This is my first Devil May Cry story and quite honestly, I am a bit worried that I might have made Dante and Nero a bit…well out of character. That was not my intention. Also, excuse my grammatical errors. Grammar never was my strongest subject. Also, there are suggestive hints of DantexNero and DantexVergil (well just a very small hint) because I couldn't help myself.
Disclaimer: I think it is rather obvious that I don't own Devil May Cry. But I if did, well then you would know it by seeing Vergil without a shirt and there being lots and lots of unabashed smut. And regarding the legend that Dante mentions, I would like to say that this is something that some people in a certain region in the world do believe in. Whether it is true or not is entirely up to you.
The Cat and the Devil
Nero awoke to a strong source of light pouring through the partly opened tarnished curtains that did little to keep the sun's light or moon's beams out. Each morning when the elder demon hunter did not drag him out of bed on some mission that required them to voyage out at some ungodly hour in the wee morning, Nero usually preferred to sleep in and let the sun at midday arouse him. He threw the covers over his head and attempted to fall back asleep, but the glaring sun had already dealt her damage. He could no longer sleep and each second that passed as he stayed lying in bed made him grow restless until at last with a curse he tossed aside the blanket. He rubbed the remaining fragments of slumber from his eyes and survived the small room. There was nothing spectacular about it at all, merely the essential living requirements like a bed, a dresser, a cracker mirror that had been broken thanks to a certain old man during one of his aroused moods, and a closest that housed some of his clothing. Despite its lack in luxury, Nero was content with what he had, even if it was not much. All that mattered to him was that he had finally found a place to call his own—well technically, he was actually sharing but the point remained the same.
He stood up and stretched his body, making a few of his bones pop. And that is when he noticed something odd. He listened for a moment and realized what the matter was. There was absolutely no noise to be heard from any other region in the shop with the exception of his own breathing. A sensation of loneliness and anger combined took hold of him. Had Dante gotten a job and decided to go alone instead of waking Nero up? If that were the case, then upon his return Dante would find himself face-to-face with a very pissed off adolescent who would be going immediately for his face.
"That bastard!" Thinking this to be the case for the silence down below, Nero hurriedly got dressed in his usual grab of blue jeans, black t-shirt, and long denim coat with the red hood. He snatched Blue Rose from the dresser and stormed out of his room. He ran down the stairs and was about to make for the front door when a voice stopped him.
"Whoa kid, where's the fire?" He turned around to find Dante seated at his desk with his long legs propped on top a pile of crumbled papers with Ebony held tenderly in his hands. He was in the process of cleaning both handguns. For what felt like an eternity, Nero could only stare dumbfounded until he slowly regained his footing.
"Cat got you tongue kid?" Dante teased with a joking smile that made Nero go red with a mixture of annoyance and something else he had yet to identify when it came to Dante.
"Fuck you old man." Nero growled, unable to say anything else to dispel his embarrassment. He slightly looked away to keep the red from growing more noticeable. He was really making an ass of himself. He could only image how his face had looked to the elder demon slayer just now.
"Maybe another time," Dante said with a lustful glint making his blue eyes shine. "Anyways, care explaining why you came bounding down those stairs as if a demon was at your heels, hm kid?" Dante returned to cleaning Ebony and patiently awaited a response from Nero.
When trusting that he no longer was blushing like a girl, Nero looked back at Dante and muttered almost begrudgingly, "I thought you had left me behind while you went out on some job without me."
Without looking up, Dante asked, "What made you think that kid?"
"Well, the shop was uncharacteristically quiet and I just thought that you might have been called away or something and decided to leave me behind instead of waking me up to come with you." Nero felt stupid giving his explanation but it was better than saying nothing and further giving the impression that he was a dumbass.
Dante shook his head and lightly chuckled at the absurdity of the younger slayer's assumptions. He lifted his eyes and looked pointedly at Nero with a small smile on his lips. "So that's what worried you so much. Being left behind and away from all the fun of killing demons, huh? Don't worry kid. If I ever get a job while you're fast asleep, I'll sure as hell wake you up even if I have to throw you in the tub with cold water."
Nero grunted something inarticulate under his breath about trying to do what he promised and realized that his stomach was growling. He had not eaten since last night and the dingy clock hanging on the wall said it was twenty-five past twelve.
"There's a box of pizza on the coffee table." Dante informed, still keeping to his task. Nero muttered thanks and walked toward the coffee table when a small movement from the couch caused him to stop. He looked down to find a black cat stretching itself out and paused for a moment, eerily observing Nero with those knowing greenish-gold eyes before disregarding him. The cat gracefully leaped off the couch and stationed itself in the centre of the room where it instantly began to bathe itself in an arrogant manner. Nero followed the cat with his eyes and turned his attention the elder slayer.
"Uh, why is there a cat in the shop?" Nero questioned. He walked over to where it was and knelt besides it, lifting his Devil Bringer for the cat to sniff and grant him approval whether he could pet it or not. The cat rubbed its head against Nero's hand, thus allowing him to scratch the cat's head.
"It's been hanging around the shop for a couple of weeks now and I guess it finally found its way in here through an open window." Dante replied, replacing Ebony on the desk and picking Ivory up.
"I never imaged you to be a cat person." Nero confessed, gently scratching behind the cat's ears. Dante chuckled and said, "You would think so, wouldn't you kid. I have nothing against cats. I actually think they're rather…interesting."
Nero faced the elder demon slayer and cocked a brow in question. "What do you mean by interesting?" for a vague moment, Nero had a feeling that the word Dante was going to say was 'cute' instead of interesting. But Dante being Dante would never be caught dead saying the word cute. At least, Nero had never heard the word fall from the elder's lips. So he could be wrong, but what were the chances of Dante ever saying it to him? Again, Nero's thoughts wandered in a direction that made his stomach tighten.
"You know, there are a great deal of myths and legends concerning cats, some that are more fictional than true. But there's one theory that has always had a strong impression on me since I was a kid. My old man told it to my brother and me when we were about seven and we wanted a bedtime story before we went to sleep. So, to keep us from finding our own turbulent ways of lullabying ourselves to sleep he decided to tell us this one about a cat. To make a long story short, he asked us if we had ever wondered why a cat constantly flickers its tail. We answered that we had never thought about it. My brother being the adorable sexy smart ass that he was questioned how it could be relevant. In a light tone, my father answered that when a cat's tail is not moving, the Devil is busy counting its' hairs. But whenever it flicks its tail into motion, the Devil loses his place and has to start all over." Dante reassembled Ivory and gave her barrel one final shine with the cloth. He slid the slider back and was satisfied to hear the smooth click informing him that she was functioning perfectly.
Nero had pushed asides his strange thoughts and had been listening so intently to the elder demon slayer's tale, that he was startled to when the recoil of Ivory's slider replaced Dante's alluring voice. He shook his head, dispersing the stupor that had fallen over him and prompted eagerly, "I don't get it. What does the Devil gain from counting the cat's hair?"
Dante stood up and gently but firmly replaced both Ebony and Ivory in their respective holsters and fully faced Nero with a playful smirk and twinkling eyes. He shrugged his shoulders and returned nonchalantly, "If he ever gets through counting the hairs on the cat's tail, he claims the life of not only the cat, but also its owner. For that very reason, some people own cats to protect them from Lucy himself."
Nero glanced down at the cat and noticed that it appeared to have understood what was being said between him and Dante. Dante observed Nero's face, easily reading his thoughts and laughed. "No need to get paranoid, kid. Whether that little legend or theory, or whatever you want to call it, is true or not rest entirely up to you. But now that I think about it, it's rather odd that…" He deliberately trailed off, placing a finger on his chin and appearing to be pensive.
"What do you mean odd? Spit it out already old man!" Nero yelled exasperatedly. He was anxious to hear what else Dante had to say on the matter.
"Since that cat's been roaming around here for the last few weeks, haven't you noticed that the shop hasn't been getting harassed like it usually does by uninvited demons? Of course, this is all speculation…"
"You expect me to buy this bullshit? Ha! The only reason why demons haven't come knocking on our door is 'cuz we're the ones keeping them away. Give me a break, old man. Next time you want to get all nostalgic and feel like telling a story to me, make sure it's a damn good one that makes at least some sense." Nero spat rudely, but a seed of doubt had sown itself into his mind. He had never known of the cat's existence until today, but Dante was right about the shop having not suffered any molestation from demons in the past few weeks. Was it possible that a cat's flickering tail could protect them?
'Shit. Now I'm starting to believe in this bullshit. Thanks a lot Dante.' Merely saying the elder slayer's name within the privacy of his own mind made Nero shiver. He rarely ever addressed the elder by his proper name, always calling him instead 'old man' or some other informal term. He repeated the name in his mind again, allowing himself the chance to get familiar with saying it. He enjoyed the sweet sensation it caused him to feel but suddenly his little session of familiarity was interrupted by the ringing of the telephone.
Dante sauntered over to his desk and as extravagant and unpractical as he was, instead of grabbing the receiver like any normal individual would do, he slammed his fist on the desk, causing the phone to perform three spirals before being caught in his gloved hand.
"Devil May Cry. Yeah, that's me. Sloth demon. Address? Uh-huh. Yeah, got it." Dante grumbled and slammed the receiver back in place. He regarded Nero with an unreadable look and said, "You done playing with the kitty-cat, kid? We got pizza money to earn since I'm currently broke thanks to those two wenches that keep extorting every cent I own from my pocket."
Nero gave the cat one final stroke on its head and stood up. He brushed the dust from his jeans and just barely caught Red Queen as Dante tossed it to him.
"Ready kid?" Dante asked as he threw the doors wide open and looked over at Nero who was standing besides him. Nero nodded his head and gave him an arrogant smirk. "Yeah I'm ready old man. I just hope you can keep up with me."
"Oh, I'm sure I can kid. It's you I'm worried about though." Dante returned, a light in his eyes suggesting he meant something more by his words. But before Nero could muse over it or even say anything, the doors behind them were slammed shut and a second later the motorcycle's engine roared to life and the two mounted together were zooming down the street towards their new job.
From the windowsill, the cat watched as the two demon slayers drove off. Its eyes were aglow brilliantly and more curiously enough was its tail's momentary stillness. The majestic feline felt a gentle pain originating from the very tip of its tail. Without the need to move its entire body, the animal knew who was trying to do it and its new owners harm. The combined eyes of green and gold narrowed into dangerous slits and with an arrogance that mirrored the two silver haired men's own, it flourished its long tail, thus dislodging the Devil from his intent task of counting what could never be counted.
So, yeah the ending was a bit cliché but it seems to work well. What did you all think? Were Dante and Nero out of character? I hoped some found this enjoyable and got a laugh out of it. Also, please review and tell me what you think. What author doesn't like reviews?! Thanks for reading