out to be more than a decent shooter, but his weapon spends much more time being disassembled than actually working, and when Nero really tries it, he usually takes a shot or two, and then swears and returns to his attempts to create his Masterpiece. Dante would crack a joke about dangers of obsession with perfectionism, but he still remember Nell’s complains about his habits of destroying one gun after another, trying to fire them with inhuman speed. At least the kid has decency and skills to works at his weapon by himself, without dragging other people into the mess.

Yesterday marked a week since Nero crossed the doors of "Devil May Cry" for the first time. It was a strange time for Dante. He too used to live alone; it's just weird to hear someone else's footsteps in the next room, or notice that someone has moved books from place to place, or, stepping into the kitchen in the morning, to find there, in addition to the pizza leftovers from yesterday, half a serving of scrambled eggs left in the pan. Weird but not burdensome. Vergil turned out to be right: Nero is an exceptionally mature and sensible kid. And while his obsession with cleanliness is no match for Patty's, still, in just a couple of days, "Devil May Cry" was completely stripped of many its vital decorations, such as cobwebs in the corners and a mysteriously musty atmosphere. Dante watched these changes with cautious apprehension, but the kid had not yet encroached on his magazines and creative chaos on the table, so the legendary demon hunter allowed him to be.

(He, however, mentally drew a line here, preparing to defend it with his life if necessary. Even inherited OCD must have some borders.)

Otherwise, they gradually began to develop a routine for themselves. Nero cooks, cleans, reads books and reassembles his revolver. Dante sleeps, flips through magazines and orders pizza. For better or worse, he only had a single gig in the past week, and this one was in the dead of night, so he didn't have to worry too much about the Vergil’s ghost haunting him for leaving his son unattended.

Though… When he returned in the early morning, all covered with demonic sludge and gore, Nero was just preparing breakfast. Dante caught his gaze - attentive, appraising, taking in even the smallest details. He expected questions or demands to go on the next hunt together. But in the end, neither followed.

And that was it. In the week Nero spent in the shop, they never really talked. Oh, they spoke, that's for sure - and Dante enjoyed every minute of it, because, having a not-to-bad sense of dry humor, Nero just wasn’t able to accept a joke at his experience - but none of their conversations touched anything deeper than the choice of pizza toppings. Everything else - questions, doubts, inner thoughts and wishes – was up in the air, but never in the words.

It isn't like he doesn't know how to behave with kids in general. After Patty, the official rating of Dante’s child-handling skills was upgraded from "terrible" to "almost satisfactory" (to everyone’s surprise, Dante himself included). He is almost sure that if Nero was some random angsty teenager, they would have found a common ground already. But… The thing is, Nero isn’t a random teenager. He is a family, and family is a monster of a completely different level in Dante’s eyes.

Family always has been something to fight, and grieve, and sting with hurtful words, not talk to. And now, facing a fresh-baked family member, Dante finds himself with no idea on how to proceed farther. Is he supposed to condole the kid? To pretend that everything is fine and give him time to pull himself together? To ask Nero about his childhood (Dante isn’t ashamed to admit to himself that he really, really wants to know what woman made Vergil to lose his pants. Until recently, we was one hundred percent sure that cold-blooded pricks like his brother reproduce by gemmation) or will these questions be too privy?

He doesn’t know. So now, when Nero says something that possibly can be tied with the blank mystery of his past, Dante does the best thing that he can think about: stretches his lips in a lazy smile and gives Nero a friendly, totally unconcerned look:

"’Fortuna’, huh? What is this? Some casino?"

“City.” Nero briefly describes island’s whereabouts and Dante whistles.

"Hah, it's almost half a world from here. Not exactly a morning promenade. What you forgot there, please say?"

"My sword."

This picks Dante’s interest. So far, the only blade he'd seen in the boy's hands had been Yamato, but it was obvious that to Nero, she was more of a token than a weapon to fight. Not like Dante can’t understand him.

"The sword, huh?.. This I like. But couldn't you leave it a little closer?" he waits for an answer in silence and winces a little. "Come on, kid, throw me a bone here. You can't say a half of phrase and leave me hanging in the air!"

Nero frowns, and Dante feels a brief prick in his heart. Somehow, the boy managed to adopt this expression from his father completely, without changing even the slightest detail. However, despite the stern look, Nero still decides to honor him with an answer (what Vergil, if Dante was to bet, would never do):

"We had to leave it there for reparation. The ignition engine broke..."

"Engine? Inside the sword?"

"Yes. It allows to increase the power of the blow..."

What follows is an extremely excited, a little too full of technical details lecture, during which Dante reaches out for a can of beer, opens it and drinks up to half. From time to time, his mind catches individual words like "The Order of the Sword", "demons" and "dislike of firearms" (Undoubtedly, to Vergil's big satisfaction. The damn snob never understood the charms of a good firearm), but the rest flies in one ear and out the other.

At least until the last sentence.

"...and since these hoity-toity purists worship Sparda, they..."

"They WHAT?!" The forgotten can flies to the side, and Dante coughs. Inwardly, he wonders if a half-demon could die choking on beer, but the thought vanishes almost immediately, overwhelmed by more important issues. Outwardly, he probably presented a rather pathetic sight, because Nero looks at him with something akin to concern.

Grunting and somehow gathering himself eventually, Dante stretches out his hands forward:

"... I... okay. Hey, kid. Say it again. They worship demon as a god?"

With a strange expression on his face, Nero nods, and then another lecture follows. This one Dante pays much more attention to.

Finally Nero stops talking, and silence reigns in the room. Not for long, because soon the kid opens his mouth again:

"If everything goes well, then I'll be back in two weeks. It depends on whether there is a suitable ferry..." he pauses, and the fingers of his demonic hand twitch nervously. "Hey, Dante. You can... lend me some money? I don’t have enough for the journey."

(Dante. Nero never called him uncle. Although Dante himself did not find the strength to address his nephew otherwise as "kid".

They really have a long way to go.)

Dante sighs and, deftly kicking the phone into his hand, dials the number.

- Morrison? I'll be away... for a week or maybe two. Don't let Lady blow up the office, okay?..

***

Fortuna turns out to be a strange place that looked as city-sized decorations for some movie about Medieval Ages. Even more impressive is the giant vertical slab in the center of the city, which Nero presented as the sealed Hell Gate. At the sight of this, Dante whistles. Almost immediately, a picture of Vergil comes to his mind, circling around the Gate like a cat around a display case of fish, and he can't help but snicker. Nero turns to look at him with a frown on his face, but doesn't comment. Since their arrival in the city, the kid has been on edge, and it seems that any random breeze can set off an explosion. And while it would certainly be an entertaining sight, Dante decided it would be best to leave him alone.

Dozens of small needles tingle his skin, signifying a demonic presence somewhere on the outskirts of the city. Dante makes a mental note to go there with Nero for some quality family bonding time when the kid will get his sword back.

For now, Nero strides quickly ahead of him with grim determination, barely looking around. Rare passers-by give the two of them condemning looks, but the kid completely ignores them. He only slows down after walking a few blocks. After stories about mechanical swords (and although he remained a firm supporter of the Demon Arms, he couldn’t deny that it sounded cool), Dante expected to see a futuristic factory or at the very least a fantasy smithy, but Nero stops before the small house, so cozy that it would fit straightly into a fairytale. Noticing how Nero looks around uncertainly, Dante silently steps back into the nearest shadow and waves his hand: go. Whatever business the boy had with the inhabitants of this fabulous abode, it would be better not to complicate the situation if it is not necessary.

A melodious voice responds to a knock on the door, and almost immediately a pretty brown-haired woman appears on the threshold. At the sight of Nero, her face instantly brightens.

"Nero!" Wasting no time, she envelops the kid in a warm hug. There is so much genuine warmth in the way she says the name of his nephew that Dante's heart aches with memories and unconcealed jealousy. "Thanks Savior. We were wondering how soon you'd show up." She pulls away, a slight shadow moving across her face. "Kyrie and Credo aren't at home right now. If you wait until tonight..."

"No, no." Nero steps back a little. Dante notices that he holds his demonic arm a little behind himself, not completely hiding it, but as if slightly moving it away from the woman's gaze. "Actually, I've come for the Red Queen. Has she already been repaired? Credo should have left her for me here."

"Red Queen?" thoughtfully, the woman raises her finger to her lips. "Ah, you're talking about your sword... Yes, Credo left it in the garage."

"Good. Can I pick her up?"

"Aren't you staying for dinner?" Genuine disappointment sounds in the woman's voice. "Credo and Kyrie..."

"Yes. I know. Tell them I'm sorry, okay? I'll drop by later."

"...As you say. Just don’t forget: you both are always welcome here. Is Mr. Vergil with you? Give him my best regards."

"...Yeah. Of course."

With these words, Nero follows the woman into the garage next to the house and soon emerges from there with a huge metal case on his back and - unexpectedly - an elegant bouquet in his hand. Without looking back, he leaves. Dante silently emerges from his hiding place in the shadows and, with his hands behind his head, follows him.

Much to his delight, he discovers that Nero is undoubtedly heading towards the source of the demonic presence. Gradually, the houses around them become more and more ramshackle, and the wild vegetation takes more and more place. However, the city still does not end, and Dante decides that it’s a good time to put the end to his vow of silence for today.

"So this is your sword, then?" he looks at the case, which is bigger than Nero by a head. "Looks cool. But can you even handle her? Judging by the size, I’m not sure which one of you will swing whom.”

Not that Dante and the Rebellion at Nero’s age were a better spectacle, but the kid doesn't need to know about it.

"Ha? Don’t be idiot. Of course, I can handle her!" Despite the hasty answer, there is an uncertain note in Nero's voice. And Dante, because that's what annoying uncles do, can't help but go for the hit:

"Yes? And then how did you manage to break her? Poor thing…"

"Ahhh, shut up!" If it wasn't for his burden, the kid probably would have already punch him in the face already. Although Dante got the impression that Nero was more concerned about the safety of the bouquet of flowers than the weight of the case.

For now, deprived of the opportunity to shut up his beloved uncle with a fist, Nero confines himself to throwing lightning at him with a glance.

"This sword was given to me six months ago. It was a training accident. We fought and I revved her too much, and..." he clears his throat with obvious embarrassment. "Well, she had to be left here for repairs and an additional reinforcement"

"Broke the toy on the first day? A way to thank the benefactor."

"At least I got this jerk!.. " Nero trails off abruptly, and in Dante's head, with a dry click, the words "jerk" and "training" come together. It seems that for representatives of at least two generations of Sparda bloodline, this combination could mean only one person.

"...I can't imagine Vergil letting you have a mechanical sword."

(The poor bore must have had a stroke when he saw this marvel of engineering for the first time. And then he probably went off to read a lecture the first knight who came to hand about how much they dishonor the memory of Sparda.)

Nero shrugs.

“It was my birthday. And none of our Demon Arms work with me well. Besides, Credo, who gave me her, has prepared a speech with a list of ten extremely reasoned arguments..."

"Credo, huh?" This is the third time Dante has heard this name and the first time he can understand anything about the identity of this mysterious person. Anyone who could convince Virgil of anything deserved instant admiration in his book, but damn, this guy sounded like a real bore too.

"Yes. He serves in the Order. Kyrie’s brother." Nero's voice changes to unfamiliar, soft tone when he talks about them. "We are childhood friends. Although..." he looks down at his demonic hand and clenches his fist. "Lately, we don't get to see each other often."

They are now on the very outskirts of the city, and only ruined remains of the buildings stand around. Dante can almost hear the demons swarming in the depths of the forest, and he’s tempted to rush headlong there and start kicking asses.

However, Nero goes no further. At one point, he stops and slowly, almost carefully, turns to the nearest remains of the house. These are not much different from the rest: the same pile of time-worn stones and rotten wood. However, when Dante, following Nero, takes a step towards the ruins, he halts in his track. A familiar cold, refreshing aura touches his senses. It is not strong: rather, a little more than an weak echo. But even this echo is enough to make Dante stop and silently watch as Nero, leaving the case lying on the road, goes inside the ruins and kneels down in the middle of it, placing a bouquet on the mossy stone slab.

Several minutes pass in complete silence. With his back turned to him, Dante does not see Nero's face.

He's not sure he wants to see it. He… he is not sure if he ever felt more like outsider.

Finally Nero gets up and returns to the path. His eyes are hidden under strands that have fallen on his face. Bouquet is left inside ruins, and the its bright color contrasts with dirty green-brown of stone and moss. Dante waits for Nero to approach him and then quietly asks:

"What is it?"

"Our house." Nero bends down, picks up the case from the ground, and returns it to his shoulder. “Let’s go. It's time to kick demonic asses."

***

Uncle-nephew bonding time goes well. Of course, demonic bastards are nothing special, but they successfully make up for quality with quantity. Not bad idea, if you ask Dante. Helps to fire up some interest. Chasing his game in the forest thickets, he feels the satisfaction of a professional hunter. Although at some point he is stuck with an existential question: if he is the one who sniffs out prey and the one who kills it, does this make him more of a hunting dog then a hunter?

(Ok, ok. This was terrible. But the devil may have his fan, doesn’t he?)

He finally gets the chance to see Nero in action, and the kid is great, just like Dante expected. His mechanical sword (and Dante would rather eat his tongue than admit it openly, this thing is cooler than some of his Devil Arms. Some. Few.) is still too big and heavy for his age, but the kid handles it with a skill that shows considerable practice. His movements are brash and fearless, and bear little resemblance to his father's mathematic grace. Dante quietly wonders how Vergil allowed such blasphemy to come. Perhaps, Nero's character proved to be an too tough nut to crack even for the twin's snob ego to crack. Firing several shots into the muzzle of demonic scum, Dante cackles: he adores his nephew, and this adoration only intensifies when Dante imagines every aneurysm that the kid caused to his unfortunate dad.

But then the Red Queen gets stuck between the shell plates of one of the demons. With some overload of the engine it could probably be freed, however Nero decides not to risk it. Obviously, psychologic trauma of months of repair is still here. Instead, with a graceful movement, as natural as if he was born with it, the he summons Yamato.

It's good that at this point Dante has already dealt with his share of the demons, because he can take his time standing with his mouth open. And it's not even about the ghostly demonic figure hanging behind the boy. It's about way he moves. It’s still a little off - too jerky, too brash - but that's without a doubt Vergil's fighting style. The same techniques, the same summoned swords, the same impossibly quick slashes that cut through everything in their path, regardless of whether the target is close or far. All the graceful, deadly power that Dante was target of that night on Temen-Ni-Gru, and that he had replayed over and over again in his mind afterward. It's almost surreal to see her here in the middle of the day, in the midst of an almost friendly demon slaying.

Nero, fortunately, does not notice his shock. By the time he cuts the last demonic scum into two neat halves, Dante manages to manages to lift his jaw off the ground. It wouldn’t do good to ruin his ‘cool uncle’ image so quickly.

A short gesture - and Yamato is absorbed by the demonic hand in a blue flash. Nero raises the Red Queen, and they go in search of the next pack of demons. They fight until deep into the evening. The Order of the Sword should be grateful - Dante and Nero cleaned up probably half of their problems. But before Dante has time to approach the nearest knight and demand payment, Nero drags him to the port. Luck is on their side, and they manage to jump on the ferry at the last minute (which almost made the captain's eyes pop out his head. The poor guy is probably not used to people who are able to overcome three meters in one jump).

After everything is discussed and settled they get a small cabin at their disposal. And, after a scarce dinner, Nero cracks.

Sitting on a narrow bunk in their cabin, the kid lowers his head and starts talking. Yamato lies on his lap, and the fingers of the demonic hand fidget with the golden ribbons. Dante listens without interrupting. He already knew some parts of what Nero says. Other parts - suspected. And other parts comes as a complete surprise to him.

Vergil, of course, appeared in Fortuna because of stories about Sparda. Poor dude just couldn’t take a step without chasing after their dad’s shadows. But Fortuna (and, probably, the power of adolescence and suppressed hormones) had more to offer to him than piles of dusty books. In search of information, Vergil met a local librarian. Their acquaintance, started with purely pragmatic considerations at the beginning, gradually became more... intimate, at least for a fleeting period of time before an unavoidable parting. At this point, Nero trails off and, pink as roses, hurries on to the next part of the story. The corner of Dante’s mouth twitches up but he stays silent. It’s not the time and the place and probably even not the right person. The one Dante would love to torment for juicy details isn’t here and he probably never will be.

After the Temen-Ni-Gru fiasco, Vergil did not return to Fortuna immediately. In fact, he wandered around the world for another year before found himself on the island for some reason. And there he met his contact again - and with her, a big news, in form of a white-haired toddler.

At this point, Dante doesn’t manage to restrain himself and snorts. He laments that he would give a lot to see Vergil' face at that moment. Nero squints at him and, after a pause, says in a deadpan tone:

"I remember it even now.”

It takes several minutes for Dante to pull himself together from laughing. Boy, he needed this. Honestly, he would give up on his prized collection of magazines for the chance to just sit here and listen to the stories about his twin being an idiot!

But then Nero continues the story, and there is little room for laughter left in it.

Whatever went through Vergil's head at the sight of his not-quite-ex and mini-him, he stayed in Fortuna. They settled on the outskirts of the city, away from prying eyes. The locals, with the exception of one couple, did not much favor their family, but did not touch them either. The Order of the Sword, on the other hand… at some point they become a little too problematic. However, during the series of completely unrelated events, the Order was engulfed in the inner turmoil, due to which two Sanctuses were replaced and some morals were reestablished. In the end, Vergil’s family was left alone.

(It was Credo who told him about this, Nero added after a pause. Vergil himself did not like to share much about the events of that time)

Their not quite simple, but normal life in Fortuna lasted three years. Then, overnight, everything changed.

Nero doesn't recount these events in details. But Dante doesn't need them. Closing his eyes, he can see it just before him - a house on fire, the screeches of demons, a female figure lying like a broken doll in a pool of blood. The same picture, cruelly replicated fifteen years later after the first. The only difference is that this time only one of the twins witnessed it, while the other was happily spending his time and money in the "Love Planet" treating himself after lucky gigs.

"Foolishness, Dante. Foolishness," a deep, nasal voice whispers to him. "Without power, you can't protect anything."

Force Edge still hangs in his office, in a place of honor behind his chair. Dante didn't let Vergil take it. After all, who would entrust such a powerful weapon to the power-obsessed bastard who has no regards for human life? Who knows what idiotic purpose he will decide to use it for?..

Dante's nails cut into the skin so hard that drops of blood fall on the floorboards. Nero doesn't notice.

"Since that day my arm has changed," he says almost casually and continues the story.

After that, they were constantly on the move. From place to place without staying in any city for more than a couple of months. Fortuna remained the only somewhat stable point on their path. Nero wasn't sure why. Perhaps Vergil never managed to completely leave behind the place that became the home of his family. Perhaps he did not want to deprive Nero of it. In any case, from time to time they continued to visit the city, usually going to friends of Nero's mother. The children of this family - the forementioned Credo and Kyrie - remained few of the constant figures in his life.

Here Nero stops and, after short hesitation, adds:

"Actually, when we met, I was on my way to Fortuna."

Dante raises an eyebrow.

"What, you decided not to heed the words of your dear daddy and go to your beloved uncle?"

"After the description he gave to you?" Nero snorts. "No way! Only a moron would agree to go to ‘a lazy, incompetent, pizza-obsessed idiot who has no idea about self-control, acceptable behavior and responsibility...’"

"Ouch" Dante hopes that, regardless on which plane of the universe Virgil resides, he sneezes like crazy now. Because until Dante raises another hellish dark tower in the middle of the city, he will continue to consider himself the responsible twin, thank you very much. "So we ran into each other purely by chance? Okay, I guess that mission was worth something after all."

"I... tried to look for him. After he... after I was left alone. I looked around the forest…"

"Ah." Dante tries to keep his tone as neutral as possible. "And how? Found anything?"

Without taking his eyes off Yamato, Nero shakes his head.

"Only ashes and dried blood."

"Disappeared, then. Sounds like him. The last time he decided to go AWOL on me, it took him fourteen years, and in the end he sent a little kid instead of himself." Dante rubs his forehead with his palm and squints at the Nero. "Cheep up, kid! You’ll see, in another dozen years he will show up, maybe even with new relative in tow. Do you want a brother or sister?"

Nero snorts.

"Very funny," he grumbles. Dante shrugs.

"Funny or not, this is the truth of life. Well, until he decides to show his sorry hide again, you’re stuck with me. So we have a plenty of time to prepare a suitable greeting for him. Hm… Maybe we can record our duet performing "Hey, asshole!" and put it as melody for my Jukebox?"

Nero freezes. He sits like this for a very long time without taking his eyes off Yamato, and then raises his eyes. Very slowly, his lips curl up a little.

"Make sure that it sill have a violin arrangement."

Dante answers with his most radiant smile. And then, after finally working up his nerve, he reaches out and quickly ruffles the kid's hair.

"Exactly."

Nero snorts again, but his expression is a little more relaxed now. Dante hopes it stays that way.

‘Verge. I don’t know if you will ever be able to forgive me. I don’t know if I will ever be able to forgive myself. I can understand why you decided not to trust me with Nero’s existence until now. I will even understand if one day you really will show in the doors of my shop demanding for your kid and Yamato. Actually, I even hope that you will do that, just to see how the kid drop-kicks you in the face.

But… if… if the grandiose return isn’t really on your schedule right now… Then… Rest, brother. Rest peacefully. I'll look after him. You know, I may be an idiot. But I swear it: there is no chance that I will let the kid down.’

…To be continued.

Some explanations, rambling and headcanons:

1. I. Need. More. POWER! …or, actually, I need to expand my vocabulary. While I finally can read the story I didn’t found among other DMC fanfiction and see my headcanons come to life, it doesn’t quite come out the way I want it to be. From my point of view, it isn’t bad, but... it could be better. Writing in English is hard and too often I feel myself handcuffed – these is so many things I would wanted to say but too often I can’t find THE right word and expression. Damn.

In any case, if you find mistakes/feel that some parts could be phrased better, can you let me know?

Also, your commentaries are the MOTIVATION itself. Thank you for your praises of the first chapter!

2. There were no way that I will leave Nero without Kyrie. They are just too cute together, though Kyrie probably will have even less of screentime here than in DMC5..

3. Yeah, I’m wish only happiness to my favorite characters… That’s why for this fic I added to Vergil’s canonic trauma a new level… Well, he at least he has Nero… had. Well, authors of "hurt-comfort" fics always are kind, especially, you know, to their favorite characters.

4. Canonically, parents of Kyrie and Credo were killed by failed subjects of Ascension ceremony. But here Vergil from the very beginning made sure that this shit won’t go farther, so I can let them live, yeah! I feel that this fic has enough angst already, so there is no point to kill them too.

#dmc fandom #dmc #dmc fanfiction #devil may cry fanfiction #devil may cry #Dante #nero #Vergil #dante sparda #nero sparda #vergil sparda

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imastrangeone98 · 2 years

Text

Into the Unknown - Chapter 2: Complete Strangers

(A/N: guess who's back... back again... with a shitty story not a single person is gonna read~~)

Spoiler warning: nero is a real one, what a nice boi 💙 also, my Dante is very different from canon Dante, and it makes vergil very confusion

"I said, back up, Dante!" Nero shoved the devil hunter away from the girl, keeping an arm extended to keep him from trying to rush her. "She's telling the truth!"

"I ain't trying to do anything!" Dante replied, hands lifted defensively in the air. "I'm just sayin', if she did some weird demon shit to Vergil, I'm gonna slice her head off! Simple as that, see?"

"So you really are Dante?" the girl- Faith, she called herself- stepped closer to him, carefully observing him from head to toe. She was so close that his cheeks started to redden, nose flaring. "How'd you get so old? And what's happened to the office? Why is it so dirty now?"

"Uh, alright, lady- Faith, right?" Nero attempted to distract her from the very frazzled 40-year-old virgin. "So, just to clarify, we need to take you to the middle of bumfuck nowhere to fix this huge mirror that's actually a mystical portal to different worlds?"

"Pretty much, yes." She showed the two men the fragment; if not for the slight golden tinge to the glass, it would have easily been mistaken for a simple mirror shard. "By any chance, did you happen to have anything like this?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it."

Nero recalled the past few days: a mission dead-set in the countryside, with demons swarming an abandoned town- the empty church in particular. After the rubble and demon corpses had been cleared, right on the dusty altar was a shard similar to the one currently in the girl's hand.

"I will look after it," Vergil had said, taking the shard into his palm. "Neither of you have the sufficient knowledge to-"

"So you did find one," Faith mused. She was busy scooping trash off of Dante's desk, even going so far as to wipe it down with a wet cloth. The hunter had the decency to look slightly embarrassed. "It seems we both messed with the pieces a bit carelessly; that's probably how your brother and I switched places." She looked at Nero. "I know of a way to bring him back. But you'll have to trust me. Do you think you're capable of doing so?"

He thought about it for a few seconds; despite the circumstances, his demon instinct told him that she was trustworthy. And he, for one, wasn't someone to ignore his gut.

"Alright," he nodded in agreement. "I believe you. Let's get this shit done, and fast."

Dante rolled his eyes but made no complaint. "...If it'll get my brother back, I don't give a flying damn what happens."

She nodded. "Then it's a deal. Now, would you happen to have some money on you?"

[...]

"Fucking hell!" Dante paced the floor, viciously turning on his heel that it left dents on the wood. "So we really have no choice but to go back there?"

"Back where?" the newly arrived Vergil hissed. "If it will take me back to where I belong, then take me there immediately-!"

"Shut the fuck up," his now significantly younger brother snapped. "You're very lucky I'm not tempted to smack you to hell and back right now!"

Vergil recoiled for a second, mildly surprised at the raw venom in Dante's voice, but recovered just as quickly, his grip on the Yamato tightening. "Such bold words, coming from you, little brother."

"You fucking-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" A sharp gunshot broke through the tension, the two "brothers" snapping their heads towards Lady. "You two fighting about whose dick is bigger isn't gonna help us solve the problem. We need our friend back, you need to go back. Simple, yes?"

Vergil's jaw tightened, but he reluctantly nodded.

"Good. Then it's decided: you're coming with us."

"To where?" he asked.

"To the place where it started," Dante muttered, slinging his sword over his back. "That shitty town. Cael."

"...There exists a town called Kale?"

--------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: I got distracted by life so I couldn't post it sooner but it's doneeee! The next chapter will also probably done in a few days but maybe it'll be earlier if I'm motivated enough (see what I did there?)

#devil may cry #dmc dante #dmc lady #dmc oc #dmc vergil #dmc nero

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dmcfsstory · 3 years

Text

Also available on Ao3: [link]

Full Proofreaded by Hotspot-the-626th(@ deviantart)

Partner Artist: @wikimb

Word count: 14552

Trigger Warning: Violence/Gore description, Depression/PTSD cases

Back to September 13th - Hell

At the most obscure depths of Hell, loud fight noises could be heard. Many lesser demons and even strong demons were trying to hide from the fight range.

Mundus, the former Demon King, who still carried scars from his fight against Dante and Trish, was getting an ass-kicking from an unknown creature. The being had three pairs of wings, a snake-ish body, and two pairs of arms holding two silver swords within one set and a longbow with the other. Its body was covered in snow-white feathers with golden details so finely detailed that it seemed to be hand-draw. It had a female humanoid face, with an owl beak in the middle of the lips, and very long blood-red feathers came from its head, looking like hair. Finally, it had a bone formation over the head that looked like an angel's halo.

The being wasn't having trouble fighting Mundus. It was having fun. It threw him really hard on the ground, making some scars open and showing a bit of Mundus' true form under it.

"What… What are you doing here?" Mundus asked, out of breath and terrified.

The creature took their top left hand to cover their mouth while it was laughing out loud. "Hahaha, isn't it simple? you still own me!"

"No! I-!" Mundus barely could reply before having his face buried into the ground by the creature's hands, which were only half his size.

The smile on the creature's face vanished, and now it was a furious look as if someone clicked a button on its mind.

"Listen here! You piece of shit!" it shouted, "You had one job! ONE FUCKING JOB! And not even with two powerful weapons on your side could you make it work!"

Mundus couldn't respond. His shame for losing to a Sparda ascendant was more significant than his courage to face the white creature.

"This is a two-part deal, remember?! You got the coolest part! Mine was so fucking boring!" It continued to scream at him.

"What… do you want…?" Mundus asked, very ashamed.

The creature gave a very questionable smile and then said, getting closer to Mundus' face, "let's remake our deal…"

??? - ??:??

It was a humid, dark, and cold forest. There was a rain scent in the air. The treetops were dense that the grayish sky above could be barely seen, and just a dim light illuminated a few spots around. Through the dark paths between the tall trees, a loud and desperate crying of a human child could be heard.

Vergil found himself in this odd place. He looked around confused; what happened? Wasn't he just at the Qliphoth base among Dante?

But he felt like the child's crying was calling him; that sound gave him an odd urge to follow it.

In a sprint, he began to run the fastest he could. The more he ran inside the forest, the more the man felt he was being watched by not just one, but countless presences as if he was in the middle of a big city.

Still running, he looked to his sides and behind himself, but he couldn't see anything else aside from the deep darkness within the forest.

That didn't stop him from following the child's crying.

He continued to run the fastest he could, but he started to abnormally get tired quickly. Once he began to lose his breath, the scenery around him began to look different. The trees assumed a distorted shape, the bark turned white with screaming faces carved on them, and the branches looked like arms and legs. There were no leaves anymore. He could now see blood veins connecting the trees, and it was getting dimmer and dimmer. The place was getting hotter and the air heavier.

It was getting difficult for him to breathe properly and his legs burning tired as if he was climbing a mountain. He had to stop to catch a breath, or his body would do so by itself.

When he tried to stop, he nearly stumbled on his feet. The man had to hang his hands on his knees, and he was sweating and breathing heavily.

"Just a quick pause, I need… air," he thought.

*Crack*

The sound of crackling wood came from much closer than the child's cry.

*Crack crack* again.

When he noticed, the trees' arms and legs moved, trying to stretch and reach him out. The faces started to move, and blood began to come out of them. The trees also began to make loud noises as if they were screaming, muffing a bit the child's cry from Vergil's hearing.

He didn't have time to watch that grotesque scene; he had to find the crying child. He didn't catch enough breath, but he started to run all over again.

The heavy and hot air wasn't letting him run at the same efficiency as before. But as he continued on his path, the trees were shaking more aggressively. More blood dripped out of it until he was stepping in large pools of blood, making running much more difficult for him.

The lack of oxygen started to make him dizzy. His vision blurred, not letting him see a white crystal-shaped stone in the ground that he stumbled over.

He fell flat on the blood-soaked ground. His body was weakened, and he could barely move. But even between the screams of the trees, he could still hear the child crying, this time much closer.

With all the strength he had, he directed it to his arms. It was like a heavy stone was over him. He did everything in his power to get up. He eventually started doing so but slowly.

Suddenly, he felt his body being dragged down; he looked back in a hurry to see what it was. Human-shaped forms were coming from below the blood pool. To be precise, the figures were the humans from Redgrave City that the Qliphoth had turned into - empty and dried, dark bloody red carcasses.

He tried to Devil Trigger in a desperate move, but none of his demonic magic responded, and then all of his legs were taken under the blood. He wasn't sinking fast, but very slowly, fuelling his panic.

He didn't have Yamato with himself either, and neither could summon it.

Looking around, in front of him, he could spot many black and white crystal-like formations. He extended his left hand, reaching a white crystal, but it was fragile and shattered the moment he'd put his hands on it.

More of the Qliphoth's victims emerged from the blood, this time coming entirely out of the pool. They walked towards Vergil and began to step on him, making him sink faster.

He tried to fight them, but his body was weak. He had zero strength to even break the thin material of the moving carcasses.

One of the carcasses above the blood raised their feet and straight-up stepped on Vergil's head, sending him ultimately down the blood.

More of the victims started to appear under the blood and began to drag him down faster. He could do nothing except to drown in the freezing cold blood.

When everything seemed to be lost, a child's hand came from above the pool, grabbing Vergil's left hand.

The child easily brought him up.

Once his face met the air, he took a deep breath and regained all his strength.

"You okay, Sir?" the child asked.

Vergil quickly took off the liquid from his eyes. It wasn't blood anymore, just normal cold water.

The first thing he saw was the kid: a little boy, around six years old with peach skin and silver hair like his, as well as sky-blue eyes. He was wearing worn-out clothes, something he probably found in the trash or something.

He concluded that he was in a fountain with a statue that resembled Sparda in the middle after looking around. The water wasn't so deep; it was around his belly as he was in a sitting position. The buildings around were very familiar, a Victorian style of construction, much like how he remembered Fortuna. It was night time; the only illumination was from the lamp posts.

"Sir?" the little boy called Vergil's attention.

Vergil took a better look at the kid; he felt his heart being stung by the boy's eyes. Something about him appeared to be different from all the other kids he had seen through his time. He got mesmerized by the gleam in the kid's eyes, it had so much life in it, but the rest of his body was so messed up and dirty.

The kid looked at him, confused. He was totally lost in what Vergil was doing in that fountain. Why was he staring at him like that?

"Who are you?" the boy asked, snapping Vergil back.

As he got up, he presented himself, "My name's Vergil. And you?"

The kid stepped back as Vergil got out of the fountain; still a bit confused, the kid said low, "Mah… mah name is… Nero."

Vergil took a delay to process the name in his mind.

"Thank you for hel-… Nero?!" he yelled, surprised, looking at the boy.

Nero got a bit scared and stepped further away from Vergil.

Understanding the boy's reaction, Vergil took a breath to calm down. He then kneeled to look at Nero at his eyes' height. He extended his right hand to call him closer and said in a tender voice, "Nero… This may sound sudden… but… I'm your father."

Nero's scared face turned into confusion and skepticism.

"You? My Daddy? That's not funny," He said dryly while he pointed at Vergil with all the sassiness of a legit Sparda.

Vergil didn't expect such a reaction, and he replied a bit embarrassed, "Yes… your biological father… I made you with your mother..."

Nero kept staring at him confused, he didn't want to get closer either. He looked at Vergil as if he was crazy or drunk.

"Nero? Who's him?" another voice, practically the same as Vergil's, came from behind.

Vergil got confused just by the voice, but when he turned back, he got thousand times more confused: There was a man in fancy winter clothes that looked almost like him, just a bit older, with a very short beard and his hair was part silver and part black, brushed backward like Vergil's but just a bit messier. His right eye was blue like his, but his left eye was of a bright caramel color. He also had a freshly cut wound crossing his right cheek, and his face and clothes were all dirty from some sort of a fight.

Vergil could also notice a katana in its scabbard, tied to the man's waist. The guard had an odd moon drawing. The white cord wrapping and handle had black paintings similar to a tiger's stripes. And the pommel had a keychain with a jewel very similar to the Perfect Amulet's golden part Vergil once had.

Vergil had to keep his guard on; that guy probably knew how to sword fight.

"Daddy!" Nero yelled with the purest happiness and ran towards the man.

Vergil got up slowly, staring confused at the man, not understanding what kind of doppelganger shit was happening.

"Hehehe! Hey! My baby!" The man yelled happily.

He got Nero up to his arms, and they hugged very tightly. The man even gave a few kisses on the kid's head, making him giggle happily.

"Who the hell are you?!" Vergil demanded.

The man gave a very suspicious smile at Vergil and responded calmly with a bit of sass in the tone, "Haven't you heard? I'm Nero's dad… but you can call me 'Shooting Star Man.'"

"What the…?" Vergil blurted. "I am Nero's father! Who the hell are you, again?!" he yelled out of patience.

"Are you tho?" Shooting Star Man replied with a mocking smile on the face.

"I don't like him... He's scary," Nero said low, hiding his face on Shooting Star Man's shoulder.

That was like a headshot from a bazooka. Vergil barely interacted with the child and already gave him a bad impression.

"Nero…" Vergil whispered disappointedly.

"Are you really his father?" Shooting Star Man asked.

Vergil answered without thinking twice, "Yes! I am!"

The man started to walk around Vergil's right side slowly, giggling in a mocking tone. Vergil didn't dare engage in combat; the man began to release a very intimidating aura, pretty much like Vergil's but many times more potent. His eyes also turned bright green, and his scleras assumed a four-pointed star shape. He had not just demonic magic, but another Vergil couldn't identify what it was, except that it wasn't demonic at all. He already looked like a formidable opponent just by that.

"So…" the man began, now sounding rather serious. "You seriously call yourself this child's father… when you had ripped off his arm?!"

The man turned so Vergil could see Nero's right arm; he didn't have his arm from the elbow below anymore. The amputated area was all covered with lots of bandages. The child was now crying in pain, shocking Vergil even more than the apparition of a modified clone of himself.

Vergil couldn't speak, only stutter in shock and confusion.

"How could you?!" The man accused while trying to comfort Nero.

"But…" Vergil didn't know what to say to defend himself. "I didn't know he was my son back then!"

"That's no excuse, and you know that." Shooting Star Man retorted but remained composed.

For a few seconds, the only sound in the place was Nero's sobbing and sniffing.

"You knew you had other options to help you in that situation. Why did you choose the Qliphoth one?"

Even with the man threatening Vergil, he couldn't stop looking at Nero. The kid was really in pain about the lost arm, and Vergil never felt so guilty about something he did before.

"Stop…just... give Nero to me...please," Vergil begged.

"Just for power? To fill an empty space inside you?!" Shooting Star Man continued.

"Stop!" Vergil yelled.

"You allowed your fears to blind you! You were looking for something you always had!" The man shouted with confidence

"STOOOOOOP!" Vergil screamed at least and, blinded by rage, he sprinted to attack the man.

He was able to summon Yamato midway, and he swung his sword with all the strength he got when he was aiming precisely at the man's right arm.

At the last second, the man parried the attack with his sword. Vergil didn't even see the movement of his arm to get the weapon.

Shooting Star Man's katana's blade seemed to be made out of diamond. Apparently, blue and golden magic energy was flowing inside of it, resembling a space nebula.

Tsukuyomi

Category: unknown

Type: unknown

User(s): Shooting Star Man

Description: A beautiful sword that shines like the clearest night sky filled with stars and galaxies till where the eye can see.

Vergil didn't have time to admire the opponent's weapon. He was too focused on getting Nero back. The man continued to swing his sword in many attempts to wound Shooting Star Man. Still, he was able to entirely deflect and parry every single attack.

Over the head, to the waist, knees, feet, it didn't matter; Vergil couldn't make a single scratch. And the man was using only one hand to swing his sword, while the other was holding Nero - that was watching everything.

In one last attempt to cut the man in half, Vergil put all his strength in one swing. Unfortunately, he was parried once more, and this time the man threw him and his sword backward, almost making him stay down on his knees.

One thing Vergil only noticed after the last attack was the diamond sword's blade form: the blade was smaller, the length of a dagger by now, the rest disappeared.

As he paid more attention to his surroundings, he could see countless little diamond pieces floating in the air around him.

Shooting Star Man turned to Nero and whispered tenderly, "Don't look at it now, my baby."

Nero gently covered his eyes with his left hand and hid his face on the man's shoulder.

Vergil was out of action. He couldn't channel his magic for what he wanted to use it for - he could only use Yamato as an ordinary sword… if he had it in his hands.

"You have made your choices…" the man said.

"...now let the stars judge you..." he said, pointing the broken sword at Vergil.

Everything happened in a matter of half a second or less. The diamond pieces glowed in bright white light, and faster as lighting, they slashed and pierced Vergil through every part of his body.

He felt like he received his own finishing move - Judgment Cut End - many times but as smaller cuts.

He fell to the ground, bathed in his blood. He didn't have any more part of his skin and clothes in one piece, and his internal organs were like swiss cheese. Luckily, only his head didn't receive such severe damage. And since his brain was intact, he was still conscious.

The Man got slowly closer to him and didn't let Nero watch that horrific scene. The small pieces of the blade quickly returned to the handle and formed the sword again as if it never had shattered.

Vergil's blood began to form a vast pool around him and the same human carcasses from inside the blood from before started to rise, using his blood as material.

There were countless more, probably all the victims from the demonic tree, under and deep down the pool.

"Their blood is your blood now," the man said stoically.

Vergil couldn't move his body, but he could see and listen to what was happening.

"What are you gonna do about that?" The man asked.

When the man's presence got closer, Vergil saw Urizen, and he was now V - wearing Vergil's clothes.

They were both now at the dead and dry place inside Vergil's mind.

Urizen kept staring at V's bleak picture in the bloody ground.

"How long will you insist on this?" Urizen asked, his voice sounded sad instead of the usual confidence.

V could do nothing except stare at the demon. He barely could keep his eyes open.

"All of your ideas only brought pain and sorrow to this place. You know we don't deserve friends… a family…" Urizen said with grief.

-a pause-

"Love…"

Urizen got very close to V and raised his right foot over V's body.

"Enough of your human fantasies," he said slowly...

...And went to step on V with all his strength.

Hell - Next day - Day time… probably…

Vergil woke up in a blast. His heart was racing insanely; his arms and legs were shaking like thin branches in a storm. He was so nervous he had difficulty catching a breath; he was breathing heavily, and his body was stiff.

That dream was so vivid that it looked like it was real.

He didn't even pay attention to what was covering him. He just dragged the supposed blanket over his shoulder, cuddling himself tightly in an attempt to find some comfort and calm down.

Until a robust putrid scent snapped him back to his senses: he was covered by Dante's leather coat.

He may be on alert all time, but something he never stopped to pay attention was his and Dante's scent; his brother hasn't taken a bath in a month… or more. Now him… What was soap like? It's been years since he cleaned himself good enough to call it "bathing."

The smell was twisting his stomach. He had to take in some air, but he noticed a magical barrier when he looked outside. The energy from it seemed to be from Dante, which was also nowhere to be found.

A few minutes later...

Vergil didn't take off Dante's jacket from his back to keep himself warmer. He kept long minutes thinking about that dream: why Nero rejected him like that? The Qliphoth's victims were angry at him… and his… doppelganger? Clone? Shooting Star Man's image and power level were too scary to think about it without losing sanity.

"Hey! You woke up!" Dante's voice came from the other side of the barrier, bringing Vergil's attention back to reality. Surprisingly, he was dragging a dead Riot by the leg with him.

"I brought lunch!" He yelled with a smile, raising his prey's dead body.

Void - next day - 08:37AM - Victor's laboratory

Victor, Kyrie, and Nico took Nero, still unconscious, to Victor's laboratory to examine him better.

The place was located on the city's outskirts, in the middle of the remaining natural forest near the town. The building loosely resembled a Port's shed; made out of concrete, the first floor had a very high ceiling(around ten meters high). The second floor had an average height(nearly three meters high).

The first floor seemed to have come out of an old horror movie about some crazy scientist. The walls were painted dark gray that even with the white LED lights, the place still looked dark - there were only a few small windows at the top of the walls that barely could let some sunlight come in.

A top-notch air conditioning system was keeping the huge place fresh.

There weren't walls to make rooms. It did have countless high shelves and glass cabinets with many demonic samples arranged like a small labyrinth, taking up three-quarters of the place. Many had orbs, stuffed little demons and heads or just a random piece of bigger ones. On the shelves were also bottles that held demon appendages and/or organs in a conventional liquid. There were also countless blocks of papers and books.

Sharing space with the labyrinth, there was a shiny ironed, steampunk-like scientific machinery that created a contrast with the multi-colored demonic things. The equipment didn't look modern aside from the computers and giant screens at the remaining quarter of space left. All that could be used to do experiments with whatever demons it had.

Kyrie was only able to help take Nero to that place thanks to her surprising physical strength. After that, she could only observe Victor and Nico trying to examine and take care of her boyfriend.

For some reason, Victor gave the day off to all his assistants. So he had to take care of Nero alone with Nico only.

Nero was sleeping like a rock, and Victor was very thankful for that. He could use the energy readers on his chest and head to better examine his magic without worrying about some sort of rebellion. Visually, the readers were precisely like a Holter Monitor's electrodes.

Nero's physical health was worrisome as Victor suspected: he was underweight, his ribcage was clearly visible, but fortunately, he wasn't anorexic… yet. It was impressive for Victor how Nero could still fight demons. However, Nico pointed out that his efficiency in battles dropped significantly.

Victor theorized that it was because of his desync problem. It is incredibly stressful on the body. But Nico also thought that Nero's mental state could also be its cause because, since the Orphanage Incident, Nero's behavior changed drastically.

Unfortunately, nothing could be pointed as the real reason until the exams are concluded.

While Victor was waiting for some programs to do their job, he turned at Kyrie using his office chair. He looked at her earnestly and then asked, "Please, be honest… Are you a demon? Or a hybrid?"

Kyrie stared at him, confused and at the same time worried. She honestly didn't know how to answer anymore. The last time she checked, she was human, but she wasn't sure anymore after the previous night's events.

Nico was closer to Victor, who was apprehensive, but she decided to let Kyrie tell the story.

Having noticed Kyrie and Nico's apprehensiveness, Victor asked calmly, "so… you don't know?"

Surprised by the doctor's sharp eyes, she couldn't do much except stare at him with eyes wide open. She knew lying wouldn't help; the only option was to tell the truth. "Yes… I don't know anymore," she said in a confused yet sad tone.

Victor took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. "Well… let's go slower then... -ahem- how did you get your demonic magic?"

Now that question was more challenging than the previous, making Kyrie more nervous. She started to stutter and scratch her head as she looked away, trying to come up with answers. Nico wanted to respond, but she was able to contain herself for now.

"I guess… it was right after I woke up from the coma a few weeks ago..." she responded with a bit of confusion.

Victor's eyes filled with curiosity; a human turning into a hybrid or even a complete demon without dying a short time after was quite rare.

"Why were you in a coma?" he asked.

"Demons… some kind of 'smart demons' attacked the people of the orphanage I used to work… They severely wounded me when I tried to protect the children." she tried to explain.

"What do you mean by 'smart demons'?" Victor asked curiously.

But Nico had to interfere this time, "That was me that called them like that, Uncle. They were very different from anything I ever saw or studied. They worked like a human team would, and they were even willing to make sacrifices for whatever it was their objective or to protect each other…"

Victor was indeed surprised by Nico's statement. Such description about demons wasn't standard, but that was a discussion for another moment; Kyrie was the focus.

"That's really odd, but let's talk about that after this…" he said calmly. "So, they used some magic on you?" he then asked Kyrie.

"No… only their claws and chains," she replied with a bit of unease to remember that event.

She was thoughtful and quiet for a few seconds. Then gently, she took off the feather from Nero's wing off her hairpin, undoing her look. "But… I can feel my magic acting strange, and sometimes it's even a bit painful when I stay away from Nero's magic for too long."

That last statement made some gears start to work on Victor's brain. However, on the other side, Nico was getting nervous knowing how her uncle would react after getting the knowledge about a particular fact.

"Wait… what?" Victor blurted with confusion. "So… your magic has some relation with Nero's? He did something with you magically?" he asked, worried about the incoming answer.

"No…" Kyrie said with a bit of confusion. "Well… aside the Orbs he tried to use on me while I was in a coma."

Victor massaged his nose bridge nervously, raising up his glasses a bit to do so while making some grumbling noises. After that, he said between pauses, but keeping his composure, "Only demons… can use orbs… it was before that then…"

Nico had enough of holding her anxiety. She couldn't wait anymore for the scold she knew she would get. Slowly, she tried to get into the conversation, but speaking very apprehensively, "She… she received blood transfusion.. from...Nero a-after the attack on the or-rphanage, Uncle V-Vic..."

He kept in dead silence for a moment. Nico was already squinting her eyes and clenching her jaw nervously; her body was stiff while she waited for his reaction. Seeing Nico's behavior, Kyrie started to get nervous too. Still, in her case, without knowing why she just felt like something terrible was coming.

If Victor was a computer, a sound of dial-up internet loading could be heard coming from him. He was thoughtful yet scared; he was staring at the void, trying to process that information.

Nico felt Victor's pressure over her soul already without looking face-to-face yet, the man was quiet and immovable.

By only moving his feet, he made his chair turn in Nico's direction. The more he turned, the more the girl was cold, sweating nervously. Victor's reaction wasn't a surprise, she was already waiting for that, but she didn't want to see it.

He was staring at her intensively, looking straight at her eyes.

"Did you let them do a blood transfusion from a hybrid to a vo-void? And blo-blood from a-a Sparda?" He hadn't yelled but spoke in such a severe tone that it made it seem Nico had killed someone.

"Do you know the consequences?" Victor asked, keeping his posture.

Nico moved her head slightly to the sides with a bit of reluctance, denying her uncle's question.

"S-So do I!" He finally yelled; tension and confusion were clearly noticeable in his voice. "Who knows w-w-what can happ-pen as a consequence of a blood tran-transfusion! And from such a strong being! A Sparda's ascendant! They can't e-even breed with a Void! for bein a-a H-Hybrid!"

Kyrie's world stopped during the last lines from the scientist; it was true then? She and Nero can't have their own children because of what they are? Unfortunately, most of what happened during her so short pregnancy was starting to make sense, the pain and uneasy out of time... the miscarriage…

"They can't what?" Nico interrupted Kyrie's desperate thoughts with a blurted question to her uncle.

"You didn't know?" he asked back, a bit confused but not so surprised.

"That's why… we can't have children?" Kyrie said without looking at the doctor; she already had red-ish teary eyes. Her hands were sweating cold as her heart was racing just to remember the painful day of the miscarriage.

"Oh no..." Victor whispered when he saw Kyrie's depressive image. "Have you two already tried?"

"Th-they tried once…" Nico said a bit awkwardly, holding her stuttering.

Victor felt sorry, but he couldn't do much to help Kyrie in that situation, aside from trying to explain why such an unfortunate event happened. "I'm sorry, but that's how nature works… hybrids can only breed with other hybrids. The same goes for 'pures,' they can only breed with other pures. If something happens outside of this rule, it's because it had some interference… like…ritual spells, scientific experiments, etc."

Kyrie didn't respond, just continued to stare at the void. Her face was the perfect description of sadness and despair. As some tears started to form in her eyes, she quickly took them off using the sleeve's end of her jacket. That information was quite hurtful, she and Nero were planning to have a child of their own for nearly a year, and suddenly their dream was shattered into small pieces. They had names planned, bedroom designs, how they would do when Nero had to leave to work, lots of money saved, and so on… but nothing of that mattered anymore.

A freezing chill suddenly rose up on Nico's spine. She remembered her talk with Nero before the incident, making her very worried about the boy more than she already was. Nero was already in a terrible mental state. If he discovers that his suspicion was correct, he definitely will drop dead in despair. That left her in doubt if they really should tell him that after he wakes up.

But what nobody expected was that Nero was listening to all of that final part of the conversation. He just hadn't spoken or moved because of the heavy fatigue over his body and mind.

Nero let go a cracking snort out, loud enough for the others to hear it when they stopped talking. They all turned at him at the same moment, everyone staring with eyes wide open. Nico even jaw dropped scared; she barely thought of the possible incoming problem, and here it was, kicking the door with both feet.

Nero could feel all of his muscles very stiff as he slowly tried to sit up. His body was in total stress because of his unstable magic. It was like he hadn't moved in a month. He couldn't even imagine doing stretches. If he tried so, probably his muscles would break out of their strings. He could snap a joint or two; his neck and shoulders made loud noises as if they actually had broken. During those cracking sounds, he'd let go very tired and annoyed grumbles.

It took a significant delay, for he had noticed the electrodes all over his chest and head. He looked at them with confusion; his face clearly said, "what the fuck is this?" and with zero caution, he took them off, nearly invalidating the apparatus. Loud error beeps came from Victor's computer screens at the same moment. Nico rushed to shut down the program and stop the ear-hurting noises.

Victor couldn't contain his annoyance and blurted out loud, angry words, "What are you doing?! I was doing critical exams on you! Get back in there!"

Nero turned his tired gaze at him, his eyes squinting of so much fatigue. He didn't say a thing, he only slightly moved his right hand up, and with shaking fingers, he raised the middle finger to Victor. He let go a subtle, muffled giggle with a mischievous smile, mocking the man for no reason.

The doctor didn't get offended; instead, he stared at the ill boy with confusion. He wanted to ask him what was wrong, but he knew he wouldn't get an answer. Nero's mind obviously wasn't where it should be right now.

For a brief moment, Nero stood quiet in place, head down, his upper body was -visibly- softly swinging back and front with his own breath. At the same time, his arms were thrown down like a plush doll's and his back arched forwards. He barely could keep his eyes open. They were dry, blood-red, and empty. He honestly looked like he was having a hangover and could throw up or faint again at any moment.

He was indeed in a lethargic mood.

"Nero…?" Kyrie said in a grievous whispering.

Nero began to giggle again in response to Kyrie's call, low and drunk-ish giggling, slightly choking with his own saliva between a few pauses to breathe.

"I had...a dream…" he began to speak in pauses, his voice fading weak. "My dad… was beating… Vergil's ass… hehe..." he finished with a broken smile, without taking his eyes out of the void.

"What?" both Nico and Victor said together.

"Shooting Star Man?" Kyrie let go without thinking twice.

"Yeah…" Nero said with a smile on his mouth, but his eyes were clearly showing sadness.

"Nero… Shooting Star Man was-" before Kyrie could even finish her phrase, Nero quickly interrupted, aiming an angry gaze at her.

"Shooting Star Man was not a dream!" he yelled with a trembling, almost crying, voice. "He exists! And he's my real dad! Not…the fucking… Vergil…" and a tear rolled down on his cheek.

"Foolishness…" he mumbled, returning his eyes to nothingness.

Hell - Daytime apparently - "same moment"

The twins were still at the same place, inside of a made-up cavern on a huge dying root of the Qliphoth. Dante's magical barrier was still up. A simple but very effective spell he learned with Trish, closing the entrance for other demons don't come to annoy them while they eat their lunch.

They weren't talking with each other. They were quietly eating the meat from the demon Dante had hunted down. Each of them had roasted their parts the way they like it using fire magic.

At every bite Dante did, he made a face of total disgust, squinting his entire face as if eating a pure lemon. The meat tasted awful; it was definitely the worst food he ever ate. He was swallowing every bite almost wholly because he couldn't stand the taste.

On the other hand, Vergil was eating like a savage. Using his teeth from his (standard)Devil Trigger form to eat, he looked like he was barely chewing his food and more like swallowing it whole. The man had barely cooked the Riot meat; there was demon blood dripping down his chin and hands. It looked like he hadn't eaten in days, if not weeks. He was almost done with his part his share, while Dante wasn't even at half of his yet.

Dante couldn't believe in his eyes; never in his head passed the idea of his brother, a person so collected and disciplined, to be acting like a wild beast.

Although, he had folded his coat's arms until the elbow and had taken off the gloves to avoid dirty them while he eats. But there was a detail that gained Dante's attention: Vergil's lower arms looked too skinny, very likely how he remembered V's arms. That made him think that his brother wasn't in good physical health, but he wouldn't ask his brother to just simply take his shirt out to confirm that.

He decided to talk about that another moment, having in mind what happened last night.

"How… how can you eat this food like this?" he asked instead, still dumbfounded while staring somewhat scared at Vergil.

Vergil suddenly stopped eating and looked at Dante with a surprised face. His mouth was so full that his cheeks were puffed up, lots of blood around his mouth and dripping down his chin and hands. He had a quick look at Dante's food. He wasn't paying attention to it and was surprised that his brother hadn't eaten, not even half of it.

Dante couldn't help but stare, scared at that odd and savage image of his older brother.

Vergil gave a big swallow to put everything in his mouth down. He then said stoically, looking at the big piece of meat in his hands he was holding by the bone. "You get used to the taste of it… there will be a moment your tongue will start ignoring it," and he took another bite.

That was a bit unexpected, but at the same time, it wasn't. After last night's story, Dante was more aware that Vergil had a though life trying to survive the consequences of his own acts. But still… used to eat raw meat? Vergil was so focused on his demon side like that? Or was it something else?

"I'm starting to envy you, to be honest," Vergil suddenly broke Dante's thoughts.

Dante turned his gaze from his piece of awful food to his older brother. Vergil had left his ordinarily stoic face and was staring emotionless at his piece of meat half-eaten.

The younger brother's silence made it clear he didn't understand what his older brother just said.

"You have friends… a cool job... -a pause- you didn't have to worry about… surviving all the time…" Vergil said with a bit of sadness in his voice. "You had a family by your side…"

Dante takes a moment to realize what he meant by that last line, "You mean Nero?" he asked just to confirm.

"Yes… I envy you for that… I don't think I ever will experience such moments…" Vergil said with grief as he recalled the dream he had earlier.

Such a statement did sting Dante with suspicion. He really didn't like how that sounded. He started to look for words to describe his feelings towards that, but he was too confused to make up something at that moment.

He couldn't speak, only look at random directions as if searching for some inspiration.

Unfortunately, he couldn't think of anything, and they spent the following minutes of their lunch in silence.

After finishing his share, Vergil licked his fingers and hands, not because the food was good, it was just to clean them out before wearing his gloves again. To clean his face from the demon blood, he did very like how a cat would do; by licking the side of his hand and passing thought where he wanted to clean: his cheeks, chin, and mouth.

Meanwhile, Dante couldn't eat all of his shares and just simply tossed, with no difficulty, the leftovers very far to outside their hideout(without vanishing the magical barrier). He cleaned his hands on his coat anyway.

There was dead silence between them once again, that same awkward silence from the previous day.

Dante was finally coming up with something to ask his brother. Still, he was a bit reluctant this time because of how much Vergil scared and worried him talking about his life. He had to find a way to touch the wounds with more caution than before.

He pretended he would start talking a few times, opening his mouth to speak and turning to look at Vergil, but he ended up giving up.

Vergil only stared at him with suspicion and waiting for a conversation to start, but it never came.

Finally, when Dante moved to start a conversation for real, something called the attention of both at the same time:

"Dante…!"

"Vergil…!"

A weak and tired voice of a woman echoed in their heads out of nowhere.

They both stared at each other scared, they didn't need words, only their look exchange told each other that they heard the same thing.

The voice called them again, but this time a bit louder and clearly in a panic:

"Dante! Vergil! I need your help, please…"

They jumped out of their place and stood up. Vergil looked around the area for some demon that was possibly messing up with them, but Dante stared at the void; that voice was somewhat familiar.

"Kyrie?" he asked in the air.

"Nero's girlfriend?" Vergil blurted, remembering that Nero told him her name back when he was V.

"Nero is gonna die… help! Please!" she said in a sobbing and panicking voice.

Void - same day - 09:00 AM - Victor's Laboratory

Among Nico, Victor was trying to put the electrodes back on Nero for the exam to restart. But he didn't want to collaborate. The man was waving his arms towards them to shove them away every time they touched him or just got closer. While he did so, he was groaning like a stubborn child that didn't want to do what the adults were trying to make him do.

Kyrie tried to talk with him many times, but he wasn't listening to her too. He was avoiding eye contact altogether.

They could only put two, out of the eight, electrodes on Nero the moments before he -inexplicably- started to act like that. One in his right temple and the other at the left side of his chest.

Such behavior was quite shocking, especially for Kyrie. Nero was behaving like a sad and scared child. He was curling up in himself, an attempt to look smaller. His arched back let his spine be more visible under the skin of his skinny body, giving him a more decaying image than before. He got his left arm wrapped around his belly and his right arm over his head, trying to hide his face from the others. He was sitting over his left leg, and the right one was bent up for the knee to help hide his face. He was breathing heavily and pacing fast between groans of a supposed crying being held with all of his mental strength left. He was shivering entirely, almost like he was feeling super cold.

Victor took a step closer to the boy with an electrode in hand. Nero could see him through a small opening between his arm and knee.

"Stay away! Stay away!" he begged in a crumbling voice, curling up even more.

Victor said nothing and stepped back cautiously, only to look at the girls and face anxious looks. After all… they saw a loved one in front of them in a terrible mental and physical situation. Kyrie was on the edge of a panicked crying.

Feeling defeated, Victor asked the ill boy, "okay… what do you want for you to cooperate with us?"

Without leaving his fetal position, Nero's breath accelerated a bit, cold and big tears went down his cheeks. "I want… I want my… dad… my dad… the… Shooting Star Man..." and he started sobbing.

Victor let out a long sigh. He shook his head and took off his glasses. He pressed his nose bridge between his eyes and closed them hard, trying to contain himself for not responding to Nero as if he was sane.

Both Kyrie and Nico couldn't move their eyes away from that decaying person they always knew as a tough and prideful man. Such a situation made them think, "he has been hiding those feelings all this time?", "that's how he truly feels inside?" and "why did he never tell us about that?"

Kyrie let a tear escape thinking about it, but she cleared it quickly. She must be strong; otherwise, she wouldn't be able to help Nero.

Victor put his hands on his waist. Sounding a bit impatient, he asked the girls, "Well then… this totally looks like it is a serious PTSD case, is there something I don't know yet? I have a friend that's a renowned therapist. She can help him out too."

The girls exchanged thoughtful looks, thinking about something they could reveal so the doctor can have a better north about what to do next.

Meanwhile, he walked towards a shelf near the computers. Nico accompanied him with her head only and saw him taking off a sedative glass bottle out of an aluminum box.

She gasped silently and walked to him quickly. "Are you sure this is necessary?" she almost whispered, astonished by her uncle's decision.

"Do you know a better option?" he whispered in a nervous yet worried voice. "He's definitely not in the mental state for this, but I need to finish those exams so I can know how to aid him until Vergil and Dante come back."

Nero could hear them talking with his demonic super hearing, and once he heard "Vergil," his heart raced insanely.

Kyrie could hear them too, but not so clear like Nero. She couldn't understand what was going on, but it wasn't good.

Without leaving his position, Nero began to look in front of him for a way to escape: he'd spot his coat in a hanger and his boots under it near some kind of automatic double door. But how would he run away quickly? Victor surely would know how to stop him.

Only if he could touch him, he realized. He then had an idea that would make them all probably mad, but he *had* to get it out of there in his mind.

He heard their steps on the cold concrete floor getting closer. One thing he couldn't see was the syringe in Victor's hands.

He couldn't wait any longer.

In a second, his hair and all of his body hair turned black. Everyone noticed that an instant before the computer began to make very loud emergency warnings, taking the attention off him for his luck.

Sounds of crackling flames called out the others' attention back. They could see a large red flame passing through a small gap in the middle of the exit door for just a few seconds.

Both Nero and his coat and his boots had disappeared; only the electrodes were left in the chair.

"OH SHIT! NO!" Victor yelled, presuming the flames he saw were Nero.

Nico had stopped the machine's loud noises in a hurry, just to finally read the message on the screen that said: "MAGIC SIGNAL LOST."

The living red flames flew through the woods behind the laboratory, going in the direction of the city. After a minute or two, the fire gained a precise shape, and Nero materialized himself out of it, with his coat and boots in hands.

Not only his hair and body hair were with a different color, but his eyes also changed. They went from the typical sky blue to a bright emerald green color.

He was breathing hard and out of energy, his eyes swollen and red, eyebags dark like Vergil's, and his face tired like never before. He couldn't stand up and threw his body over his knees, but his arms faltered, and he kissed the grassy ground.

He cursed in a whisper and slowly got up, squinting his face at every move because of the pain. His body was so weakened, so exhausted, he wished he just could lay there and cease to exist.

At a slow pace, he wore his jacket, zipping it to feel a bit warmer and then wore his boots. Then his hair and eyes' color returned to the usual silver and sky blue, respectively. Thanks to upgrades on his weapons made by Nico, he summoned Devil Queen and Carnage Rose from the van to his hands as if they were Devil Arms.

He heard his name being called by Kyrie far away in the woods, he couldn't let her find him, or she would bring him back to Victor; he opened his spectral wings in a rush and flew away with a single flap.

Kyrie could spot him flying in the sky as soon he got very high. She became much more apprehensive, realizing she would need to take more drastic measures to contain Nero. Unfortunately, she was the only one around that could do that.

She called her staff like Nero called his weapons and activated the flying mode. She rose to the sky very fast, trying to reach the altitude that probably Nero was. That was her first time going so high, but she calmly stabilized.

By wearing a headphone in her left ear- connected to her phone- she could call Victor. "I've found him! But I will have to chase him!" she told the doctor.

Victor instructed in a hurry: "Oh shit! Well… get Nero and stick that thing I gave to you on his skin. Anywhere is good! But give preference to his chest and head. This is a prototype of a remote magic reader! It's not as efficient as those ones I have here, but it will help a lot already!"

"Okay!" she yelled confidently.

She then looked at a small device Victor gave to her, a gray and round button, smaller than the palm of her hand, with a little red LED light in the middle. She put it back in her pocket and accelerated to catch up with Nero; she couldn't waste more time.

Getting closer to the city, she noticed that she was high in the sky as the megacity's tall buildings. The growth was quite remarkable; the vast gray ocean of buildings till the eye can see. The people and the vehicles' noisy sound in the streets and large avenues, the dark line on the horizon due to the heavy pollution created a total contrast with the shining blue sky with fluffy white clouds above.

She wanted to stop and admire such human creation. She thought she would never leave Fortuna and witness that kind of thing, much less that way.

But that wasn't the time for that; she had to find Nero.

The loud sounds from the city were an annoying buzzing in her ears due to her new demonic hearing and the terrible pollution scents in her nose.

She was flying the fastest she could, turning her head to the sides looking for Nero in a hurry, but how would she find him in such a gigantic place?

She had to think, think! She knew Nero better than anyone else… At least she thought she did. The bitter feeling of Nero never having told her about his grieves made her quite sad, but also, on the other hand, she could understand why he did that...

"Got something?" Victor called her in the phone call, giving her a little jumpscare. For a moment, she forgot she was on a call.

"Not yet… he blended with the city…" she said, worried.

She heard some thoughtful hummings coming from the other side of the call for a moment and then Nico's voice from the background.

"Yeah, that may work," she heard Victor talking with Nico.

"You know the feather you must wear?" He now asked her. "Focus on it. It's still connected to Nero. Spectral objects stay magically connected to their creators until it's vanished by them or when they die."

"Okay, I will try that!"

Kyrie stopped in the air and closed her eyes. She laid her hand over the feather in her hair clip for better focusing. She began to use some meditating techniques she knew, giving her complete focus to the feather's emanating energy.

Slowly, she could feel a magic string leaving the feather. The more she focused, the more she could see the line in her mind.

The line grew… and grew… and grew…

Until she saw Nero at the end. His energy was a mess and aggressive, like a vast hurricane moving out of control and ready to destroy everything in its path.

"I think I found him!" She yelled confidently.

"Amazing!" Victor shouted with relief. "Hurry! Every second, his condition gets worse!"

She left her place in a blast, going full speed. Following the energy path, she didn't know she had that sixth sense now.

Swinging between the buildings quickly and precisely, she noticed the enormous windows of them; there was a problem if she flew so close to ordinary humans? Humans may know that demons and devil hunters exist, but it was okay they see a human doing demon magic like that?

She started to have flashbacks back to the orphanage's attack and felt better fly above the city.

The altitude was very frightening. Death was certain if she fell off - as if the previous height wasn't already - she was a bit demon now but not demon enough to survive such fall like Nero would. Still, she kept herself under control, not looking down, only in front.

Nero's energy was starting to descend towards the city's asphalt. He was probably going to land. The closer she was getting to Nero, the more turbulent the signal was getting.

Now she had to follow the signal in the middle of the giant mass of people; only in an intersection of avenues looked like it had more people than Fortuna's population. That gave her goosebumps, but bringing back Nero to safety kept her motivated.

There were dozens of scents and different energies from the large mass, so filtering Nero's magic out of it would need more concentration than before.

Inside Nero (figuratively)

Much like Vergil's mind, the place was nearly dead, dry soil, and a small pool of water in the middle, but the difference was the tree. Nero's tree was frail at the bottom, and it got a bit stronger at the top, making it look like it was upside down. Devil Queen and Carnage Rose were by the side of the tree.

There were three entities there:

N (Nero's human self), a boy visually the same age as Nero with a face similar to V's, long hair like Nero's Devil Trigger itself - but it was part black and part white -, and yellow eyes. He was also wearing the same clothes Nero was in reality.

Hintkurt (Nero's demon self) was a demon visually similar to Urizen but half its size with a rigid scaled body. It had a few extra eyes through its chest and a large one where it would be his forehead. His shoulders had big mouths with sharp teeth each.

Then there was Hintchack (Nero's unknown self), a sleek and snake-ish creature with four arms and four wings, a humanoid owl face with long feathers that resembled hair in his head, and a third eye like Hintkurt. His body was all white with some red paintings so detailed that it looked hand-painted. He wasn't big like his magical partner; he was the same size as a human.

The three of them were fighting against each other, but the two monsters mostly focused on the human. There were countless markings around the place; scorched areas by fire and other magics, big crackings and holes, claw markings, and so on.

Hintchack used his long tail to slap N on his back, sending him a few steps away. The hit was so strong that N couldn't react to get back on his feet, and his face was slammed against the ground.

"You stupid shit! When you'll learn that's a fucked up idea?!" Hintchack shouted harshly, his voice high pitched and cracked.

N, already wounded from previous hits from the bird-snake-ish creature, tried to get a bit of strength to rise up, but he was out of breath already. He was struggling to lift his head up, "What if...I'm right? Stop judging the others -cough cough- by the cover!"

"Are you serious?!" Hintchack shouted furiously. "No jackshit, Vergil can't have a good side! AND HE'S NOT MONSTER! MONSTER IS DEAD!"

Entirely the opposite from the screaming avian, Hintkurt, with his deep demonic voice, spoken calmly, "The parrot is right. Let go of this stupid idea that Nero will have parents. That's illogical. We're all grown-ups! Adults do not even adopt pre-teens, much less other adults!"

"But… what if…" N stuttered, the sadness on his face was evident, but he wasn't going to give up.

Hintkurt let go a long and annoying breath while Hintchak was close to plucking the feathers of his head out of anger.

"'If I beat Nero… I won't lose next time!'" Hintchack mimicked Vergil. "You really think that's how a father would sound? You idiot!"

"He was even going to kill Dante!" Hintkurt added.

"Another scum…" The bird blurted angrily.

"Dante is not bad!" The demon retorted.

"Oh really?! What… 'uncle' hides the truth about your bloodline for five fucking years?! He was willing to keep it secret if I haven't pressured him!"

Hintkurt didn't know how to respond; deep down, he agreed with that point.

"He… must have… a good reason.." N said between exhausted breaths.

"ARGH! Spare me of this family-care bullshit! He didn't want to have official responsibilities!" The avian shouted, flying closer to N.

"Only visiting to have lunch, making calls just to ask for money or pass a demon hunting job!"

"Help with sword fight training, helped create a devil hunting branch… he even sold some devil arms to gave Nero money for the van's fixes… and…" Before the demon could continue, Hintchack attacked him, cutting his chest using his wings' long sharp feathers.

"ENOUGH!" He shouted, pissed.

"What is wrong with you?!" The demon yelled, confused, stepping back.

"We all know Nero won't be able to have a happy family! Can't we all agree it's a lost case?!" Hintchack shouted out loud.

"We… are not… a lost case…" N said, his voice still weak, but he could stand on his feet now. "You are just paranoid!"

"ME?! PARANOID?! HAHAHA!" and he flew towards N, sending him back to the ground using his four hands.

Holding him still, he shouted in his face, "Who keeps crying and killing Nero's image is not me! You! YOU are the big kid here waiting for irrational wishes to come true! GET LOST! Nero will never have a daddy or a mommy!"

"We always knew this…" Hintkurt added. "Since we lost Monster… the last person that…"

"But! Shooting Star Man!" N interrupted.

"That motherfucker isn't real!" The bird yelled, a vein almost popping in his forehead.

"HE IS! He just won't come back!" The demon shouted, quickly taking the bird off of N, holding him by the tail.

"HOW DARE YOU?!" He shouted and again used his feathers to hurt the demon that released him at the same moment because of the pain from the severe wound.

"YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" The demon shouted, very pissed off with the stubbornness of the avian fellow.

They both started to fight using their magics, a fight so aggressive they were beginning to destroy the place again, heavy dust began to rise due to the dry soil.

"Stop! STOP! You're hurting Nero!" N shouted with all his strength left, but the magical beings didn't listen. They continued their fight without caring about him or the place.

The human could do nothing but whimper in grief. He continued to stay down on the ground and put his head between his crossed arms. There's nothing he could do… he needed help, and he knew that.

"Vergil… Dante… help me… please…" he whispered in agony.

But the two creatures could -surprising- hear his praying and stopped the fight almost immediately.

"YOU SAID WHAT?!" They shouted in synchrony, looking at the helpless human on the ground.

Back to reality…

Nero was sitting in the shadow of a small alley, hidden from the noisy and agitated crowd. He was in a fetal position, holding his head in pain. His two magics were fighting inside of him, and he barely could keep them under control. He was being hurt from the inside out. It was like small ghostly daggers were stabbing him. He was bleeding a little through his nose and mouth. In his eyes, the blood was mixing with his tears of agony. His skin, however, was starting to show up signals of a crackling similar to dry soil.

His mind was in complete chaos. At the same time, he wanted to call help...he didn't. He didn't know what to do; he just wanted to stay there, quiet, letting his internal struggle consume him.

But then, Kyrie found him. At first, she just observed him from far away, figuring out what was going on. When she got closer, she soon could feel his two magics fighting.

He was immobile.

She slowly walked to the middle of the alley, stepping softly so as not to make a noise. But her focus on the man was so intense that she didn't see the broken glass on the ground.

The soft cracking noise called Nero's attention, and he immediately looked at her.

Noticing who it was behind his foggy and red-ish vision, he quickly got up, using his leftover strength. When he attempted to sprint, Kyrie called him desperately, "NERO, NO! Please! Don't go! I just want to talk!" almost deafening, Victor was still in the call.

He stopped with her calling, but he didn't turn to look at her.

"Nero… please… tell me what is going on… I just want to help you..." she begged.

"HELP?! There's nothing you can help with!" Hintchack yelled furiously.

"Stay away, it will be better like this…" Hintkurt said with a bit of sadness.

"Kyrie… help…" N then cried in a helpless whisper.

"SHUT UP!" Hintchack yelled at him.

With a weak and sad voice, Nero almost whispered, "Just… leave me… please… I don't want to hurt you again..."

"Hurt me? When have you done that?!" She said quite incredulously.

"Lost memory or something?" Hintchack blurted.

"If you're thinking my coma and the exil-" before she could finish her sentence, Nero turned to her. His expression was an incomprehensible mix of sadness, anger, and pain. His face was all dirty with his own blood and tears.

"OF COURSE THEY'RE MY FAULT!" He shouted, his voice fading and muffled due to the fatigue of so much crying.

"All of the shit that happened to us… to your family… it's all my fault! I...I'm cursed…" he said with an ashamed and defeated voice.

Kyrie made a quick connection to what he was talking about. Fortuna's people never liked him because his demon magic attracted demons to him. People used to call him a "demon-magnet" and bully him as hell because of it.

She took a deep breath before continuing to speak. She didn't want to make the man run away again and slowly, she was trying to get closer, they were meters apart.

"Nero… You're not cursed… you're not like everyone always told you…" She tried with the softest voice she could do.

"How could she never notice?" Hintkurt said low and sad, holding N with one hand to make sure he couldn't say anything.

"Yes… Yes, I am!" he yelled between sobbings. "I honestly always envied you and Credo, you always had a family, had loving parents… you were -sob- respected..."- pause to take a breath - "but… but it was just me get in your life… and everything went down the hill -sniff- your parents died… Cre-Credo…" And he once again began to hold back a desperate crying. He did not want to in front of Kyrie.

"Stop, Nero! You can't blame yourself for that!" she tried to call him a little back to his senses.

"Please… let's go back to Victor so he can help you clear your mind and body… please," she begged.

"ENOUGH OF THIS!" Hintchack screamed with rage.

"HOLD UP! We must not hurt her!" Hintkurt interfered quickly.

"You seriously think I would hurt her, dumbass?!" the bird yelled incredulously.

"I don't trust you." the demon responded harshly.

Nero shut down his eyes and put his hands on his head. He was in panic and pain at the same time. The man began to hurt his scalp with his nails, and the bleeding from his eyes, nose, and mouth started to get worse. He had to cough out the blood from his throat.

Kyrie was panicking, but she was able to keep her composure. Still, when she tried to open her mouth to talk again… an eruption of desperate and panicking human screamings echoed around them.

Kyrie gave a quick look behind her just to see what was going on. Countless people were running in a panicked hurry from something, very likely to be demons.

Unfortunately, when she turned to look back at Nero, he had disappeared. Her heart raced in panic; she had no idea from where he could have gone. Once again, she would have to follow his energy track, but the more she saw people running, she began to feel the presence of other demons. It was hard for a newbie Devil-Magic user to concentrate on Nero's magic with all the nearby monsters' interference.

In a sprint, she ran outside the alley just to meet face to face with a demon, but it wasn't any demon: it was the same wolf-skull head ones from yesterday's morning.

Instinctively, using her right hand, she casts a lightning spell that blew up the demon's wolf-skull helmet, revealing a human mummy-like head that was under it.

The demon fell backward, wholly stunned, while she kneeled, holding her right hand in pain. She could feel her magic pulsing like an insane heartbeat in her hand; she thought her hand would literally explode.

'You idiot! You must use the staff… always!' she told herself madly.

"Kyrie? Kyrie?! What happened?!" Victor asked because of the loud, bomb thunder noise he heard on the other side.

"I'm fine… I just… didn't use my staff.." Kyrie said in a tense voice.

"KYRIE!" Nico yelled, a bit incredulous.

"I know… I know!" Kyrie yelled too, but impatient.

“Thunder Rose”

Category: Human-made

Type: Magic Catalyst

User(s): Kyrie

Description: A magical staff made by Nico. It helps Kyrie learn how to control her recently owned demonic magic and since it’s made of a very resistant material, she can also use it as a blunt weapon.

She got back on her feet quickly, and when she stopped to look at the avenue, she almost lost her breath. Jaw dropped; she couldn't count how many demons were there; they came this time in a massive hoard. They were attacking humans and killing them.

But when she paid attention to one that had already killed its prey, she saw that it wasn't eating the human's flesh. Instead, it was taking it away, running against the direction of the attacking ones.

She couldn't handle them by herself alone. It was too many for her.

"What's with all these people screaming?! Where is Nero?!" Victor yelled, his voice very worried.

"There's a bunch of demons here! And Nero ran away from me…

"What?! You MUST find him!" Victor said almost in a demanding tone.

"Take! Take it! Take to the Sin!" one demon that passed close to her caught her attention.

"The Sin needs flesh!"

"The great Sin will revive!" Many of them were shouting in a demonic language she could understand.

Until one of them yelled, "Dragon! Dragon!"

It called her attention that one wasn't attacking humans. It was utterly ignoring them all.

"Get the Dragon!" others yelled.

Some were strangely blabbing, a similar thing the ones from yesterday were.

Dragon? Could they be talking about Nero?

Those demons certainly could tell the difference between demon-magics better than she, and she decided to follow them. She rose up to way up over the panicking crowd riding her winged staff.

She could observe all of those "dragon-seekers" going into the same point. She accelerated to go ahead of them. The more she advanced, the better she could feel Nero's magic apart from the other demons'.

Not even half a minute of flight, she spotted Nero in the middle of the avenue. He was fighting against the same demons, but his condition wasn't letting him fight like he used to. He had to rely on his spectral arms and gun.

Those demons weren't ordinary; they were using teamwork to get close to Nero.

They were all around him, shooting their arrows with chains close to him, trapping him, but Nero knew the only way to leave was flying IF all of them missed their chains. But Nero didn't have the strength -physical, mental, and magical - to fly away so perfectly, they would get him.

Kyrie quickly dived towards the demon horde; in a swift move, she took her staff from her feet, and the wings rolled together to form a ball shape. With all the strength she got, she slammed the demons using her staff as a giant hammer, killing and stunning a few that were in front of Nero.

The wolf-skull-helm demons even dismantled their formation for a brief moment because they didn't see her getting close.

Nero felt some relief in seeing Kyrie again, but at the same time, he got scared, he wanted to leave as fast as possible, but that was a distant wish by that point.

"Kyrie… you…" he mumbled between painful groanings.

"Quiet!" She yelled, mad at him. "Just focus on getting out of this. We talk about that another moment."

Nero got briefly stunned. Never had Kyrie raised her voice towards him like that. He got quiet and decided to listen to her for now.

His legs weakened, and he kneels on the ground. His magics were starting to fight inside him again. Kyrie didn't think twice when she saw him like that. She slapped Victor's device on his nape in one swift move.

"What the hell?!" Nero yelled, confused.

"Don't even think about taking that off! I dare you!" she threaded him.

"YES!" Victor yelled victorious at the other side of the call. "Those readings aren't perfect but will help a little already!"

The demons got furious with her interference. The ones in front of her raised their body quickly and shot their arrows at her.

She swung her staff and blasted an electric discharge at the arrows, sending them away. More demons started to do the same from different directions right after.

She kept blasting energy to send the arrows away. From behind, her left, right, she was circling around and sometimes even jumping over Nero. The man still was kneeling on the ground, trying to catch a breath while blood was dripping from his eyes, nose, and mouth.

During the middle of that situation, she and the demons took a quick pause to breathe, and she could blurt something: "If only… Dante and Vergil…"

"We… -cough cough- don't need… them," Nero said with his trembling voice.

Kyrie's blood boiled that moment; she couldn't stand Nero's stubbornness anymore. He was passing the limit of irrationality.

"SHUT UP!" she shouted, scaring him and the demons around. "Listen here! You're not in the condition to make decisions yourself! So, stay quiet and listen to what I say! Okay?!"

"Oh wow… that was hot", Hintkurt blurted.

"Is that what you're thinking about in this situation?!" N yelled incredulously at him.

"She's… scaring me…" Hintchack said, hiding his head under his wings.

Nero didn't know what to respond to. He just kept quiet, staring at her, his eyes wide open of both surprise and scare.

"Good!" She yelled, returning her gaze to the demons. She couldn't believe she had to raise her voice at Nero like that. She didn't want to, but that was a matter of life and death. He had to cooperate.

Quickly, all the demons coordinated to shoot their arrows at them at the same time. It didn't have how to avoid that attack if not flying.

Kyrie didn't know an area spell to help in that situation either.

Suddenly, the programs on Victor's computer started to give emergency warnings of "magical signal lost" again.

"What the?!" he yelled. "Kyrie?! What happened?!"

No response.

"Kyrie!" He shouted, but she was stunned in place, staring at the small protective red bubble around her and Nero.

Nero had his arms extended, his hair was black, and his eyes green once again. He quickly cast that shield to protect them, sending the arrows away.

He couldn't stand it much longer and dropped tired to the ground. Then, the protective bubble exploded, sending the demons not so far away from them and stunning them in the process.

"KYRIE!" Both Victor and Nico shouted, trying to call her attention. They made it but almost gave her a heart attack.

"I'm here! I'm here!" She replied, scared.

"What happened to Nero?!" Victor asked, quite worried.

"Did he switch magics?!" Nico asked right after.

"He what?!" Victor blurted, now confused.

"Yes, he did," Kyrie replied. Simultaneously, she quickly kneeled to check on him: he was heavily breathing, sweating like crazy, and, unfortunately, but fortunately, he was unconscious.

Still staring at the monitor, Nico explained, "That's the other thing we came to ask you, Uncle Vic. Nero recently discovered he has a second magic type. I couldn't get readings with any device I had… and apparently, yours can't read it too…? Oh shit…"

Victor stayed silent, trying to process why that other magic of Nero couldn't be read by their devices and why he had another type within him?

He then gave a quick gaze to a specific painting he had on the same computer station wall. Noticing the peculiar look, Nico turned to look at the picture too, but she couldn't understand much: it was an image half white in the top and half black in the bottom. She couldn't clearly see the details because the painting was a bit far and wasn't that big.

Victor returned in silence to his computer and started to do something on his programs. Nico saw that something snapped in his mind, and she would not question him about it now.

"Kyrie! Is Nero okay?" Nico asked instead.

"He… he just dropped... unconscious… urgh," her voice sounding as if she was doing a lot of strength.

"What are you doing?" Nico said, worried with her tone.

Kyrie was trying to take Nero to an alley while the demons were stunned, using her staff's magical wings. She pulled the staff with all her strength while the wings formed a basket shape under Nero.

"Trying to… find a safe place…" she replied, breathing heavily.

The demons were starting to snap back to their consciousness when Kyrie entered an alley and could hide her and Nero between large trash containers.

Nero's magic was dim by now, but the demons could still sense it; they barely woke up and already started to flow his weak signal.

Kyrie fiercely stood nearby the place she left Nero. The demons couldn't enter all at once in the area.

They began to menacingly enter the alley, ambling with their four members. The path was dark, cold, and stinky. Only their shiny orange eyes were visible among the shadowy shape they had in the dark.

That vision sent a chill down Kyrie's spine. Her hands were sweating cold inside her gloves, she wanted to take Nero and run away, but that wouldn't be easy to achieve. She had to fight, fight not just for Nero's safety but also hers.

Unfortunately, that was the first time she didn't have Nero's aid to help her when something went wrong. She was alone, entirely by herself only, giving her the same sensation Nero always had when she was in danger.

She positioned herself ready with her staff. There wasn't space for the scythe blade to swing by. The only option was to use brute force and her smaller electric spells.

"Give… the...DRAGON!" the one front-most yelled and jumped towards her.

She could smack the demon's head against the ground, killing it in one quick swing before it could touch her with its scrawny fingers.

Another one fired its arrow to pierce her body, but she spun her staff really quick and rolled the chain on the top side of it. In a decisive move, she pulled the demon at her, and, using the staff's bottom end, she pierced against the demon's head.

She then sent it away against the other ones in an air kick with all her right leg's strength, breaking its chain. Only one got hit by the flying body and sent out of the alley.

Another two climbed the walls in a sprint and jumped over her. With the staff free, she turned the engine on with her magic and blasted the demons away.

But another one was already in a jump towards her right after and threw her against the ground. She held the creature's hands with her staff, as well as its neck.

She was fighting with everything she got. The demon was trying to push her staff against her throat. But her strength wasn't enough, the demon was slowly winning, and she could see its sadistic smile on its mummy face.

KABOOM

The demon was blasted away in a loud and robust light blast.

Kyrie got blind and deaf for a moment; she could only hear a lousy beep. Her head was inexplicable, spinning and hurting from the light blast.

Victor and Nico had a heart test when they heard the loud blast through the call.

While trying to recover her senses, she used her staff to help get support to get up. A bit dizzy and deaf, the first thing she looked after with her partially white vision was Nero. Fortunately, he was in the same place and position she had left him; she could support his back in one of the big trash containers, but his body was stiff. His arms and legs sometimes jumped with little spasms. He wasn't desyncing yet, but his magic definitely wasn't okay.

Looking outside the alley, some demons were killed, and others were just lying down unconscious. They simply vanished away. The ground was temporarily covered with electrostatic energy, making Kyrie a bit reluctant to move out of the place.

"Hey! Those are no demons for noob'ing around!" a strange young voice came from far outside the alley.

Kyrie tried to see who it was; her vision was almost recovered by now. She could only identify a tall human figure, in a scarlet red coat, white hair with a single hair clump of a different darker color. They were holding a tall and shining Spear, probably a weapon for fighting demons; strangely, she could also feel demonic magic coming from them.

"Get out of here!" the person shouted and ran away.

"NO! Wait!" But the person was already far.

"What's up?!" Nico asked right after.

"There was… another… Devil Hunter, I guess…" she replied with confusion, not so sure of what she saw just now.

"Anyway!" she regained all her senses back again. "I need your help, please! I can't take Nero like this by myself. There's too many demons here too."

"No need to worry, pal! We were already getting out stuff together here!" Nico yelled confidently, but deep in her tone, Kyrie felt her worry.

"Thank you!" She said with a bit of relief.

But that wasn't the moment to relax. The demons were still there. Kyrie used this opening to kill the closest demons and to collect some green and red orbs. It was easy to kill them standing still, just blasting their chest and cutting their heads off with no effort at all.

It took her less than 5 minutes to do so, but for a brief moment, she contemplated how much she changed in such a short time. In the end, she shook her head to regain focus. It wasn't the moment for that.

She quickly absorbed the red orbs around and held onto as many green orbs as she could. In a hurry, she brought them to Nero, who absorbed them in his sleep.

The muscular spasms stopped, but he didn't wake up.

The only thing she could do was wait for Nico.

"Dante… Vergil… Where are you? Nero needs your help…" she begged in her thoughts.

The ground began to shake inexplicably, and the demons that she didn't give the final blow began to wake up. It was time for her to fight again? She barely had caught a breath from the previous fight.

The small earthquakes began to get stronger and paced, like quick steps, giving her a chill down her spine. Flashes of Lightning also started to roar in the sky. That wasn't normal; it surely was some demonic thing.

Suddenly, around fifty meters high, a colossal creature falls down in the avenue corner, a few meters ahead of the alley she was.

The demons that woke up ignored her and ran away, but she heard them yelling, "IT'S THE GREAT SIN!", "THE SIN LIVES!"

So, that was the Sin they were talking about earlier? That boss-looking demon?

The colossal creature got up the faster it could. It was incredibly visually similar to the small demons. It had a wolf skull as a helmet, a skinny body with animal legs and human arms. The few differences were it had a black mist-like tail. The one coming from the head was also covering its torso, neck, and, probably, face ultimately.

A person comes jumping from where the demon came. It was that one that told Kyrie to run away. They were surrounded by electricity, and it went straight to the enormous beast, pointing the spear at its chest.

But the beast dodge rolled to the side, and the hunter carved the spear in the ground. But the electricity exploded and got the arms of the best.

The enormous creature howled in pain. An instant after, it tried to swing its claws towards the hunter, who easily avoided it by jumping away using an energy blast.

"Leave me be, you monster!" The creature shouted, not in demon language; it was in human language.

"Me?! The monster?! Look who's talking!" The hunter replied angrily but with a sassy tone under it.

The creature suddenly stopped; his eyes totally showed surprise, and it looked straight at Kyrie.

Witnessing that tremendous stare, Kyrie froze in a cold sweat; her hands got stiff in her staff.

"Dragon? The Dragon?!" The monster said low and surprised.

That was it. Kyrie was dead now. No way she could face that thing. Nero could, but not in the state he was. Her arms and legs got weak of so much scare, and she kneed in despair, but she could feel her inner magic starting to storm inside her like a defense response.

"Dante… Vergil…" she whispered in panic, tears forming in her eyes.

"Wait… THE dragon is here?" the hunter whispered astonishedly, looking at Kyrie too.

"Dante! Vergil! I need your help, please…" she yelled in her thoughts.

"Nero is gonna die… help! Please!" She closed her eyes and held on tight to the staff while the monster was getting up. It had its eyes on her.

Time stopped.

The only thing that she had in mind now was Dante and an assumption of how Vergil would be. They were twins, right? And they should be together in Hell by now.

"Kyrie?!" She heard Dante's voice in her head.

"Nero's girlfriend?" she heard another voice, an unfamiliar voice, but she assumed to be Vergil's.

She thought it was her imagination for a moment, but she could feel her magic inside her acting quite differently. The wish to have the twins there was provoking something on it.

"PLEASE! I need you two here! Nero is sick and can't fight! There's a huge demon looking for him!" she thought in an instant.

"How?! We are here, and you are there!" Dante said, worried.

"Can we trust this voice?" Vergil said quite distrustfully.

"Yes, man! I know this energy! It's definitely Kyrie!"

All that happened in a fraction of a second.

An inexplicable feeling dominated Kyrie that moment; her magic was acting differently like never before. A new instinct awakened in her. She assumed a fierce and intimidating expression.

She strongly hit the ground with her staff's end, carving on it, scaring the giant demon and the hunter.

She embraced that new feeling and let her magic follow it; she could feel it growing stronger inside her. Still, it wasn't out of control. All that seemed quite natural already.

She began to charge the staff at its limits. It looked like the metal plates from the gear would fly away. A large jolt of energy blew up out of it and formed the pink spectral wings.

The staff would be able to hold all the magic she was channeling. She made the terrible decision to conduct her magic by herself.

That was a deadly move.

Barely a second after summoning, the wings disappeared from the staff and quickly reappeared in her back, but this time double in size. Both of her eyes were glowing white, and the sclera turned black. The small white hair clump she had in her fringe hair quickly grew out to have more strands.

The demon began to step back, afraid of what was coming. But the hunter didn't move out of his place.

"DANTE! VERGIL! HEAR ME OUT! FOLLOW MY VOICE!" she shouted in her thoughts while she began to scream out loud due to the heavy magic channeling.

At the end of her wings, two large demonic magical circles formed an azure blue and a crimson red.

"Fuck! She's summoning something!" The hunter yelled.

"DANTE AND VERGIL! I SUMMON YOU!" she shouted with all her lungs' strength.

Vast flames from their respective circle's colors began to blast out from them, and human shapes started to form.

Dante then jumped out of the red circle, and Vergil jumped out of the blue one.

Kyrie's wings immediately dissipated, and the staff did an emergency stop. She had to kneel on the ground; she had never been so tired before. She had to take many deep breaths, she was sweating profusely, and she looked like her heart would jump out of her mouth.

"WE ARE BACK, BITCHES!" Dante shouted as soon as he stepped on the ground.

But Vergil quickly noticed a problem with them, which shocked him for a brief moment.

To be continued...

#forgotten sins story #devil may cry #devil may cry 5 #dmc5 vergil #vergil #dante #dmc5 dante #dmc5 nero #original character #dmc5 kyrie #nero

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