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Chapter 2

Nero stared at them wide-eyed, unable to believe what he'd just witnessed.

"What…what are you…" He didn't understand anything. That was just beyond any possibility.

Kyrie paled, her lips parting but unable to form any excuse. "Nero, it's not-" She mumbled but Dante stopped her.

"Oh, really? I can't see what to mistake here." He pulled her closer. "Don't tell me you weren't enjoying this cause I've heard your little whimpers when you glued to me."

"Don't touch her!" Nero made a step towards them, clenching his fists. The sight of Dante so close to Kyrie was making him sick. Was that real?? Was there something between them? Were they really doing that behind his back? His breathing became strangled, his chest heaving up and down as a feeling of betrayal began to cloud over his senses. No. Dante let go of the girl and turned towards him, smirking slightly as she covered her red face with her hands and ran out of the room.

"What's wrong, kid?" He chuckled. "Afraid we might go on with our little par"- he didn't finish as Nero dashed at him and knocked him off his feet.

"You son of a bitch!" Nero yelled as he straddled the hunter and began punching him into the carpet. Missing a couple of hits, Dante chuckled and threw him off without any significant effort as if he was only letting the kid get to him for starters. Springing to his feet he moved to the side just in time for Nero to fly past him and added a tangible kick to his rear to induce an additional acceleration. Painfully reminded of their last fight in the Fortuna castle, Nero crashed into the wall and cursed before pushing himself off and turning around. "You gonna pay for that, old man." He breathed out, slowly raising his devil bringer that was glowing brightly.

"Relax, kid." Dante chuckled, obviously enjoying his reaction but at the same time seemingly looking for buttons to intensify Nero's fume. "There is always room for two. Your prude seems to be well endowed for that."

"Shut up!" Nero spat and shot out his bringer, hooking the hunter and jerking back. "Don't you dare talk about her like that!" He brought down another series of blows most of which were parried and saw stars when Dante elbowed him in the face, making him stagger and step back. He shook his head, clearing his vision, and saw that the older man was laughing.

"Easy, Nero." Dante mocked him. "Do you really wanna fight? Who's gonna take care of your little girlfriend if you get into a coma?" Nero growled and leaped at him but Dante caught him in a headlock. "Oh, so you're asking me? I'm honored." With that he grabbed Nero by the coat and threw him across the room.

The boy crashed into a coffee table, barely putting his bringer in the way to protect his face from the broken glass. Pain shot through his shoulders and he felt something stir inside him. Damn it, he cursed as he tried to raise himself up. What the hell had gotten into the old man? Why was he doing that? He had thought that maybe they could become friends after clearing the city. It looked like he'd been sadly mistaken.

"Don't you come anywhere near her." He growled as he slowly faced the hunter again. His eyes were flaring with surreal light as they switched between blue and red. The air around him began sparkling with demonic power and he triggered, the burst of energy followed by the appearance of Yamato in his bringer. "Or I swear I'll...Ah!" Suddenly the weapon disappeared and the boy fell on his knees, clutching his head.

Dante dropped his demeanor at once, worry flickering across his face.

"Kid, you all right?" In a second he was at his side, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Nero pushed him away and tried to get up but cried out as another dart of pain made him see dark. "Just… go away." He breathed out, holding his head.

"Fine." Dante didn't sound convinced but decided not to push it too far. "I've got what I came here for anyway." He muttered and headed towards the door. Bastard. Nero clenched his teeth and tried to collect the remaining energy to trigger again but the only thing he got was an echo of another flash of pain. So he just stayed on the floor, cringing like a beaten animal, tears of hate and bitterness welling into his eyes.

***

The door to Devil May Cry opened and closed.

"This better be right. I feel like shit." Dante said as he shrugged off his coat. Lady and Trish, both leaning against his desk, watched him as he hung it on the rack and settled on the sofa.

"Did he trigger?" Trish asked. He nodded. "What did you do?" He remembered the way Kyrie had responded to his kiss – he'd almost had to tear her away in the end - and gulped. The girl was one of a kind.

"You don't wanna know. And… How many more times should I provoke him? I mean, I can't keep someone wrought-up all the time."

"Oh, you're underestimating your abilities in pissing people off." Lady huffed.

"That's another thing." He objected. "You guys take it all too close to heart. But doing this with a straight face is not really my bag. More like…" He paused, as the thought wasn't welcome. "…Vergil's. Which reminds me – how long will it take for Nero to get rid of it?"

"The guy said about two or three days. The energy output would weaken the influence of demonic power on him. There is a strong probability that his devil bringer would be gone, too."

Dante remembered the person that had warned them about the upcoming increase in demonic activity. It's affection on Nero could be fatal if they didn't take measures immediately. The guy looked really weird though. Dante assumed that it was normal for geeks like him – those, who were into demons, angels, ghosts, Tarot and so on. He also reminded him of someone. But he couldn't say who.

"Shouldn't that be another way around?" He wondered. "The more often he uses it, the stronger it becomes?"

"In his case, no." Trish reassured him. "The demon is not able to accumulate enough power to overcome him, that's why it would eventually drain itself out."

"The bringer bothers me though. Would he really want to go on without it, if he had a choice now?"

"His life or the devil arm?" She arched her brow. He sighed. "Yamato slowly kills him. But at the same time he can't do without it. You should have never given it to him, Dante." The hunter looked away. "He became something close to an addict, the power of Yamato dissolving itself in his demonic arm and flooding his whole organism, enhancing and overwhelming it. Without this devil arm he is now nothing. And in exchange for power the weapon rapidly wears him out."

"That's what life is all about - showering you with goods just to deliver an enormous bill in the end." Dante grunted. Lady chuckled.

"We warned you about Love Planet." She exchanged amused glances with Trish. "Their advertising actions are bull. Three shows for twenty-"

"Enough!" He raised his hand to shut her up. "I'm talking about the kid right now. So what do we do now?"

"I don't know."

The phone rang and Lady took the receiver. After a few yeses and okays she hung up.

"Here is the answer. Don't do anything until morning."

"I think I'll check on him later anyway." Dante scratched his chin thoughtfully. "He didn't look well." And that was an understatement.

***

The man on the other end of the line put down the phone as well and rolled away from the desk on his swivel chair, moving towards the window. He looked out on the darkened sky above and smiled, a dreamy expression on his broad and big-nosed face. Still smiling, he rolled back towards the desk and opened the upper drawer, producing a small photo frame with two people on it. The first one was him, and the second one had a monocle and brown hair.

"I may not complete your research, Agnus, but I will see that the judgment is brought upon the heads of those accursed people. Your death will be avenged."