Chapter two. :3 Hope ya like it! ^-^
The sudden monsoon pounded against the roof of the Devil May Cry office as Dante leaned back in his desk chair, the two front feet off the hardwood floor, magazine over his face and sound asleep. Patty Lowell scowled to herself, fiddling with the antenna of the frozen television, attempting in vain to get the screen to continue playing her episode of her favorite romance show. The screen squiggled, the picture becoming boxy-looking and then resuming with the show. The blond sighed with relief, snuggling up with her giant teddy bear and settling against the back of the couch, smiling contently. No sooner had she gotten comfortable, the doors of the office burst open with an ear splitting KA-BANG, Patty jumping up from the couch, shrieking in surprise.
"What the hell," Dante murmured sleepily, feeling indifferent to the sudden kicking open of his office doors.
"We have an issue," Lady said and Dante lifted the magazine off his face.
"Alright...?"
Trish stepped inside, a young woman close to Dante's age in her arms. Dante cocked his eyebrows, lowering the chair back down to the floor and swinging his feet off his desk.
"Who is she?" he asked and Lady shrugged.
"No idea...these two complete strangers showed up at Trish's door all "You have to help her!" and the second this girl was in Trish's arms, they bailed," Lady explained and Trish walked the unidentifiable girl over to the couch, Patty moving her stuffed animals out of the way and allowing the stranger to lay peacefully in their place.
"So, what are we going to do?" Dante asked, studying the unconscious brunette sleeping on the couch.
"Well, I want to know who her two companions are. There's no way people can just leave someone at some stranger's door," Trish muttered and pushed aside a wet curl from the girl's face. Patty studied the sleeping woman, her blue eyes brimming with questions.
"Again...where are we going to let her stay?" Dante repeated and relaxed his hands behind his head.
"She's going to stay here of course," Lady said as if the answer were more obvious than Dante's obsession with olive-free pizza.
"SAY WHAT?!" he cried, pouncing to his feet and Lady crossed her arms, her red and blue eyes glowering at the white haired man.
"She's staying here."
"Why?!"
"By the way, after inspecting the injury she got, I doubt she's going to remember anything from her past," Trish said quietly, seeming slightly worried and Dante growled.
"So you're making me babysit some girl that's going to wake up not knowing who the hell she is or where she came from?!"
"Yeah, that's another way of putting it," Lady answered with a shrug and Dante sweat dropped.
"To hell with that."
"Ooooh, come on Dante!" Patty piped up, "she's got nowhere else to go. Please, can we keep her?"
"This is a human, Patty, not a stray cat," he grumbled and Trish blew back her bangs.
"You have no heart. This girl needs someone to care for her and is desperate for a place to call home...and yet...you remain insensitive to her cause," the blond demon sighed.
"You suck at guilt trips, Trish."
"Think of it this way, Dante," Lady closed her eyes and tightened her arms across her chest, "the longer she stays with you, the less you owe me. I'll take it out of your debt to me, how's that?"
Dante had to pause to think about this. He had to consider both sides...first being his immense debt that was so far out of control not even In Charge Debt Solution could help him recover, so, the fact his solution to at least relieve some of his finance issues was lying right in front of him did make him consider taking this fourth female presence under his wing...however...what were the risks? Taking in a total stranger with open arms had gained the reputation of a reckless idea...this girl could have a legion of demons following her...(not that Dante could slaughter them with one hand tied behind his back but still...) or something even more threatening...a possessive boyfriend...
"Fine," the demon hunter sighed after a moment of silence, "I'll let her stay here."
"Good," Lady smiled. The debt bribe never fails.
Damn it...I got conned again...Dante thought bitterly, his bangs hanging over his blue eyes.
"Well, on that note, thanks Dante and we'll come see her tomorrow. Night guys," Trish bade before her partner could change his mind and the two friends scurried out of the office and back into the downpour. Dante exhaled sharply, sitting back down in his chair and flopping the magazine back over his closed eyes, feet crossing on his desk.
"So...what are we going to call her...since she doesn't have a name?" Patty asked and Dante folded his hands behind his head.
"Whatever. Makes no difference to me," he yawned and Patty stuck her tongue out at him.
"Rosangelo then," she said, "or Rose...Rosie..."
"Okay I get it," Dante sighed and the blond aristocrat smiled despite her friend's bad humor.
He'll warm up to her, Patty assured herself optimistically and gave the motionless Rose a pat on the head.
The T.V. froze again, making Patty return her full attention to the motionless screen before it twitched then shut off completely.
"Ahhh! Dante...you gotta fix the T.V.!"
The Next Morning...
"Dante! Dante! Dante!" Patty cried and sprinted down the steps, the demon hunter jerking awake and almost tipping over from his chair and onto the floor.
"For Christ's sake, what?" he muttered, the magazine dropping from his face and his blue eyes resting on the empty couch. "Shit..."
"Rosie's gone!" Patty exclaimed and Dante grabbed his red trench coat, swishing it around to pull it over his shoulders.
"Let's go," he ordered and his small companion followed him out of the glum office and out into the sunlight.
In the Park...
She didn't know how she had gotten there or who the people were, but all the princess knew was she was able to function perfectly, the only limits being she couldn't speak and she had no memory of anything that had happened before she had awaken only an hour ago. She studied her light brown curls that fell to the middle of her back and she lifted her hands up to eyes, rotating her wrists around, staring at them curiously as if the answer to her millions of questions would appear on the back of her lightly tanned palms.
Who am I? Where am I and how did I get here? I don't even know my own name...I can't remember when I was born or where I came from...I can't remember any family I might have had...I just woke up in some strange office that smelled strongly of pizza...no memories of my past...I can barely remember my own name...am I even human?
The sun was warm and comforting to her as her sparkling, hazel eyes gazed at the morning glories stretching out their white petals and she felt a smile creep across her face. Her legs were crossed in front of her, wrists over one other as well, her brown curls swaying in the breeze. The surrounding park goers cast few glances at her, not paying much heed to the young woman admiring the blossoming flowers in the park, smiling with the innocence of a child, and she uncrossed her legs, straightening her back and tilting back her head, allowing the sunlight to warm her face.
I wonder...how did I come to be here?
"Rose!"
She opened her eyes at the distant voice and the lost princess perked her ears, the voice seeming familiar.
"Rosie-chan!"
The sweet voice was getting closer and the brunette wondered if it was calling to her, turning around curiously to see a blond youth jogging towards her.
"Rose-chan! I found you," the girl said and the brunette remained speechless, her voice refusing to come forth. The child tilted her head and the woman stared back at her with a hazel gaze as if to ask, "Who are you?"
I think I heard her talking last night...I thought I heard some people talking when I began to come around then fell asleep...what was her name...? Trish maybe?
"Oh, is it alright if I call you Rosangelo? Or Rose or Rosie for short?" the youth asked and her companion shrugged her shoulders.
Well, I sure as hell don't remember my name. Even if I did, I couldn't tell her because I can't talk...nor do I have a pen and paper handy...
"Okay! I'm Patty by the way...and Dante is around here somewhere," Patty said and her blue eyes searched the grounds. Her lips pursed and she seemed irritated at the fact this "Dante" was nowhere to be found. Again.
"This is the third time in a half hour he's disappeared like this..." Patty exasperated and Rose patted her gold curls, a look of sympathy on her face."Come on Rosie, let's go find him."
Patty took the soft hand in hers and pulled the brunette to her feet, tugging her along the side walk in a (third) quest for Dante. Now, as most who might know Dante Sparda like the back of their foot, (Trish and Lady) the first place one (Trish and Lady) would go, is a pizza place. Unfortunately for Patty, it took five pizza places and then finally an ice cream parlor to ferret out the white haired demon hunter poking a ruby red strawberry in his trade mark sundae. Patty lightly bit the tip of her tongue, irked to from the point of her well polished black shoes to the ends of her curly pony tail as she stalked up to him, Rose following her.
"Really Dante? Rose is missing and then you can sit down and eat a sundae?" Patty sighed, wiggling her way into the seat across from him, Rose sliding in beside her, the hazel eyes studying the man across from her and hands folded underneath her chin.
"You guys want one all you have to do is ask," Dante sighed and Rose blinked.
"Hey, Dante," a waitress called from the other side of the diner, the purring of roller skates approaching. Rose lifted her eyes to the waitress, sliding her gaze down to her chest, a shiny name tag reading "Cindy". "Did you guys want a strawberry sundae?"
Rose nodded with a smile.
"Sure, I'd love one," Patty chirped and Cindy skated behind the bar, returning seconds later with a sundae in each of her slender hands.
"Here you are!" she sang and Rose dipped her spoon into the pink treat. "So, is she your girlfriend, Dante?" Cindy added, gesturing to the brunette and Rose cocked her eyebrows, spoon hanging from her mouth.
"No," Dante answered monotonically, "we just met."
"Oh, well, she's cute," Cindy continued and both Rose and Dante shifted uncomfortably.
She's talking about me as if I'm not here...
"It was nice meeting you," Cindy concluded as another customer strode inside the small diner and Rose gave her a smile.
But she seems friendly.
"Bye Dante," the waitress waved and then skated over to the door to seat the new arrival.
Rose felt another smile spread across her face as she spooned another spoonful of the icecream into her mouth and Dante rested his elbow back against the back of the booth, studying the two girls in front of him. Patty continued to gulp down her icecream happily, lost in her own little world but Rose sensed his gaze, peering up at him with her hazel eyes through her brown bangs. Her spoon was poised over her lower lip, her eyes seeming to quiz him, wondering what he was about to say, but when he just stared at her blankly, she only smiled innocently.
"You smile a lot," Dante said to her and Rose tilted her head as if asking 'Is that a bad thing?'.
"She's happy, aren't you Rosie?" Patty chirped, the hazel orbs turning to her and the woman nodded, still smiling for some reason beyond Dante.
"Does she even know who we are? We could have kidnapped her for all she knows," the hunter sighed and Rose blinked, her eyes half closing as if to say, "Oh give me a break."
"She knows our names though, I'm Patty and he's Dante," the blond introduced and pointed her spoon at her white haired guardian. Rose nodded, slipping her own silverware into her sundae and nibbling on a strawberry.
"So, are you two done?" Dante asked, leaning back in the booth and Rose's eyes traveled from his finished sundae to her own, which she was barely half done with. The brunette sweat dropped and Dante's forefinger tapped the table, not impatiently, as he seemed to stare off into space.
How do men eat so fast? Rose wondered to herself, and pushed her sundae towards her companion. Dante noted her then swayed his hand, offering the sundae away.
"You can eat it or take it with you if you want to leave."
"Hey, Rosie, why don't we take her shopping?" Patty exclaimed and Dante's blue eyes widened.
"I'm in enough debt--"
"But Rosie needs some clothes," Patty pointed out and Dante blew back his bangs.
"Good point but--"
Rose nudged her blond friend and shook her head but Patty continued to insist.
"Really Dante, unless you want her to walk around nak--"
"Alright," Dante cut her off, not wanting her to shout the statement to the whole diner, "we can go now."
Rose felt herself blush furiously and Dante sighed, crossing his arms on the table. Rose tilted her head and began to slide out of the booth, Patty following suit, Dante not moving.
Poor guy...a bit literally too...Rose thought to herself and then poked him in the side to signal they were leaving. Dante stood with a sigh, Rose following Patty to the door, sundae still in her hand and Dante pulled the door open, the three of them exiting.
This girl could take some getting used to, Dante esteemed to himself as he followed the two girls down the street to the thrift store.
I know...it's slow. I promise some demon slaughtering and stuff in the next chapter. Maybe a review or 2 in the mean time? :)