Alright, so I got bored one day and decided to try one of these series of one-shots things. Basically, I put my media player on shuffle and will be basing these one-shots on the titles, themes, or even a simple line of lyrics from the song that pops up. I know, this isn't an original idea, but I thought it might be fun and would challenge my imagination. Plus, I think it will be even more fun using the characters of Devil May Cry.

Anyway, here's the first installment of my little project. xD

Song: Born This Way - Lady Gaga

Character(s): Mostly Nero-centric with a bit of Dante (not a relationship in this one, sorry yaoi fangirls)

Chapter specific warnings: Nothing really. A bit of language, some OOCness and sexual references, but not much else. Wasn't intended, but depending on how you take it, slightly implied Lady/Trish, and I suppose if you have a mind like mine, slight implications at Dante/Nero.

As always, I do not own Devil May Cry or its characters. Capcom does. If I did...well, we won't go there. We'll just say things would be different for now. XD

The Savior was defeated. Nero had won. He had saved Kyrie and the world from an ominous fate. Kyrie, the girl of his dreams was now his and only his. That was enough to make any teenager happy, right?

Not Nero.

The young slayer glanced down at his right arm as he walked the streets of the run-down, almost ghetto city he was told he would find who he was looking for. The corners of his lips turned downward in a frown at the soft glow that managed to sneak through the bandaging covering his Devil Bringer. He self conciously shook the sleeve of his usual dark blue coat down over his hand, thinking about his reason for leaving his beautiful girlfriend and comfortable life in Fortuna for a few weeks.

Two months had past since the Savior incident, Fortuna had been mostly restored to its former glory, and Nero and Kyrie had finally been able to settle in to their new lives together. However, two months is a long time to think, which was not the greatest thing for Nero. It was actually the opposite, for it had made him re-think his relationship with the songstress of Fortuna. Even as he walked these strange streets, the memory of her accepting him for what he was played through his mind as clear as if it were happening right then and there.

Nero glanced down at his demonic arm, then back up at Kyrie who stood only a few feet from him, an unsure frown settling on his face. He took the hand of his Devil Bringer in his human hand, his grimace deepening as he felt the tough red hide and the glowing blue flesh beneath. "Kyrie...If I'm a demon and not a human anymore...is this what you want?"

The brunette beauty closed the gap between the two, taking the demonic appendage into her delicate hands. "Nero, you're you." she began, smiling up at Nero with those beautiful, passion-filled eyes. "And it's you I want to be with. I don't know anyone as human as you are."

Kyrie's words had echoed through his head many times over the few months they had officially been together. When they were first uttered, the teen had no doubt in his mind that she was sincere. In fact, the moment she uttered those words, Nero could have floated away due to the pure bliss he was feeling. But, as time passed, Nero couldn't help but feel that they were spur of the moment, and she was simply telling him what he wanted to hear. His mind would not allow him to believe that the angel-on-Earth Kyrie could love a devil like him.

Nero needed an expert, which is what brought him to this sad excuse for a city.

Staring up at the building before him, Nero couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the neon sign dispalying the name of the business: "Devil May Cry." The teen had gathered that the man he was seeking liked to be flashy, but this seemed almost a bit much for advertisement purposes.

Deciding to ignore this minute detail, Nero climbed the front steps, tentatively pushing the double doors open. The room he entered was fairly messy, with pizza boxes and beer bottles littering the floor here and there and making Nero scrunch his nose slightly. But then he noticed the heads of slain demons lining the walls along with some impressive looking devil arms that made him forget all about that. He couldn't help wanting to try some of them out for himself.

"Look, I'm not paying you leeches any more money. You've sucked me dry! I barely have enough for pizza tonight!" the teen heard a familiar voice complain from a nearby room, bringing him out of his weapon-filled reverie. His eyes darted toward the source of the sound just as a man with white hair dressed in a tight, black, belted top and red leather pants entered the office from what Nero figured was a kitchen, a beer bottle in hand.

Two women followed him out of the kitchen. Nero recognized the blonde, who had disguised herself as a scantily-clad Order member named Gloria during the Savior incident. If he remembered right, her real name was Trish. Her attire now was slightly less revealing, but not much less. She wore a tube top with a lightning-shaped opening down the center, skin-tight leather pants, and heels that clicked as she crossed the wooden floor. Upon noticing Nero in the doorway, she sent him a discrete wink.

Behind her was a woman he had never seen before. She had short black hair and a pair of sunglasses perched on top of her head. Her outfit was even more revealing than Trish's, leaving little to the imagination. It consisted of a pinstriped white jacket which was only buttoned in the middle, showing off far more cleavage than Nero had ever seen in Fortuna. The matching shorts also showed off enough leg to make even the most laid-back of Fortunians to gasp.

"Look, Dante," the brunette scolded the devil hunter as he flopped down in the chair behind his desk, a scowl on her face, "I want that money by the end of the week. Trish and I have plans for a nice vacation."

Dante simply rolled his eyes and placed his feet on top of the desk. "You of all people should know how few and far between jobs can be in this business, Lady. I haven't had a decent job all week!" The demon slayer picked up his abandoned magazine and began reading it once more. "I still don't see why I owe you money in the first place, babe."

Before Lady could respond, Trish cut in. "How about we finish this little argument tomorrow. Dante has company," the blonde remarked, gesturing toward Nero.

The teen froze as all eyes in the room were on him. He hadn't really thought this plan through and had no idea what to say. Plus he felt awkward talking about this subject to anyone, let alone in front of the two women he barely knew. Granted, he didn't know Dante that well, but for some, inexplicable reason, Nero trusted the elder hunter.

Nero was saved from having to come up with some sort of greeting as Dante returned to his feet with a grin and approached Nero. "Hey kid! What brings you to this neck of the woods? Kicked out of Fortuna? Girlfriend not putting out? Or did you just miss me?"

"None of that, you ass," Nero muttered, swiping his nose in embarrassment as his cheeks began to heat up. "I...I need some advice."

Dante halted in front of Nero and crossed his arms when he noticed how serious the kid was. Despite the numerous jokes that swirled through his mind, the man in red controlled the urge. He glanced over his shoulder at Trish and Lady. "Hear that? No chicks allowed. Now get out of here."

Lady's frowned deepened as she lifted Kalina Ann from her place against the wall and placed the firearm on her back. "Whatever, Dante," she growled as she stalked to the doors. "But you better have my money by the end of the week." With that, Lady exited the office, slamming the door behind her.

The blonde demoness hopped from her perch on the desk and strolled after Lady, a small, amused smile on her lips. As she pulled a pair of sunglasses from her pocket and perched them on her nose, she said, "Don't worry, Dante. I'll calm her down so she doesn't come over here in the night and castrate you. But it would be in your best interest to have her money by her deadline. I doubt I can save you from her wrath then if you don't." When Dante simply waved her off, she turned to Nero. "Nice seeing you again, Nero." With another wink to the teen, Trish followed Lady out, heels clicking all the while.

Dante let out an annoyed groan as he turned and headed for the red leather couch situated toward the back of the office. "See what I have to deal with, kid? Two leeches that take every lousy penny I make for no reason at all! And for what? New clothes? New shoes? Maybe a dildo or two? I'd be using the money for something useful like fixing up my car!" The elder hunter flopped down on the couch, leaning his head back to scowl at the ceiling. After a few seconds, he then reverted his gaze back to the teen. "You're not going to stand in my doorway the whole time, are you? Come here! I prefer not to give advice from across the room, kid."

Blinking, Nero complied with Dante's wish and crossed the room, methods of how to go about this whole conversation swirling through his brain, but the only approach that came to mind was just blurting his problem out and getting it over with. He had never been one to beat around the bush with anything, preferring to just get whatever it was over with. But this was different for Nero; it was a personal issue. He had never been comfortable when it came to people's personal problems, even more so when he had to talk about his personal life.

Sitting down next to Dante, Nero immediately cast his gaze to his lap, unable to meet the elder half devil's gaze. A silence fell between them, and Dante waited patiently while Nero tried to find the right words to begin with. After a few more minutes of silence, Dante spoke up: "So...what sort of advice have you come all the way from Fortuna to get?"

"Well," Nero began, still trying to locate the right words, "I...um..."

"The way you're fumbling for words makes me think you're trying to ask me to teach you how to seduce that girl of yours to have sex with you." Dante smirked, blue eyes shining with mischief. "But if that's the case, teaching you how to fuck will have to take more than words, kid." The older silver-haired male winked at the younger, causing Nero's jaw to drop in outrage.

"What the hell you old pervert? That's not what I need help with!" sputtered Nero, half embarrassed and half ready to punch Dante in the that smug face of his. "Can you be serious just once?"

Dante sighed, holding his hands up in defeat. "Alright. You have my attention. What's on your mind, Nero?"

Nero stared at Dante for a moment, just to be sure he was sincere, then returned his gaze to his lap. More specifically, his bandaged right hand. "It's about...being a demon."

A slight frown made its way onto Dante's face as he leaned back into the cushions on the back of the couch. "What about being a demon? You're going to have to be a bit more specific." Personally, the elder slayer did not like where this conversation was going. It had the potential of opening up new wounds, of exploring old avenues he wished he could forget. But the kid had come to him for help, and who was he to turn him down after travelling this far just to see him?

Nero glanced up at the older hunter, finally able to see seriousness in his electric blue eyes. Satisfied, the teen continued. "You see, Kyrie-"

Dante felt something snap inside of him at the sound of the girl's name coupled with the sadness Nero seemed to be harboring. The elder couldn't help but jump to conclusions; it sounded to Dante as if Nero's girlfriend could not fully accept him because he is a demon, and this pissed Dante off. Nero was a great kid, and if this was the case, she didn't deserve his affection. "She can't accept the fact that you're a demon, right?" he growled, feeling his devil side get a little too excited and ready to pounce at any second.

Feeling Dante's sudden change in mood and animosity, Nero quickly attempted to calm him down. "No! I mean...she says she loves me for who I am, demon or not, but..." The teen trailed off, searching again for the best explanation. He took a deep breath before speaking again. "It's just, I don't understand how someone like her, the closest thing to an angel this planet could offer, could love a demon like me..." He clenched his Devil Bringer into a fist, his disgust for the appendage beginning to bubble to the surface again.

"Ah...I get it," Dante remarked with a small smile. He kind of knew how the kid was feeling, after all. "You know what you gotta do, don't you?"

Nero raised an eyebrow at Dante's question. "Obviously not since I'm here," the youngster stated flatly, slightly irritated since he had originally thought Dante was taking him seriously.

Dante couldn't help but chuckle. The kid was just too fun to mess with. "Right, right." Standing up and moving over to his desk, Dante picked his abandoned beer up and and took a large swig. "You have to accept who you are yourself before you can feel like others really accept you."

Nero stared up at the older male, dumbfounded. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like." Dante took his place on the couch next to Nero again. "Trust me, kid. I know what it's like to despise yourself because of who you are. Hell, it took me years to accept the fact that I was part demon. I wouldn't even let myself trigger until I was just a little older than you are now, and even then, it just happened. My brother pissed me off with his little 'humans are weak' and 'might controls everything' attitude. He was trying to gain our father's power for himself because that's all he wanted: power. Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say with this little monologue is that Vergil is a good example of someone embracing who he was. Granted, he did so for entirely different reasons than I did or you need to, but the message is the same. Verg didn't care what anyone, including his own twin brother, thought of his devil side and quest for power. He knew that his demonic heritage would help him gain the power he was seeking just as I knew my devil side could help me protect the ones I cared about. I still hate being half demon because I saw what it did to my bro, but I can't change that, so I've learned to live with it."

"You? Hate yourself?" Nero asked incredulously. "And here I was thinking you were a narcissisitic pervert."

Dante laughed. "Well, I was and still am. But seriously, I absolutely hated when I was reminded of my heritage, and it made me not want to get attached to anyone." The devil in red paused momentarily before adding, "Really, I still don't want to get attached to anyone, partly because of my devil side and partly because, well, I enjoy the pleasures of the flesh too much to stick with one person, ya know? So I do give you props for wanting to make this work with your girl."

Nero felt his cheeks heat up slightly at the compliment and swiped his nose. "Thanks. But if i don't 'accept it' as you say to do, I may not be able to." Nero felt his heart break a little at these words. He didn't want to leave Kyrie simply because he felt she deserved better, deserved a human. But in his current state of mind, this seemed to be the only solution.

"Well, first things first. Take the bandage off your arm." When Nero gave him the "are you fucking kidding me" look, Dante elaborated. "Look, keeping that thing covered isn't helping anything. In order to come to terms with the fact that you're a demon, you have to be confident enough to show off that glow stick of yours. If that chick really loves you, she should love seeing that arm all the time, too."

There was a slight moment of hesitation before Nero began unravelling the bandages that hid his arm from prying eyes. The soft glow lit up the teen's face as he looked up at Dante, the white gauze completely removed. "Better?"

"Much." Dante slapped Nero on the back with a grin. "Now, as corny as this is going to sound, you basically have to learn to love yourself and that arm of yours. Not to the point of narcissism, maybe, but you know...Have more confidence that your girl's not judging you for what you are. I mean, it's not like you can change what you were born with anyway. You do that, and eventually you'll feel better about your relationship."

Nodding, Nero stood, staring down at his demonic arm and actually managing to smile a little. "Yeah. I guess you're right." Even though he knew this whole confidence and accepting the fact that he's a demon would take some time, he felt much better about himself and his relationship with Kyrie. "Thanks, old man."

"Don't mention it, kid," replied Dante with a smile. "And if you ever need me, you know where to find me."

Nero returned the older man's smile as he started for the door again. "See ya around, Dante," said Nero as he pushed the door open and exited the office of Devil May Cry, his distaste for his devil arm slowly dissipating with every step he took.

Sorry if it was a bit corny. But, considering the theme of the song, it was a little difficult not to make it at least a little corny. I actually almost made this one surround Dante and his inner battle with his demonic heritage and all that, but I think Nero having confidence problems worked a little better with this. And I know Nero wasn't born with his arm, but it fit better to change that little tidbit. After all, this is fan-fiction. :P

Anyway, I probably shouldn't have taken this on while still writing Devils' High School, but I had this idea in my head for this particular chapter and just had to go ahead and go with it! So yeah. It happened. xD