Rain fell in buckets on the unfortunate city. Many citizens had already made their way inside anything that they could find as shelter, but a few still lingered; still searching. It wasn't a nice city overall. There were many deaths daily, from various reasons. Starvation, suicide, murder. Anything that one would think of, it was done in order to survive. Most people found some refuge however. Though there was one small figure wandering, confused and lonely.
She knew that the demons loved to prey outside, but she'd given up on surviving. She had drank rain water for the past two days and eaten stale bread to push her appetite back, but she just didn't have the energy to try any longer. The screeching told her that they were following her and she just kept walking. She stumbled a few times on her feet, but she still managed to catch herself. She knew that the fiends were just waiting for her to fall so that they could descend on her and make what little meat was left on her their next meal. Who was she to deny them that? It wasn't too long ago that she'd run away from home and been in the same situation. One foot in front of the other, but she was so tired. Maybe she would just let her body hit the ground in hopes of a quick death, even though she knew that she wouldn't get that. Her eyelids dropped, closing fully, and she felt her face dig into the ground. Louder screeching alerted many more demons to her location. They were on her in a heartbeat.
She felt their claws ripping at the tattered shirt that she had managed to grab before she ran. A dog howled somewhere nearby, but no human was daring enough to try and save her. A few claws dig into her back, but she just let it happen. She couldn't even feel the pain that accompanied her torn flesh. Her body was being rocked in many directions as the demons made slow work of her body. Just when she thought it was over, a sound rang out in her fading hearing and a figure entered what was left of her eyesight.
Gunshots rang out from seemingly nowhere. She didn't want to be saved. She felt herself silently beg for the figure to just leave her be to die there. A flash of crimson and bright flashes accompanied the figure. Her eyes slowly closed and she no longer felt like she was there. She was unconscious. Maybe death would be a sweet release of the pain.
Dante trailed the demons silently. Piercing blue eyes watched them follow a smaller figure through the derelict city. This city may not have had much to offer, but at least he could kill demons with no problem. Not only would he get in trouble for it, the citizens didn't seem to mind his presence when it came to the killings. He watched the figure stumble, fall, and the demons leap upon the body like children leaping into a pile of candy from a pinata.
He normally didn't help the civilians, but something about this one worried him. It was the equivalent of a maternal instinct, something that he couldn't explain fully since he didn't even know that he had something like that. He'd been following this figure for a while and he knew that something had been wrong with them. He never got close enough to figure out a gender, but he knew that he would figure that out soon enough.
"Time to go," he whispered into the air. He knew that his voice would be drowned out by the torrent, so he didn't even bother trying to hide it.
He took his faithful pistols in hand and jumped off the rooftop just in time to stop the demons below from doing any serious harm to the frail figure.
He made quick work of the demons and took delight in the fact that they were easy enough to scare away. He didn't have a lot of ammo left for his guns and he really didn't feel like swinging his sword around. Once they had vanished from sight, he took a look at the figure that he just saved. Just by a quick glance, he could tell that she was malnourished. She had been living off the streets for a while. Blood pooled around her and the rain only amplified that fact. He knew that she wouldn't last much longer without help. He would admit freely that he didn't know much about first aid, but he would try. That's just the type of devil he was. He was a devil with a heart.
Dante scooped up the frail body and carried her fireman style back to his shop. Her warm breast rising and falling against his back let him know that she was still alive, even if just barely. He would get a better look at her once he got back to the shop. He just hoped that Trish wouldn't flip shit over him bringing yet another 'straggler' home.
"Dante! What did I tell you about-" the feisty blond started.
"Trish, shut the hell up and just help me." Dante commanded and she quickly quieted herself. There weren't many people that could tell her to shut up and get away with it. She sighed a long sigh before opening a nearby door that led to an empty room.
Dante never bothered with actually putting much furniture in his shop. The shop doubled as a home for him, but he never really bothered with actually getting more than one bed. If Trish stayed a while, she normally kicked him out of his room and made him sleep on the couch in the lobby.
The room was small. Years of being unused had taken a toll on it. Dust covered the floor and no matter how much he actually tried to clean it up, he would eventually just forget about it and do something else. To anyone, the room would be unbearable to sleep in, but if anyone wanted it, he would gladly help them clean to make it livable.
He tapped his foot on the ground as Trish got blankets to make a pallet on the floor.
"We're going to clean this room one day." she huffed as she spread the final blanket down on the floor. It wasn't much, but at least the mystery woman would have some sort of cushion from the floor. Dante sighed loudly. Even though the woman looked so frail, her lightweight was starting to take a toll on his shoulders.
Once the pallet was complete, he put her gently down. Now that he could get a better look at her, he noticed many things that he hadn't before. She had shoulder length hair, knotted up horribly from many days without a good washing and brushing. Adding to her knots were spots of red where the blood from her back and sides managed to seep upward while he carried her. What was left of her clothes were pointless in covering anything. Her shirt was so torn that they both could see her pale breasts, ribcage and navel. She was definitely malnourished. Dante was surprised that no one wanted to help her. Her cheekbones were so pronounced that he was sure he could cut his hand if he tried to touch them. Her arms and legs looked like they could barely do anything, making him surprised again with the fact that she could walk. Her frail feet were torn up to shreds. Scabs and remnants of dried blood covered them. How long had she been on her own.
"You've got a shirt that you don't mind giving up right?" Trish asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Just because I am what I am doesn't mean I'm not fashionable." Dante replied sarcastically. Trish scoffed as he went up the stairs to get a shirt. He returned quickly only to have Trish snatch the shirt from him and push him out of the room.
"There is a huge difference between seeing her in clothing like that and completely naked. Have some manners!" she scolded with a smile. Dante knew that she was picking on him, but he still listened to her. She had that motherly vibe toward him and he couldn't help but listen to her when she commanded something. He walked slowly to the nearby couch and waited patiently.
"What do you want to do with her?" Trish asked after minutes of silence. Dante had assumed that changing the woman went well enough since she didn't come out complaining about something. He pondered for a moment before answering.
"I don't know. I couldn't just leave her to die like that." he replied thoughtfully. He tapped his foot on the ground again. "Think she has any family?" he then asked. It was Trish's turn to be silent.
"It didn't look like it. Why would a family let their daughter wander the streets for as long as she has?" the blond replied. She had a point. "She obviously knows a lot about the streets, but not enough to keep her from getting killed." she added after a brief silence.
"She wasn't in the best part of town either. Not that this shitty town has a 'best' part." Dante spoke silently.
"How long were you trailing her?" Trish asked as she pushed her hair behind her ear.
"Total?" he asked. She made a confirming noise. "About four days. Something called me to her. She wasn't like all the others. She came out at night to look for food and I saw her drink rainwater from puddles a few times. She got more water than anything though. The baker of the area did give her some bread and I saw her nibble on it a few times, but she wouldn't scarf the whole thing down." Dante explained.
"Like you would pizza?" the other woman asked, a smile coloring her voice. Dante scoffed and nodded.
There was a long silence before either of them spoke again. Dante scratched the back of his neck and announced that he was going to go shower.
"Before you go, I have a question." she said lightly. Dante turned to face her. "Do you want me to sleep on the couch tonight? I only ask because she might wake up sometime and to be honest, if she saw you, she might die of fright." Trish asked with a smile. The devil looked shocked. He didn't think that he was that bad looking.
"Oh, Trish, I'm hurt." he replied, playing along. "As long as I can sleep, I'll sleep anywhere." he replied. Trish started to scold him again, but he just shrugged her off and walked up the stairs. "You can have the bed." he called down. She knew that he was doing this to spite her. She sighed loudly.
Her eyes fluttered open to see a wooden ceiling. She thought that she was back home and almost fell back asleep before she realized something was off. All homes have a certain smell that let's the owner know that they are actually at home. Wherever she was didn't have that smell. Throwing herself up quickly made her dizzy, but she needed to know where she was. She felt her shirt only to realize that it was different. Her tattered rags were replaced with a long black shirt. Dust invaded her nostrils and she fought the urge to sneeze, only to fail. She threw the flimsy blanket off her body and tried to stand. The searing pain on her back made her stop moving suddenly. She wanted to scream at the pain. She wanted it to go away. Panic started to set in as she kept trying to move. Her voice failed her as she tried to call for help. She managed to pick herself up, even through the intense pain on her back. She might has well have been on fire with how much pain she felt. She fumbled her way to the nearby door and threw it open. Before she knew it, someone had grabbed her arms a little too tightly and was calling another name. Another figure quickly appeared to help the other one. What was going on? Where was she?
"Her back's bleeding again." she heard a female voice say. She felt herself being pulled forward to a wooden chair. "You stay at her backside. She's not wearing anything else." the same voice said. She heard a light chuckle. She suddenly felt self conscious at the fact that she wasn't wearing any underwear. She tried to get her hands free to make sure the shirt stayed down, but it was all a failure. The female had her sit in the wooden chair backwards, leaving her lower body on display. She was thankful for the lack of windows. "Bring me those bandages will you? I didn't want to put any on her last night because I didn't know if she would toss and turn like you do." the female voice ordered.
The back of the shirt was being lifted and her head was taken out of the shirt, but her top half was still covered. Icy coolness suddenly wiped away the fire on her back. "This might hurt a bit, but it'll make the pain go away quicker." the female said. Sudden pain pierced her back as her skin was pulled and poked with delicate fingers. Whoever this woman was knew what she was doing. Her fingernails dug into the back of the chair and her knuckles were white, but soon, the pain stopped almost entirely. The shirt was placed back on her and she was able to turn around to face the figures in the room. She tried her hardest to keep her lower half covered.
She saw a male and a female. The male was different than anyone she had ever seen. White hair covered his head and bright blue eyes looked at her quizzically. He had what looked like a light five o' clock shadow. He was dressed in a black zippered shirt with a red jacket that buckled three times in the front, while his pants were red with black leather chaps and what she liked to call red boot covers over black boots.
The female had long blond hair that was well taken care of. Her attire included a black top that looked like it had been ripped down the center, making her breasts more defined. Black pants covered her lower body with knee high heels.
They both looked at her like she was a stain, but both not sure what to think either. "What's your name, darling?" the female asked. She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice failed. She tried to clear her throat and try again, but even that didn't work.
"Can she even talk?" the man asked. The woman hit the man in the arm and told him not to be rude. He sighed and walked to a nearby fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. "Here, try this." he said offering her the cold liquid. She looked at him questioningly before she took it carefully. She tried the top, but she couldn't even get her fingers to work. The man smiled at her. She felt hopeless. He twisted the cap off and held on to it as he handed her back the water. She drank it, the cold liquid welcome in her mouth. She felt water fall down her chin as she drank, but she didn't care. Once she had her fill, she wiped the water off her chin and handed the bottle back to the man.
"Feel better now?" the woman asked. Concern actually gave way in her voice and she nodded. "Can you tell us your name now?" she then asked.
"W-Wolf." she sputtered. Her voice was weak and sounded tired.
"Okay, Wolf. Do you know where you are?" the female asked. Wolf shook her head. "You're at the shop Devil May Cry. You've heard of it, yes?" she explained. Wolf's eyes widened. She knew this place. Who didn't!? The famous demon hunter lived here. What was his name? The woman smiled. "My name is Trish." she said calmly. Wolf looked to the man.
"Dante." he said with a matter of fact tone.
"How did I get here?" Wolf asked, trying to put more force in her voice, but it just hurt to do so. Dante gave her the run down of the previous night. "T-Thank you." she said lowly. She looked down to the floor before she spoke again. "Why did you save me?" she asked. Dante turned to look at Trish before he answered.
"It's what I do." he replied calmly. Wolf looked at him is disbelief. She knew that he was a demon hunter, but she didn't know that he saved people as well. As if reading her thoughts he said, "I don't normally save people. People pay me to get rid of their demons and we part ways. There was something about you that I couldn't ignore." It was Trish's turn to look at him with a funny gaze. "What? I've already explained it to you." he answered to her gaze.
"What does that mean?" Wolf asked, her voice fading again. Dante handed her the water again and she drank blissfully and handed it back to him.
"You reminded me of me." he explained. Wolf looked at him questioningly. She wanted him to explain further, but he didn't.
"I'm going to make you some soup. If you want to, you can go upstairs to wash up, but please don't take off the bandages from your back. They need to stay on there to heal the cuts. I can't heal the scarring, but I can heal the wound themselves." Trish said. "Dante will show you the way. There is a pile of clothes that you can go through if you like. I didn't know what size to get you, so I just brought you some shirts and pants." she then added. Wolf looked to the taller man.
Dante walked up to her and carefully help up off the chair. "She's taking you shopping later for under stuff. I don't have anything like that, so I tossed in a few pairs of boxers." he said. Wolf blushed and Dante laughed.
"You're like a child." Trish pipped in. "Don't antagonize her." she said as she placed a pot on a stove that she didn't notice before.
Dante showed her how to work the shower. Thankfully there was a removable shower head so she wouldn't get the bandages wet like she was told. Once he left, she carefully shed the shirt and tossed it on the floor. She carefully stepped into the shower and made her way to the back of it. Her legs failed her and she collapsed on the porcelain floor. She hoped that she didn't make a lot of noise. The last thing she wanted was for Dante to come running in to check on her completely naked.
The water felt nice compared to what she was used to. She looked at her arms and legs and realized how small they were. Where did her life go wrong? She didn't want to think about it. She knew that if she did, she would break down and never want to come out of the shower. It wasn't until the water started cooling did she actually start to bathe herself.
Why couldn't everyone be like these two? They seemed kind enough even though she didn't really know what to think about them. She pondered this as she quickly washed herself. She was grateful for their help, but she didn't really know what to do after this. She didn't have a place to go home to, nor a family. What would happen when she had eaten and was all healed up? Would they kick her out to the streets to fend for herself again? Would they give her money to start over on her own? Would they let her live with them? She didn't want to think about it too much. Thinking only led to more questions and more pain.