Dante sat back at his desk inside of his shop. There hadn't been any customers in a few days. After all he'd been through, he was sure that he should be getting at least a few job offers a day. He snorted, reaching out and snagging a piece of pizza from the nearby box on the desk. He took a bite and looked around the place. It was dimly lit, with only sunlight filtering through the windows and lighting the place up. A couple ceiling fans circled lazily overhead, creaking as they did so. A dusty old jukebox sat in the corner next to a couple of trash cans and a drum set. A faint buzzing was heard from the neon lighting of the sign on top of the place outside. The words "Devil May Cry" were emblazoned in crimson on a neon sign that lit the area. It was usually what caught people's eyes first. The place had been his home for quite some time now. He closed his eyes and smirked. "Wonder what's goin' on around here these days...if I didn't know any better, I would think somethin's up." He got up, crossing the room and pressing a button on the jukebox. His smirk broadened as a metal song came on. He flopped down on the couch on the side of the room opposite the jukebox, picking up a gun magazine and reading it while he ate the last slice of the pizza.
Somewhere in the city, Anshinritsumei smiled as she ran down the street with her hand clapped around her brother's gloved hand. She stopped at a window and peered inside with wide eyes. Her little pink hat was secure on her head hiding her demon horns like it was just in the hat. Her short silver hair was fluttering about and looking cute as ever. The little girl had red cheeks and a red nose as she put her cold hands up to the store window, staring in at a snow globe. "Brother! That's the one I told you about!" She told him jumping up and down, her little skirt flopped about and her brother's hand landed on her shoulder.
"Calm down, Anshin," John told her, putting his hands on her shoulders and forcing her down on the ground. The little girl looked up at him with wide eyes. She was in a little brown coat with a tan finish and a thick suit. She always wore her coat and hat, it was just who she was and as she looked up at her brother, her virus of a smile began to infect him. John smiled and picked up Anshin, putting her on his hip. "Let's head home, there's no reason to stay here."
Anshin shook her head. She thought there was plenty of reason to stay, although her smile didn't fade quickly. As the store faded, so did her smile. John hadn't even looked at the little globe she wanted to buy him. He didn't let her have the money, after all, so anything she wanted to get for him came out of his pocket, so to speak. Anshin had made money, lots of it. She had written a book and published it under a fake name so that no one knew it had been her. Her fake name was Antina, and it was a book about her world.
Back by Devil May Cry, Hiro Oboro sheathed his sword as four small demons began to fade into oblivion. He was a Devil Hunter as well, strange in appearance, like most who shared the profession. Shaggy, dark black hair hung just above his eyes in a bowl-like cut. His orange eyes peered at the shop as he brought his azure blue duster around him again. A katana rested at his side, a blood red sheathe with gold fittings housing the weapon. He was of average height, like most, and his hands were covered by dark gauntlets which ended so that his fingers were exposed. He looked around the street, glad to have escaped a strange woman who had run off moments before. "She almost saw me," he said with a light sigh at the end of the sentence. He looked across the street. "That's funny, I was planning on visiting Dante today, and the demons appeared right next to his shop." He chuckled and walked across the threshold, knocking on the door. "Dante, are you there?"
Dante set his feet on the floor, as they had been reclining up on the arm of the couch. The light filtering through the windows was cut off for a moment, and a knock was heard at the door. He heard Hiro's voice, but his words were muffled by the heavy door. Dante smirked and crossed the room, reaching the door after a few long strides, the tails of his coat fluttering a bit as he walked. He opened the door to see his friend Hiro, and his smirk widened. "Oi. What are you doin' here? Come to lose at pool again?" He jerked his head toward the back corner of the room where a pool table sat, racked up and ready to play. "You've already lost too much money on pool here. What's up?" He noticed the smell of blood and gunshot residue on his friend. "What happened, didja run into trouble on the way over here?" He shrugged, deciding it would be best to let his friend inside instead of leaving him out in the night air. He stepped to the side of the doorway, leaving room for his friend to enter his shop. He smirked again as he crossed the room, going behind his desk and sitting back in the chair. He leaned back, propping his boots up on the desk, peering at Hiro through his snow-white bangs. "So, why are you here? Money troubles? Your tabs at the bars around here are running high, I've been told. If that's the case, you came to the wrong place...I've got my own debts."
Hiro shook his fairly long hair and a little bit of blood came off of the tips of his bangs. "Hardly, Dante. I know I don't have a hand when it comes to pool, but PT-Class demons don't need such things to live." He went over and kicked up a knocked over chair, and, with a strange move, balanced it on his elbow by a leg. He flipped it again and it landed perfectly in place and he sat. "And I'd hardly call it trouble. Just keeping the balance. I've come for two reasons... one is to visit a good friend. And two, I need some special information on a woman who calls herself 'Nightrose.' Know anything?"
Copyright 2008 Kevin Sims