DEVIL'S RELEASE

Chapter One

Nero wasn't sure if it was the nightmare he'd been having, or the cry of pain he'd heard that had awoken him at this hour, only realizing it was himself who'd been screaming because of how raw his throat felt. The rest of the house was silent except for the harsh sounds of the demon hunter struggling to catch his breath, clutching his Devil Bringer to his chest as the limb emitted a soft glow. Nero could feel the power of the Yamato tingling inside of his arm and frowned. The light faded quickly enough though, as if it had never been there in the first place. The teenager wrinkled his brow, shaking it off as nothing more than a reaction to his bad dream, which had been frightening enough to rouse him from a deep slumber at three am.

The boy shook his head, sighing softly as he twisted his body in the bed and let his feet touch down against the cool wooden floor. He winced as the floor issued a loud creak in protest as he climbed from his bed, hoping he hadn't woken Kyrie sleeping in the next room. "Kyrie..." Nero frowned, thinking of the copper-haired young woman currently slumbering on the other side of his bedroom wall. For a short while the two of them had been nearly inseparable, practically glued at the hip after the entire Sanctus ordeal, but lately they seemed to be drifting further and further apart, and now Kyrie had moved back into her own bedroom. Nero could only assume it had something to do with the fact that in another few weeks it would be the one year anniversary of Credo's death. The devil hunter just shook his head again and headed into the kitchen, suddenly feeling dehydrated.

Nero dragged himself over to the kitchen sink, splashing his face with the icy water from the tap as he tried to clear his head. Glancing towards Kyrie's closed bedroom door, Nero had to wonder if maybe he should just come right out and confront her about their recent relationship troubles. He honestly hadn't thought much about it until the previous day when he'd told her he loved her on his way out of the door and she had only smiled sadly in response. 'If that's not a red flag then I don't know what is...' he sighed, letting the freezing water fill his cupped hands and taking a sip. Nero frowned as he tried to avoid looking at Kyrie's door again and wandered back into his bedroom, perching on the edge of his bed.

Feeling a bit more awake now and not wanting to dwell on his romantic troubles, the platinum haired teen instead turned his attention to why he was even awake in the first place. "I'm gettin' a bit old for nightmares..." he snorted, shaking his head lightly. Nero pursed his lips, flexing his Devil Bringer's fingers in the dim moonlight streaming in through his bedroom window. This was at least the tenth time just in the past month that he'd woken up from some nightmare he couldn't quite remember. The little details he could recall were always the same though, he was in an unfamiliar place, it was dark and hot, and he was certain that something was there in his dream, moving in for the kill, but he could never remember much of anything else when he would wake up. Nero wondered if it had something to do with his use of his Devil Trigger as he eyed his demonic arm, which he'd been using more than usual lately to deal with the larger demons he was encountering during his clean up of the city and the surrounding area.

Trying to shake off the thoughts, Nero stretched back out on his mattress, yanking the covers up over himself as he tried to shake off the night's troubles. Eventually he drifted off once more, thankfully being spared the horrors of his dreams for the rest of the night. The smell of breakfast was the first thing Nero noticed as he cracked his eyes open in the morning light, stifling a yawn as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. The teen rolled out of the bed, not bothering to tug on a shirt as he lumbered to the kitchen in search of his morning meal. Kyrie was standing in front of the stove, placing the last of the bacon she was frying onto a plate next to her. Nero stepped up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist, placing a light kiss on her cheek. "Mornin'," he said sleepily, trying to mask how tired he was from his lack of sleep. Kyrie just gave him a thin, tired smile, and moved the plate to the table with the rest of the food. Feeling as if he'd done something wrong, Nero backed off and took his seat.

After several minutes of relative silence during their meal, Nero tried for the third time that morning to start a conversation. "I had that dream again... but I still can't remember much of it, and Yamato was itching to come out again," he said, earning a weary glance from Kyrie.

"...Maybe you should try and find a book about it in the Order's library," she suggested, frowning a bit. Nero returned the frown; he wasn't a big fan of reading, and certainly not of the Order of the Sword, or what was left of it. Despite saving their asses, everyone in Fortuna still seemed to avoid Nero as if he was diseased. Instead of protesting, Nero caught the tired tone in her voice and just nodded.

"Alright, I'll do that later today," he agreed, giving up on their conversation for the rest of the meal.

It was long after the sun had set that a weary and rather pissed off Nero dragged himself back home, grumbling as he shut the door behind him and flopped down on the couch. "What a waste of time," he growled, crossing his arms over his chest. Nero had spent hours scouring over any and every book he could find about dreams, nightmares, demons that had effects on them, devil triggering, and everything in between. He didn't find any answers though, other than that whatever was in his dream must have been important to keep recurring the way it did; like he needed a book to tell him that. What bothered Nero the most was that when he was dreaming, the place felt so real, like a memory rather than something his subconscious made up in his sleep. He just wished he could remember more, the most important details always slipping away just before he could realize what they were. Giving up for the night, Nero sighed and trudged into his bedroom, hoping tonight would be more restful than the previous one.

Nero was beginning to think his luck had changed, and that the nightmares were gone for good as more than a week passed and he continued to enjoy peaceful nights without the all too familiar dream intruding on his slumber, even with his regular use of Yamato. It was around two thirty in the morning on one such night that Nero found himself walking down the same dark, twisted corridor, jets of black flame flicking out past him as he continued to wander. The place seemed so much more real this time and Nero could clearly feel the slight rumbling of the floor beneath his feet as something approached him. Up ahead he spotted three glowing orbs near the top of a dark mass, though he couldn't quite make out what it was. All Nero knew was that whatever it was, he felt the urge to attack it, and before he had time to think, his body was sprinting towards the unknown creature.

The devil hunter was amazed to find that instead of Red Queen, it was Yamato that was clutched in his hands, and that even what he could see of his clothes seemed different. However, Nero didn't have time to dwell on these new revelations as a woman with blond hair suddenly appeared in front of him, her back facing towards him. Something constricted in his chest as the woman slowly turned to face him, and just as Nero was about to get a good look at her face, blinding pain exploded through his body. Nero felt his arm reaching for the woman before him, almost desperately as he lost his footing and the world turned black. "Mother..." he choked out, feeling something within him shatter before losing consciousness completely.

The next thing Nero knew he was opening his eyes to find himself alone in his bed, clutching his chest as he remembered the wounds from his dream. The teen tore out of his room and threw himself into the bathroom, losing the previous night's dinner in the toilet as he collapsed on the floor. It had all seemed so real, so horrible, and Nero swore he could still feel the pain in his chest, though he couldn't see any marks. After his stomach had finally finished emptying itself and he felt like he could walk once more, he stood up and rinsed his mouth out, grimacing at the pale coloring in his face. Nero dragged himself out of the bathroom, wanting to talk to Kyrie about the new additions to his nightmare.

"Kyrie?" he called out, knocking on her bedroom door and finding it empty. Nero was a bit worried when she didn't answer him, and when he found her on her way out of the door, bags in hand, Nero forgot all about the dream and could only utter one word in his shocked state. "Why?"

Kyrie turned to him, tears leaking down her cheeks as she shook her head. "I can't do this anymore... I can't stand the sight of you, it hurts every time I think of him, and you... you did it," she choked out, tears escaping more freely now. Nero reached out to her, but Kyrie stepped back away from him, shaking her head. "You killed him Nero... I can't... I hate you for it," she sniffled and turned away, running with her bags in hand from the home they had shared together for so long, leaving him completely and utterly alone.

A/N: Slowly going back and trying to edit these chapters so they're a bit easier to read, lol.