Hey everyone, I'm back with another Devil May Cry fanfiction. This one is a short story, a somewhat spin-off from a few of the chapters in "A Day in the Life of Dante", in which I had Patty being trained as a devil hunter. However, if you haven't read my word-prompt series, there's no pressure for you do so. It would make it somewhat less confusing (particularly if you read the chapter titled, "Lessons"), but beyond that, it's not necessary.

Patty is 15 in this, to avoid any potential confusion.

In this short story (which will probably be a maximum of five chapters when I'm done) Nero and Patty are left to look after the Devil May Cry agency for three days, while Dante, Lady and Trish go on a short vacation.

When a bunch of people-none of them connected in any way-start disappearing all over the city, it's up to the young part devil and hunter-in-training to figure out what's going on. This chapter is somewhat short, but I still hope it's to your liking. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Devil May Cry, or the characters. They are the property of Capcom. This fanfiction is non-profit, and purely for entertainment.

Chapter 1: What's the Worst That Could Happen?

"Are you sure you guys can handle this?" Dante gazed evenly at Nero, his ice blue eyes flicking to the blonde teenager standing next to him before returning to the younger hunter's face.

Nero rolled his sapphire eyes, Patty letting out an exasperated groan at the same time. This caused the elder devil hunter to chuckle, a lopsided grin settling across his lips.

"For the millionth time Dante," Patty replied with a huff, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "We'll be fine! You're only going away for three days; what's the worst that could happen?"

Dante shrugged, grinning in wry amusement as Nero cast a worried glance in the girl's direction. "Don't say that," the part devil admonished mildly, "every time someone says that, the worst does happen."

"And in our line of work," Lady came forward then, the female hunter just having completed inspecting her weapons for the journey ahead. "The worst usually results in copious amounts of property damage." She shifted her stance, adjusting the missile launcher on her back so that it settled more comfortably between her shoulder blades, her ammo belt clacking softly as she did so.

"Yeah, try to avoid that while we're gone." Dante half pleaded, looking meaningfully at the younger hunter. "I just settled the last of my debts, thank you. I'd prefer it if I didn't come back to find out you've racked up more of 'em for me."

"Nero isn't like you, Dante." Trish came to stand next to the half devil, Ombra resting over her left shoulder, her lips pulling back into a playful smile. "He doesn't destroy half of the city while exterminating demons."

Dante scoffed at this, Nero flushing crimson as the half devil declared, "Oh, really? Clearly you didn't see the wreckage after the Saviour battle."

"That was one time," Nero protested, grinning sheepishly as he threw his arms wide. "I haven't done damage like that since."

"Well, see that you don't." Dante stated, his lips twitching into a faint smirk. "We're counting on you, kid."

"What am I, chopped liver?" Patty glared at Dante with her bright blue eyes, her mouth twisting into an all-too-familiar pout.

Dante chuckled softly at this, and ruffled the teenaged girl's hair affectionately. This only served to deepen the scowl on her face further, the half devil no longer able to maintain his composure as he began to laugh openly. It was difficult to take her seriously, when she so reminded him of the little girl she had once been, her face contorting into the same haughty glare that she'd had even back then.

"Of course you aren't, Patty." Dante declared with a smile, patting her on the shoulder. His smile quickly faded, the skin around his eyes becoming tight as he gave the adolescent a significant look.

"Remember, Nero is in charge. If anything happens, follow his lead, got it? You're still in training." He squeezed her shoulder.

If anything happens to you while I'm gone, I'll never forgive myself.

Patty reached up with her own hand and rested it on his, giving Dante a curt nod of understanding, her own expression as grave as the half devil's.

"Hey, it's going to be fine, old man." Nero's voice brought the elder hunter's gaze away from Patty, the younger hunter smiling reassuringly. "We'll be fine." He emphasized, knowing full well that Dante's concern went far beyond that of property damage.

"Come on, Dante." Trish urged. Her blue-green eyes were alight with understanding, as she trailed her fingers lightly over his shoulder. "Nero is more than capable of taking care of the shop while we're gone, and Patty has gotten a lot better over the past few months."

Dante grunted. He knew the demoness was right; the kid never had let him down before. If things got too tough for Patty, Nero would be right there beside her to lighten the load.

Nero grinned at the elder hunter, and grabbed him by the shoulders, spinning him around so that he was facing away from the part devil. "See? Trish trusts us." he said jokingly, pushing the half devil toward the doors of the Devil May Cry. "Don't you have somewhere else to be, old man? Like on vacation?"

Dante glanced over his shoulder at the younger man, narrowing his eyes suspiciously, though he offered no resistance as Nero continued steering him out of the double doors.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to get rid of me." He allowed mock hurt to seep into his words, his lips twitching with the effort to remain straight-faced.

It was obvious that Nero could see right through his little ploy, the younger man giving him one final shove out onto the front steps of the building. Dante stumbled to a halt, his arms shooting outward to compensate for his forward momentum, lest he fall flat on his face. If that happened, there would be no end to the ribbing he'd receive from the others, and that was the last thing he needed. They still hadn't let him forget about the incident a few weeks prior, when he'd turned his head to stare at a particularly attractive woman, resulting in him walking face-first into a telephone pole.

"Would you just get out of here, already?" Nero's lips parted into a wry smirk, the part devil crossing his arms over his chest smugly as Lady and Trish strode around him and Patty. Both women grabbed Dante by the shoulders, and made their way over to the half devil's convertible, smiling over their shoulders at the younger hunters.

"We'll be back in three days!" Lady hollered back at them, pulling her sunglasses down from her head and over her heterochromatic eyes.

"I've left my cell phone number on Dante's desk, if things get too out of hand." Trish added, sliding gracefully into the front passenger seat.

Still grumbling, Dante slid into the driver's seat, vaguely aware of Lady buckling up her seatbelt behind him. Heaving a sigh, he turned the key in the ignition, the car roaring to life. Casting one last glance at Nero and Patty, he saluted them with one hand, and pulled away from the building. He watched them shrink in his rear-view mirror until he turned onto the next street, the image of their reassuring smiles replaced by the faded brown bricks of the corner store.

Good luck, you two.

"Nero, come quick!"

Nero dropped the two plates of spaghetti he was holding onto the counter, barely noticing the food spilling over the edge as he dashed out of the kitchenette, and into the spacious office. Sweeping his gaze passed Dante's desk over to the sitting area, he made his way over to the teenaged girl sitting there, his footfalls echoing in the unusually quiet room.

Patty beckoned him over to the couch, placing one finger over her lips while she pointed at the television screen with the other.

Frowning, Nero followed her silent instructions, folding his arms over his chest as he watched the anchorwoman sitting on the other side of the screen in the brightly lit news office.

"Multiple missing persons reports have been coming in since last evening, the numbers dramatically tripling in these past few hours. Police have reported that those missing don't seem to be linked in any manner, whatsoever. If you have any information about these inci—"

A sharp knock came at the door then, startling both the part devil and the teen away from the evening news.

Nero's hand lowered to his left hip, his finger tracing lightly over the engraving on the side of his revolver, Blue Rose. Next to him, Patty did the same with her own weapon, the gun-blade she had dubbed 'Karma'.

"Come in!" The blonde girl called out warily, her eyes never blinking as they waited for the double doors to open.

The left door opened slowly, the light from the street lamps outside cascading across the floor as a plump middle-aged woman cautiously made her way inside. Wisps of grey hair fell over her left eye, fluttering with each breath she took.

Relaxing his stance, Nero removed his hand from his gun, watching as Patty strode forward to meet the frazzled-looking woman.

"Come on in," the teen beckoned in a friendly tone, "would you like a cup of tea?"

The woman's expression relaxed considerably, and she made her way further into the office. "Yes, please. That would be wonderful…particularly after the day I've had."

As Patty sauntered off to fetch the woman's tea, Nero gestured with one arm over to the sitting area, making an attempt at a friendly smile. "Please, take a seat. Then you can tell us what services you require of us here at the Devil May Cry agency."

Sorry that it's so short, but I figured it's best to leave it off there, in which the events unfolding will come to light in the next chapters. I hope you've enjoyed; let me know what you think with a review.