Hope you guys like it, I have a serious plot for this one. ** I changed the rating of this thing just because I don't really think I'm gonna make it worth an R rating anymore. So yeah. **
Anyway, Enjoy
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No Solace for Devils"Devil may cry… Sorry, we're closed…Look babe, that's too bad but we closed at nine. Deal with your problems until tomorrow…Yeah? Fuck you too."
Dante crashed the receiver down and breathed heavily into his hands. His long digits threaded through his ashen mane in a frustrated grip. It had been a long day of pointless phone calls and even though he had closed for the day, they just kept coming. Couldn't people chase away their own demons? Dante had enough of his own that he didn't need the added weight of others' on his shoulders every second of the day.
He leaned back in his chair, propping his legs up on his uncluttered desk and stretched widely, flexing his fingers in and out of fists. He sighed. Dante had been sitting for far too long. He needed to get out and blow off some steam. For a moment he almost regretted turning down his last caller. No doubt it would have been an easy job but at least it would have given him something to do.
"Since when does the son of the legendary Sparda turn down someone in need?"
Dante rolled his legs off his desk and was up like a speeding bullet with his guns trained on the intruder. Ebony and Ivory glistened under the lamplight. "Who the hell are you and how did you get in?" The devil hunter glared at the woman dressed all in black.
"The name's Raven," she said, leaning against the wall beside a mounted demon's head whose visionless black orbs still retained their former malevolence. Raven's leather jacket creaked as she crossed her arms and flipped her long black hair towards the opposing wall, "And I flew through there."
Dante looked to the cracked window and smiled, "Cute," he cocked his guns, "But try again."
"Whoa, easy there Hero," Raven held up her hands, eyeing the half-demon unsteadily. "Could we lose the boys please? I'm unarmed." She opened her jacket, doing a 360 with outstretched arms. There was no sign of a concealed weapon. Dante disengaged the cock on his handguns but would not back down.
"You don't trust me do you?" Raven inquired, half grinning.
"The last time a leather clad woman came through my door I was impaled and had a motorcycle launched at my head," said Dante flatly, "So no, I don't trust you."
She scowled, "Well, killing me isn't going to help you avenge Trish."
"Trish?" Dante's mood darkened dramatically, "How do you know about her."
Raven smirked. "You'd be surprised what I know about you Dante," she held him with piercing brown eyes, "And it isn't just me. Anyone in, or having ties to the underworld knows all about you, Dante; the son of Sparda, the devil that destroyed the dark lord Mundus. You're quite a celebrity."
The devil hunter scowled. "I suppose so," he said, narrowing his pale eyes. "But what are you doing here? Looking for an autograph?"
"Actually," Raven pushed off the wall and stepped up to Dante's desk. Ebony and Ivory followed her every move. "I have a proposition for you."
Dante heaved a sigh and stared blankly at the woman. "I'm sure you do Babe, but I've heard enough of those today to last me a lifetime," he motioned to the door with the tip of Ivory's barrel, "So get lost. We're closed."
Raven glanced at the large wooden doors of Devil May Cry and then back to the hunter. "So you're not even going to hear me out?" Her voice masked her surprise and disappointment.
"Looks that way," Dante said unabashed.
Raven's jaw set in a scowl at his apathy for her. She shook her head, "When did the son of Sparda stop caring?" Her deep brown eyes looked to the devil, waiting in a stunned silence for his response.
Dante ignored her gaze and gave a hard stare of his own. "You said you knew all about me. I should think you'd know the answer to that."
"I know it hurt you when Trish was killed," Raven worded sadly, seeing Dante's teeth clench at the mention of his former partner. Her voice then adopted a harder tone, "But don't you dare make the mistake of thinking you're the only one who has ever lost someone they cared for."
"I didn't just lose someone," Dante said bitterly, "I lost everyone, my mother…my brother…and now Trish."
"So what," Raven's cheeks flushed with anger, "Trish dies and that automatically gives you the right to be such an insensitive prick?"
"Look," Dante slammed his guns down on the desk and leaned forward, fixing Raven with his stormy gaze, "Whatever got Trish was something bigger and more powerful than your basic monster under the bed and I can't afford to be wasting my time chasing boogey men when her killer is still out there."
"I suppose you can't," Raven lowered her head and turned from Dante. "But it's too bad you didn't listen to me," she strode towards the window, "Now I guess you'll just have to find Trish's killer on your own."
Dante's breathe faltered. Did this woman know something he didn't? He had to find out. "Wait!" he called to her back, reaching out his hand, "You know who killed Trish?" "Who…and what," she cast him a sideways glance, "But that information stays with me. I gave you a chance to listen and you didn't…so suffer, Hero. I'll find someone else to do my dirty work." With that, Raven spread her arms and lifted her chin to the ceiling, letting her jet-black hair trail further down her leather coat. As she closed her eyes, swirling shadows began twisting around her body until she was completely covered in their dark embrace.
Dante stood motionless, in awe of the sight before him until suddenly the shadows shrank away and disappeared entirely. The transformation was complete. Raven had become the elegant black bird for which she was named. She spread her graceful wings, tinting them a deep blue as they caught the light and glided up to the sill of the cracked window. She cawed softly before taking off through the opening.
When she had gone Dante dropped heavily into his chair, looking around his vacant office with cold eyes. He scanned the walls, adorned with the trophies of his profession, various weaponry and mounted demon heads, until his glaring eyes fell on Sparda. The large pendulum blade had been hanging on the wall, lost in the showcase of death, ever since Trish's demise. Too much pain clung to its dark, red veined surface. It was the weapon Trish had been using the night of her death and every other mission since they had escaped Mallet Island together. Dante avoided making eye contact with it whenever possible, but tonight was different and the white-haired mercenary was almost transfixed to its foreboding shape as memories of Trish flooded back to him.
"Aagh," the devil hunter let out an enraged cry and slammed a fist into his desk. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have let the only person with information concerning Trish's death slip right through his fingers? Why did he have to be so hard headed? He was back to square one and had no way to get in contact with Raven again. There was also no way in hell he was hunting down a bird.
Dante growled just as there was a soft rapping at the door. He was in no mood to entertain any more guests. He called out loud enough to be heard through the thick wooden surface, "We're closed. If you're lookin' for Natural Calls, it's in the back."
The light tapping ceased briefly and then began again, slightly louder this time and more frequent. Dante angrily hauled himself out of his chair and stalked over to the door. When he got there he grasped the handle and yanked it open, not bothering to unlock it first. The door flew open and smashed against the inside wall, shattering a nearby glass case. Dante ignored the flying shards of glass and peered out the door. There was no one. He stepped onto the landing and looked up and down the street but there was still nobody.
"Fucking kids," he said under his breath as he made to go back inside. He took a step but something caught his trained eye, a small black figure perched on the coiled metal of a nearby street lamp. "Raven," he said quietly.
The bird cawed and swooped towards him. She did not stop, but instead dropped something at his feet, a small, neatly folded note. Dante picked it up and read: Decided to give you another chance because no one else will do. Don't make me regret it. I'll see you tomorrow, Hero...When you're open. Raven.
Dante folded the note and rammed it into his pocket. He stared off into the night, catching just a glimpse of the raven before she was lost in the shadows.
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Well that was the first chappie and I would really love to know what you guys think so REVIEW!!!!!
And stay tuned for more cause the next chapter will explain the plot and will get into that bloody action a DMC fic so craves.
REVIEW * REVIEW * REVIEW.