"Man, I'm beat."

It was already past seven in the evening when the Devil May Cry van pulled into the orphanage's garage. A simple "extermination" contract didn't usually take five hours and a wild goose chase around Fortuna to complete, especially when a demon hunter as skilled as Nero was on the case, but simple extermination jobs didn't usually involve a senile old lady thinking that a Hell Caina was her son, either. That was a problem that neither Red Queen or Blue Rose could solve. The young demon hunter surmised that Morrison, the sneaky bastard, probably passed it on to them as an "extermination" since no one and their mother wanted to do it for reasons that became clear as Nero grappled his way through the rooftops of the city in pursuit of a runaway demon that definitely refused to be an old lady's eldest son named "Charleston".

Several months have passed since Nero had learned of his true heritage as an illegitimate member of Sparda's bloodline, stopped yet another demonic invasion with his ever-reliable Uncle Dante, and met the father he never knew he had: Vergil. The Alpha and the Omega. He still didn't know what to feel about his "pops" suddenly coming back into his life when he was literally absent for the whole thing, not to mention how he was the one responsible for two separate attempts at giving the Underworld free passage into the human realm like it was express pass from Fortuna to Redgrave. On one hand, he was glad to have his real family back in his life after being an orphan himself for so long but on the other, he wasn't exactly ready to call the 50 year old master swordsman living in their spare bedroom "dad". Having a father with a background as colorful as Vergil's would bring out complicated emotions from anyone, demon hunter or otherwise.

"Me too," Nicoletta Goldstein, his foul-mouthed friend/mechanic, agreed "Imma have to talk to Morrison next time 'bout the shit he gives us"

"Language!," Nero snapped "We're not exactly in a position to turn away whatever jobs the big man gives us. What, you gonna invent something that'll put food in the pantry that doesn't involve coughin' up money?"

"Kyrie ain't even here, dumb ass!," Nico retorted "And what? Do you wanna go around chasing Demons around Fortuna for old ladies? We're demon hunters, not babysitters!"

"Correction," the young half-demon said "We're broke and starving demon hunters."

"You knowww, I could always…," the mechanic suggested with a sly grin

"NO!," Nero cut her off "You wasted a dozen bananas to make that shit and it was fucking useless!"

"Language!"

Nero closed the van door with a decisive slam, clearly agitated at Nero's antics. It was just another day in the Devil May Cry Fortuna branch, and, by extension, just another day in the orphanage. Nero had resumed working as a demon hunter immediately after the incident, wasting no time in accepting all manner of contracts from Morrison for the sake of earning some cash to keep the orphanage afloat, with Nico now becoming a permanent addition to his mobile office as both the designated driver, the mechanic, and his very own "artisan of arms" (as she'd like to call it). While she did bring some much needed levity to the joint alongside her gifts as a talented mechanic, her endless teasing, devil-may-care attitude, and foul-mouthed smoking habits never failed to at least annoy her half-demon partner.

"You just attached a bunch of bananas to my arm!" he shouted

"Yeah, cause you look like a monkey," she teased "Figured you'd love it"

"Fuck off," he exclaimed as he stormed off into the orphanage proper "I'm gonna go take a shower or some shit."

"You definitely smell like a monkey, that's for damn sure!" he (unfortunately) heard his partner call from the garage

….

"Welcome home, Nero!"

Kyrie called from the kitchen, most likely acting in response to the sound of the door to the opening or his smell, both of which were also constants in their little family setting. Her kind and sweet demeanor was always a welcome contrast to Nico's. He had no qualms with his partner's foul-mouth, per se, but he'd be lying if he said that he wouldn't have given her a free knuckle-sandwich with his Devil Bringer had they met a few years earlier back when was still brash and temperamental.

"'Ey babe, I'm back!," he called "I'm starving. What's for dinner?"

"Chicken!," she said "I'm just cleaning up after the kids"

"Anything you make is a 5-star dish, babe," he replied "What's dad been up to while I was gone?"

"Vergil? He's in the living room playing Smash with Julio"

"Of course," Nero laughed "He's playing Smash with the kids. How could I-"

It took Nero a while to process what Kyrie said, but when he did, it him harder than Goliath's truck-sized fist during the Redgrave incident (he still had bruises in his back from that one), and with much less subtlety. Considering his dad's incredibly long detachment from the human world, everyone expected that he would be...aloof, to say the least, if aloof meant using Yamato to cut open a portal into a 7/11 somewhere in a different city to get milk and slice open another portal back to Fortuna, accusing pizza delivery men of being demons in disguise, or slicing appliances in half when he gets frustrated over not understanding how to use them. In a span of a whole month, Vergil had committed so many crimes that he was practically responsible for the sudden crime rate spike in Fortuna, which is no small feat when you take into account the fact that, outside of demons or the shit that hit the fan during Nero's previous ruckus in Fortuna 5 years ago, the most heinous crime anyone has ever committed in a super religious city like this was vandalizing one of Sparda's statues. The young demon hunter was annoyed at his dad's antics at first, but as time passed, he was getting used to Kyrie reporting his latest exploits whenever he arrived home, so much so that it legitimately shocked him that his dad was doing something normal for once. Who was supposed to be the son here, again?

Nero shot like a bullet towards the recreation room, ignoring some of the orphans who greeted him in his haste. He was in denial. Kyrie must have been pulling a prank on him or something. But she was never the type to make jokes. She was so pure that lying probably didn't exist in her vocabulary. So if she wasn't joking, then that could mean one thing: an enemy demon had sneaked in to the orphanage while everyone wasn't paying attention.

"Curses! How does one perform a special, as you children say?"

"Press your special button, Mr. Vergil"

"Special button? I only see letters, child!"

The door was ajar, and there were voices inside, with one of them definitely being Vergil's. Nero left Red Queen in the van, but Blue Rose was still snoozing in his holster when he went into the house, and was already in his hand with his finger on the trigger. Shape-shifting was a demon's textbook way of blending in with the human world to look for prey, so it wouldn't be a stretch for one of them to copy his pops, even if he was part demon himself. It must have been one hell of a big fish if it was able to sneak past someone as strong as Vergil, though. Bad news.

"Nero?"

He was just about to bust down the door and pop the son of a bitch when one of the orphans noticed him. She probably went in the bathroom down the hall before Nero arrived, and went out just in time just to see him about to bust a door down and blast a demon in the head just like your average Thursday night; his free hand was already on the doorknob, and a fresh bullet was primed in his revolver's chamber. She looked at him confusingly, seemingly unaware why he was in such a tense state inside the orphanage, or why he was even pulling a gun out in the first place. No, scratch that; she looked at him like he was crazy person running on their last functional brain cell.

"Heya Suzie," he said in best 'big brother' voice "Can you do me a tiiiny favor?

The orphan nodded nervously

"Can you go call your Uncle Vergil and tell him to come up here?"

Her expression contorted even more upon hearing this. This time she was sure Nero had lost his marbles.

"Errrr, Nero?" she answered "Are you okay?"

"What?"

"Uncle Vergil's in there" she pointed at the 'rec room

"In here?" Nero asked, bewildered "In the 'rec room? Playing video games with Julio?"

"Yeah, silly!" she said "He asked Julio to teach him how to play the smashing game after dinner"

Nero, exasperated, felt the arm wielding Blue Rose go limp. Was this really happening?

"Are you sure that's not a...bad person that's pretending to be your Uncle Vergil?"

"Yep!"

"Absolutely sure?"

"One-hundred percent," she replied with an enthusiastic smile "Ya see, Uncle Vergil and Uncle Dante played the smashing game on the switchy thing and Uncle Vergil lost soooo hard. It was embarrassing!"

Nero bit back a laugh

"So he asked Julio if he could teach him since, ya knowww, he's so good at it," she continued "Not even Uncle Dante could beat him, and he's really good too. Uncle Verg really wanted to beat Uncle Dante."

The orphan leaned closer towards Nero and whispered,

"Between you and me, I don't think Uncle Vergil likes losing all that much"

Understatement of the year, kid.

Nero peeked into the 'rec room. Sure enough, there was his dad, still in his coat even though the heat made the orphanage feel like the cheap sauna down the street, with Yamato leaning by the television stand, and Julio, one of the orphan boys, sitting right next to him on the couch. A Smash Ultimate match was displayed on the television from the Switch that Nero bought for cheap at a second-hand retailer. Kyrie was initially hesitant about getting one for the kids when they were barely getting by with food, but the price was too good to pass up and it came with two free games, so it was a pretty sweet deal. Besides, who were they to deny kids any form of happiness? They were certainly enjoying it, and it did help improve the atmosphere around their little home, but he never expected to see this play out before his very eyes.

It was a 1v1 in Dracula's Castle. Vergil was on the left side, playing as Corrin, and Julio, on the opposite, as Ike. Now, Nero wasn't good at Smash by any means; decent, but not as good as the kid, yet even an amateur like him could see that Vergil was getting absolutely destroyed. Lil Suzie was right: this was embarrassing. Ike was at still at 0%, and Corrin, with a whopping 150%, looked like he was having a seizure under Vergil's command. From an outsider's perspective, it seemed like Vergil wasn't even trying, but it was clear that he was just plain terrible at this; he simply attacks in place, probably mashing the A button, while Julio is pulling off tricky maneuvers and combos that gave Nero's hands carpal tunnel syndrome just by looking at them. It was like watching a football team from the sticks square off against a World Cup team, irreconcilable gap in scores and all. With a flick of his sword, Ike sent Corin flying out of the arena, and his meter resets to 0%. A clean knock-out, and another score for Julio.

"It seems that I am still to weak to fight in actual combat," Vergil said as he paused the game, making Smash Brothers sound like a fight to the death "I must become stronger if I wish to defeat my brother. I need more power."

There it is

"It's alright, Uncle verg," Julio said "You'll get there someday"

"Indeed," Vergil answered "But to do that, I must train harder than I have ever did before. I refuse to allow Dante to best me in these...video games. Come, Julio. Let us spar once again in the training grounds, so that I may hone my skills for our next battle."

"Maybe the next time, Uncle Vergil. Kyrie will get mad at me if I don't join the other kids in prayer."

"See," Suzie said. Nero didn't notice when she started peeking too, but her sudden whisper brought him screaming back to reality

"Uncle Vergil doesn't like losing at all. Did you know that he got mad and went into his room when he lost to Uncle Dante?" she confided with a grin

This time, Nero couldn't help but laugh.

….

Dinner for the Spardas was business as usual: the four of them occupying the 'dining hall' (which was more of a kitchen with a long table awkwardly shoved in) after the deluge of orphans were finished were finished with their meals and nightly prayers, enjoying whatever Kyrie set aside for them from whatever food they still had left. Not that they complained; she was an amazing cook, and even if the pantry was gathering cobwebs, she always knew how to make do of whatever they had left to make sure that they never went hungry.

While Nico was busy begrudgingly scrubbing the dirty plates of a dozen orphans as the assigned assistant dishwasher of the day, Nero was in the garage giving Blue Rose and Red Queen a well-deserved scrubbing of their own. It had been a while since he had taken time off to maintain his toys, and Sparda knows how much maintenance they needed; a jam during what should have been a crucial shot during their last gig made him remember the hard way. That, and Nico's incessant bitching during the ride home drove it deeper into his skull.

Vergil entered the garage while his son was busy working on his tools. He was no stranger to technology despite his distaste for it, but during his time in hell, it seemed that it had advanced at a significant rate. While he could still name some of the bits and baubles that he could spy among the mess of plastic and metal, there were some that evaded all manner of understanding. Regardless, he was not here to gawk at their toys. He had more pressing matters at hand.

For the older son of Sparda, he was still coming to terms with the fact that he had a son with a woman whose name he could not even remember. Perhaps it was the generational gap, or the lack of a strong parental figure, but Vergil was also surprised at how crass his son was. He cursed, dressed crudely, and dispatched his adversaries with a sloppiness unbecoming of a son of Sparda. Maybe this was more of Dante's influence as well; he was his father figure long before he learned that they were bound by blood, after all. But one thing he could not deny was his son's raw strength, and his hunger for power that rivaled even his own back when he was younger. In a way, he could see a lot himself in this boy, a boy whose existence was a mystery to him until recently when the same boy decided to stab him in the stomach with his own katana.

"Nero," he called "I must ask a favor from you."

The young demon hunter sensed someone come in, but assumed it to be Nico or Kyrie, or even one of the orphans. Vergil was the last person he'd expect to come down here, much less talk to him. On most occasions, his pops preferred locking himself in his room to read his William Blake, or explore the city and indirectly commit various illegal acts.

"Sure, dad," Nero answered. It was still strange for him to call this man 'dad' or anything synonymous, but it was even more awkward if he addressed his own father by his first name. He was a deadbeat, but he was still his dad at the end of the day "What do you need?"

"You are also proficient at this...Smashing game, correct?"

Vergil's question caught him so off-guard that he accidentally dropped Blue Rose's firing pin

"Er, I guess," he replied "I know how to play at least"

"Good," Vergil answered "Meet me in the recreation room once you are finished maintaining your weapons. I require your assistance."

And with that, the master swordsman walked away.

"Well, at least he didn't rip my arm off this time." Nero sighed

…

Nero had always imagined what it'd be like to be a normal kid; normal in the sense that he too would have a dad he could bond with at a young age. As an orphan himself, he used to be jealous of seeing other kids in Fortuna who had dads to play ball with them or to hold their hand while they strolled the city, enormous grins on their faces and a cone of ice cream in the other hand. In a way, he should have been grateful that he was given a chance to experience something like that, even if said chance came ten years too late when he was already in is mid 20s. Hell, he would have either way if it wasn't for how weirdly absurd everything was. A month ago, his 'dad' had almost caused the end of the world as we know it by summoning a giant tree that threatened to swallow the human race whole in a bid to defeat his brother in a petty sibling rivalry, and now he wants to play Smash Brothers with the enthusiasm of a child who just learned how to swear.

At least this time he resolved to beat his brother in a video game and not, you know, another fight to the death that involved yet another demonic invasion that threatened the human race as we know it.

"...So Julio was teaching you how to play?" Nero asked, feigning surprise

"Yes," Vergil replied "He was a fine fighter, but he was unable to shrink from his duties as a member of this institution. I was defeated numerous times, but I have learned much from our sparring sessions."

"Uh huh. So you want me to spar with you?"

"Correct. You are not bound to the same responsibilities as Julio," the master swordsman said "And I cannot idle. I must be ready by the time I have my rematch with Dante."

At least he's passionate about it

The training match was already in place. Vergil had selected Mario under his son's suggestion, as his newbie-friendly nature made him perfect for someone who was still learning the ropes, and Nero had settled for Mega Man, his tried and tested pick.

"Your champion is curious," Vergil said "Did you not have an arm fashioned after his blaster once?"

"You already know know the basics, right?" Nero, flustered, ignored his dad's inquiry

Vergil nodded

"Julio was a fine teacher, as well," he answered "In the five hours we spent in combat, I have learned much, yet I fear that my skills require much work still."

"Well, Rome wasn't built in a day, and you can't expect to go pro in five hours," the younger half-demon said "Especially against Dante. He used to crash here sometimes just to play, and he's getting pretty good, even if he is a freeloader who does nothing but sleep on the couch and eat pizza."

"That does sound like my brother," Vergil chuckled "I have seen his office before, and it is abhorrent to look at."

"That we can agree on, pops." Nero laughed. It was strange. For a moment, it was like they were a perfectly normal family, just a dad and a son playing video games late at night, and not a son trying to bond with the absentee father he German Suplex'd into submission on top of a demon tree

"So, are we gonna do this or what?"

"After you, Nero."

Nero was never any good at Smash, but even he could see that Vergil was still very rough around the edges when it came to video games. This was closer to a basketball team scoring a 100-0 against a bunch of toddlers than a match. Vergil barely even hit Nero unless he tried to get hit, or accidentally did so by spamming his Special (which took him at least five minutes to figure out). At best, he would end the match with a 35% meter, with his good old dad scoring in the low negatives. This pattern continued match after match after match, and, giving credit where credit was due, Vergil was slowly learning, but it still didn't look too hot for the Alpha and the Omega.

As the time evaporated and two continued to game into the long hours of the night, Vergil was beginning to realize that he was having more fun than he thought he would. Yes, he was doing this because he refused to be bested by his brother yet again, but there were moments when he would do something right, accidentally or otherwise, or perform something that he didn't know his fighter could do that brought him a semblance of childlike wonder. Even the simple act of raising Nero's 'meter' (i.e., hitting him), brought an unexpected smile on his face, like he was seeing himself improve, but at the same time, it was starting to become less about Dante and more about him discovering the wonders of something he missed in his decade-long time in the Underworld, a place where there were definitely no Nintendo offices. Nero noticed too, and was beginning to forget his father's obsession with beating his uncle and instead focus on the fact that he was playing the game with his dad.

The young half-breed also noticed something in his pop's face: determination. The tenacity to see this through regardless of the fact that he was mostly getting bodied in every match with no contest. It wasn't at all weird for someone to be that invested in a video game, or even in the idea of losing to someone in a video game, but in a way, Nero was reminded of the time he was allowed to spar with Credo in swordsmanship, how he continued to fight regardless of his scraped knees and bruised arms just so he could become as good with a sword as his adopted big brother was, and of how, in hindsight, he realized that there were times when Credo let him win just so he could be so elated that he would gather the strength to try again during their next sessions. Most of all, however, Nero recalled one thing Vergil said over dinner when he asked him why his book of poetry had a crude scribbling of his name:

'Because me and Dante used to fight over everything, and I was always so distraught when I lost. If I wrote my name on something, then he could not take it from me.'

"I have you now, Nero!" Vergil shouted, unaware that he was already being carried by his excitement, which was a rare thing to see on its own.

Oh what the hell, Nero thought to himself, and purposely let go of his Joy-con without his pops noticing.

It was a clean hit that sent Mega Man tumbling out of the arena and into his demise, signaled by a bright streak of light and his meter going back to 0. K.O., and a single point for Vergil; the first point he had ever scored. For the first time in, well, ever, Nero saw something he never thought he'd see on his dad's face: joy. In a way, felt nice to see him like this: smiling and having fun for the first time in Sparda knows when. Maybe this wasn't such a bad deal, after all.

"Yes!" he exclaimed "I can feel myself improving with every battle."

"You sure are, pops." Nero replied, allowing his dad to bask in the moment "You'll be wiping the floor with Dante in no time."

"Perhaps." Vergil answered

He glanced at a nearby clock; it had already been well past midnight, and neither of them seemed to have noticed how much time had passed since they begun their play session. Vergil was surprised that something that once seemed so foreign and distant to him made him feel this warm, like he forgot what "fun" felt like during his time away from the human world. Just as Nero thought that maybe his dad still had a chance at being normal (as normal as a son of Sparda can get around these parts, at least), he too toyed with the idea that perhaps he would enjoy his time among the humans and his son more than he thought he would.

"But it is late, and I'm afraid I must rest for now." Vergil said

At the implication of sleep, Nero couldn't help but let out a yawn of his own

"Me, too. I'm beat," he said "My bones already aching from all the jobs Morrison's gonna give tomorrow."

"Very well. I shall retire to my room then," Vergil replied "Thank you, Nero. This was...fun"

Yeah, it was fun, pops. He was halfway out the door when Nero called,

"Hey dad."

Vergil stopped dead in his tracks and looked at his son

A lump was starting to form in Nero's throat. The heat was rising to his cheeks.

"If you aren't busy tomorrow," he asked, avoiding eye contact as he did "Do you wanna play again?"

The older half demon was silent, as if considering his request, before saying,

"I would like that very much...son."

Vergil disappeared down the corridor, leaving a bewildered Nero alone to process what he just heard. Did he really just call him 'son'?

Alone and bathed by the light from the now-paused game of Smash that they had left unfinished, Nero realized that for the first time, it was like he was one of the kids he saw in the park with their ice cream cones and free piggyback rides. He was left wondering: if circumstances were different, would his life had been like this? Would Vergil really be the type of person to hold his hand and buy him ice cream? The young half-breed would never know for sure. For now, however, he felt like he was going to enjoy having his dad back in his life.

"Maybe there's hope for you yet, pops."