ONE

She faded into the shadows, lighting up a cigarette and inhaling the noxious fumes. Other than the glowing end of the cigarette, she was pretty sure she couldn't be seen. That was the advantage of wearing black. It made sure she couldn't be seen. Her deft eyes scanned the surroundings of the dank square, bordered by houses and offices. One of the offices caught her eye, with its red neon sign. 'Devil May Cry'. She suppressed her laughter, it sounded like some kind of strip club. It was a warm night, and placing the cigarette in her mouth, she removed her leather jacket, absently throwing it over her shoulder. After a moment, she took another drag and stepped out into the light.

There was no one about. Or at least that was what it looked like. But something told her that something nasty was lurking in the shadows. Stepping forward, she stopped and glanced around. There was definitely something there. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the piece of paper that she had scribbled down the name and address of the man she was supposed to see. There it was. Dante, Devil May Cry. She raised an eyebrow and threw the half smoked cigarette to the floor, walked forward towards the office door.

"All right love?!"

She stopped and turned round, her long dark hair blowing slightly in the summer breeze. She raised an eyebrow and spoke to the shadowed man in a crisp English accent, "Can I help you?"

The man stepped forward and she saw that he was flanked by three others, "Now what's a pretty young thing like you doing in a disgusting place like this?"

"I'm here to see a man about a dog."

She heard him laugh as he got closer, and she saw his face. He was young, with a face that could be friendly, with long dark hair pulled back. His muscular arms were covered in tribal tattoos, "Well, I do believe it's my job to rescue young ladies when they're out and about in awful places."

She laughed, "I don't need your help…"

He held his hands up, "I was only offering sweetheart…"

She blinked as he turned away, having fully expected him to try something. He walked away, disappeared round the corner, leaving the three big men stood there looking menacing.

"I take it you're not with him then?" she tried to joke

They said nothing. The biggest one advanced and reached out to touch her. With a frown, she grabbed his arm and squeezed, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. It's not nice to touch a lady…"

She piled on the pressure, sending the big guy falling to his knees, only just noticing at the others rushed her. She jumped back, avoiding the fist of one of them, blocking the other one's attack. She knew that they would be too much for her, but she had to try. They kept coming and she let fly a punch, catching the biggest one in the face and heard a satisfying crack.

"Ah…"

She fought for breath as the one whose arm she had grabbed caught her around the throat and lifted her up, threw her into a pile of garbage cans in front of the devil may cry office. He was on her almost immediately, raining down the punches. Her head swam and she tasted blood.

"What the fuck's going on out here?"

The voice was full of authority. So full of authority that everything stopped. Faith coughed and pushed the man off her, scrambled to her feet. Stood on the steps outside the 'Devil May Cry' office was a tall young man with bright white hair and a red coat. He held a huge silver sword that he rested over his shoulders. She watched as he walked forward, tried to ignore the glance that he sent his way.

"So how come you lowlife's are beating on this girl huh?"

The big guy stood up, his hands clenched into fists, "Look at her. She's asking for it."

The man raised an eyebrow and turned towards Faith, "It's funny bit I don't think she is. Look at her, I'm sure she can take care of herself…"

The big man frowned, "She's strong all right…"

The man brought his sword down, "You were sent here…Who sent you?"

The big man just laughed, "Your worst nightmare!"

He grabbed out at Faith and held a knife at her throat. She fought against him, feigning weakness. It was only a matter of time before she showed him how strong she could be. The man just looked on in whats seemed like amusement.

"She's a nice bit of meat. I can see why the boss is so interested in her…" he kissed her neck, still holding the knife there.

All of a sudden Faith looked up, straight at the red coated man, and she felt a surge of power. Her eyes flashed red and she turned, grabbed the big man's throat and began to squeeze.

He gasped. This girl wasn't human. She was radiating some sort of red aura, he could see the shape of a big beast with horns there. He fought against her, but found he could not move, "Listen, don't hurt me…"

She pushed him away, sent him crashing into a dumpster, "Get out of here, before you find out what I do to sleazy lowlifes like you!"

The man nodded and gestured at the others. She watched as they stood up and scrambled away. Breathing deeply she turned to the man in the red coat. He wasn't smiling, his face held a blank expression. Raising an eyebrow she reached into her pocket and pulled out a cigarette. Lighting it, she looked at him, "So, you gunna invite me in then?"

"Who are you?"

The girl took the cloth from the young man with the white hair and gently dabbed her bloody nose, "Name's Faith, no second name. You're Dante…"

He nodded, handed her a bandage to tie around her arm, "That's me. What are you doing here Faith? And why were those guys beating on you out there?"

She shrugged, "I'm here because I need your help, and I don't know why they starting beating me up…do you mind if I smoke?"

He shook his head, watching as she sparked up a cigarette, "Judging by your accent, you're English. So why would a young English girl come all the way here to get my help?"

She grinned and inhaled the nicotine, "Yeah, I'm from Bath. Not been there for years though. And I need your help because I need to find my father, or at least something about him…"

"Sweetheart, I'm a devil hunter, not a Private Investigator…"

"I know that. See, there's something about my Dad that makes me think he's an evil son of a bitch. See, I can do stuff. Sometimes, when I get into a fight, my eyes go funny…"

Dante raised an eyebrow, "You think he's a demon?"

She shrugged, "Demon, devil, whatever…my mum has loads of really old documents, I was never supposed to see them. But I found this engraving of this big demon thing with wings, and a young man with shocking white hair, bit like yours…and it had his name on…Marcus…"

Dante bit his lip and sat on his desk, "Marcus. The name's familiar. Its been bandied around a lot by the demon community just recently. If I remember correctly, he was a Black Knight. So you're half demon…"

"Cursed more like…"

He laughed and poured out two tumblers of whiskey, handed her one. She accepted gratefully, "You know, I kind of expected you to be older. You look twenty if you're a day…"

"I'm much older sweetheart. Just turned thirty. I only look like this cuz of the blood that's in my veins."

She nodded and sipped the whiskey, felt it burn her throat. After a moment, she shuddered and Dante gave her a grin.

"Not a whiskey fan then?"

She shook her head, "No. But it's alcoholic, so it'll do…"

He sipped his own whiskey, "So you want me to help you find your Dad. Word is that Marcus is holding up on Rockfort Island. You know this is gunna be dangerous right?"

She nodded, drained the whiskey in one, "Danger's my middle name sweetheart."

He raised an eyebrow, "You've got no weapons. You'll need a sword…"

Placing his tumbler down on the table he walked over to a huge cupboard and pulled open the door. For a moment he rummaged around inside before pulling out a huge silver coloured sword. He threw it at Faith and she caught it with ease, the hilt buzzing with electricity as soon as she caught it.

"I've never used that one myself. Acquired it years ago, when my brother tried opening the underworld. It's a powerful sword, and it knows what you are. You should be able to harness it's powers…"

She nodded, gazed at the sword as it crackled with electricity, "Wow…that's cool…"

He grinned and picked up his twin pistols, placing them in their holsters, "Let's go then shall we?"