N/A: Alright so I ended up merging like three chapters in this to make one big chapter. I figured it would look better this way. I'm probably going to post a new chapter soon. Hopefully I can make it long. But enjoy anyway.


Chapter 2

She furrowed her brows and squint her eyes. She winced at the irritating pain that lingered within her left arm. She closed her eyes even tighter as the pain made its way through her shoulder. She reached over to her arm with a painful groan and noticed it was bandaged. She gripped her arm tightly, trying to make the pain go away. Her breathing was heavy and she couldn't help but utter out a small cry. She prayed and pleaded that this agonizing pain would stop. Her arm began to glow her usual aura and she felt an instant relief in her arm. The pain had finally stopped and she took a deep breath. She exhaled and mentally thanked God that her moment of pain and grief had finally ceased. She was sweating a bit and wiped her forehead with the back of her right hand.

It was quiet, a bit too quiet. She knew she wasn't dead and the last thing she could remember was being saved by a flash of red and white. Was it Dante, perhaps? She shifted her legs and moved them around. She felt the smooth touch of sheets against her skin. So she knew she was lying in a bed. She began to flutter her eyelids staring straight up at the ceiling. She could feel a presence next to her. She turned slowly and noticed a blurry figure in front of her.

"Ah!" she screamed and sat up quickly. Startled and disoriented, she quickly summoned her black katana in her hand and removed the sheath, preparing to cut through the strange figure. But before she could do any damage, a hand grabbed her wrist lifting her arm in the air. She jumped a little at the sudden wave of physical contact. She was panting and shaking frantically.

"Hey, hey… cool it samurai, it's just me," came a husky yet smooth voice.

She recognized that voice. An instant wave of alleviation spread throughout her body. She closed her eyes once more then re-opened them. Her vision was starting to clear and she could see once more. It was only Dante. He was sitting sideways towards her with his legs hanging off of the bed.

Mai slowly looked around and observed the messy bedroom. She had a good hunch that it belonged to Dante. The walls were a dark red and were covered with posters of various rock bands, and one specific poster of a half-naked woman standing in an erotic position. Yep... it's Dante's room, alright… she thought as she mentally snarled at the distasteful poster. She continued to browse at his collection of posters on the wall. She stopped at one specific poster with four men dressed in all black with black and white paint on their sadistic, intimidating faces. On the top of the poster in big white lettering read "Combichrist." She gave a small smile and chuckled. She remembered when she first met Dante that he was a big fan of Combichrist, and so was she. There were piles of dirty laundry on the corners of the gray carpet floor. Near the closet was a dark brown, wooden dresser with a matching mirror attached to it. The mirror was slightly cracked and broken in the upper right corner. She gave a concerned look at the mirror. That's seven years bad luck… she thought. Dante sure had no interest in cleaning or tidying up. She looked down and noticed she was wearing a black V-neck T-shirt that had big, white graffiti letters on it that read "FACE YOUR DEMONS!" It was quite loose and it hung off of the ends of her shoulders.

"It's been a while, Mai."

She looked at him. Even though she was glad that she had finally found him, she had a rather unhappy look on her face. In fact, she was angry. She scowled at him, narrowing her hazel eyes. Dante just sat there scratching the back of his neck. He was beginning to sense her hostility.

She carefully eyed him. He looked much different from when they last met. He had a nice red leather trench coat with buckles on it. Underneath he wore a black muscle shirt. He had on dark leather pants and combat boots. His hair even looked different; instead of a dark black it was a snowy white. His eyes were still a smoky, gray-ish blue that would always give her a tingle down her spine when he looked at her. His lips were thin and his chin and jaw looked like they were sculpted by the hands of God himself. Yes, Dante was quite the looker. But Mai was too angry with him to let his charm over power her once again. It's been months since they last seen each other. And now that they were finally face to face, Mai decided that now would be the best time to get some things off of her chest.

"Where the hell have you been?!" she asked sternly.

Dante raised a white brow. "Well, nice to see you, too," he said sarcastically.

"Dante, I'm serious. You left me alone! What the hell happened to you? I've been searching everywhere for you! How could you leave me alone like that? Do you know the pain and suffering I've endured trying to find you? I thought you…"

"Alright! Alright… fuck. I get it just… stop nagging already..." Dante placed his hands on his head and rubbed his temples.

Offended by his rude and disruptive behavior, Mai pouted and folded her arms across her chest, turning her head to the side so she couldn't look at him. She knew that Dante was cocky and arrogant, but right now she had zero tolerance for his aloof behavior. Maybe she was a bit hormonal from the pregnancy; she didn't know nor did she care. What she did know was that this bastard had sex with her and then disappeared without saying a word! Not mention that he got her…

"Pregnant."

"Huh?" Dante gave a puzzled look.

"I'm pregnant… Dante," Mai repeated rather irritably.

Dante gave a look of surprise. Then he relaxed his shoulders and gave a slight chuckled. "Hmm… is that so? Well then… how's my baby doing in there?" Dante gently rubbed her belly. Mai gave a small sigh that could only be heard by her. She didn't want to show Dante that she was enjoying it. No, she wanted to keep up her little facade to show him just how furious she was. She huffed and blew air through her nose then turned to face Dante.

"I need to know what happened," she demanded. Her voice was low but stern.

He looked up at her, his hand never left her belly.

"Tell me the truth… why did you leave me?"

Dante rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. Dante's been with a lot of girls before her. He was known for being a "cruiser", going from one girl to the next. But it wasn't completely his fault. Dante had always been on his own with no one to care for him. And when the time finally came for female counterparts, they were all only after one thing. And pretty soon, he was also trapped in the never ending cycle of lust. No one ever really took the time to get to know him. So Dante was just merely returning the favor. And by doing so, he shut out his emotions from others completely. But Mai wasn't like the others. She was kind to him, despite his hostility and detachment towards her when they first met. He wasn't one to get intimately involved with a demon; however, he grew fond of her. He admired her ability to love, to care, to cry; qualities of a human. They were the qualities that most demons, and even human lacked.

"Mai…" Dante began. "I never meant to hurt you, okay?" Unconvinced of his pathetic excuse for an "apology", Mai rolled her eyes and looked up avoiding his gaze. She was still listening to what he had to say.

Dante gave another sigh. "Look… I only left you behind because I was trying to protect you. Some demons were after me and I didn't want you getting hurt so… I tried to lead them away. I know I should've tried to contact you, but I couldn't risk anything. They were all after me. I couldn't bring you down with me."

Mai turned her attention back to the devil hunter. She looked him straight in the eye checking for any sign of guilt or lie. But she saw nothing but pure sincerity in his eyes. She exhaled through her nose and gritted her teeth in her closed mouth.

"And you're sure you weren't just trying to get away from me, or anything?" Mai perked her blood-red lips.

Dante scooted closer to her.

"I swear to God," he answered.

Mai shook her head, "Don't swear to God. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't be here right now." she placed a hand on her stomach.

Her finger tips were slightly against Dante's. He inched his fingers over hers and began to cover her hand with his. He cautiously gripped her hand and smiled at her. She couldn't help but smile back. He mind was at peace. She had to know if his feelings were true and not just a game he was playing just to get what he wanted. She much felt better now that she knew the truth.

"You could've told me that sooner, jack ass," she chuckled.

He chuckled too. "Yeah whatever."

A knock was at the bedroom door and they both turned their heads.

"Yeah?" Dante called out.

"It's Molly sir," came a high pitched, nasally voice.

"Come in," Dante said.

Molly turned the knob and entered. She was dressed in a tight royal blue dress with matching pumps. Her red hair was tied into a neat bun and she carried a clip board in her hand. She walked over to where Dante and Mai were sitting.

"Sir," she nodded. "Ms. Kat is here to see you."

Dante nodded and waved. "Good, bring her in."

Molly nodded once more and turned to the door. She opened it wide letting in the young woman named Kat. Molly exited the room closing the door behind her.

Kat was Dante's one and only best friend and was a big help in taking down the demon king, Mundus. As of now, she was Dante's second in command and helps him run his business. She was the one who helped him invest in this large demon slaying corporation and helped him establish a business relationship with a man named Morrison, who helps sponsor his company. Kat had fair skin and short, shaggy, dark brown hair. Her eyes were gray. Her lips were a pale pink. She had a star symbol embedded on the center of her forehead. She was wearing long sleeved, black leather top that stopped just at the top of her ribs, black tights with a dark green stripe on each side of her legs, knee high black leather combat boots, and a black hooded cape that was green on the inside. Kat walked over to the bed where Dante sat.

"You needed me for something?" Kat's voice was soft and pure.

"Yeah, I'm going on a mission today and I need you to look after Mai."

"Hey, I don't need a baby sitter!" Mai protested.

Dante looked at Mai and smirked. "Look... It's either my good friend Kat here, or Amber, one of my employees. And I don't think you'd want a stripper as your baby sitter."

Mai blinked a few times and folded her arms across her chest looking at the wall. Dante gave a slight "hmph" in his throat then turned back to Kat.

"So, you gonna watch her for me?"

"U-um, I guess. How long will you be gone?"

"Hmm… dunno. I'll let you know. Well, duty calls. See ya when I get back, alright?"

Dante began walking towards the door. Before he left he turned to look at Mai. She turned and faced him as she realized that he was hadn't left the room yet.

"Be nice…" he said seductively.

Mai gave a "hmph!"and turned her head making it seem like she was ignoring his comment. Dante chuckled and closed the door behind him. Kat shook her head and headed to Mai.

"Hello, my name's Kat. You must be Mai." Kat stuck her exotic, tattooed hand out to Mai.

Mai stared at Kat's hand, following the pattern of black swirls running up and down her fingers and knuckles. Mai smiled and stuck out her tattooed hand to shake Kat's.

"Nice to meet you, Kat. So how long have you known Dante?"

Kat smiled. "Well, it's been months now. I helped him and his brother bring down the demon king and destroy the hell-gate."

Mai gave a puzzled look. "I didn't know Dante had a brother."

"Neither did he at first." Kat explained. "But, his brother and I found him and helped regain his memory of his past. And sure enough, he recognized his brother in seconds."

"What happened to his brother?"

Kat's eyes lowered. "He… he left. Everything's happened so fast, between running this insane business and paying the bills on time… we've been through a lot in these past few months.

Mai saw the rather sad look on Kat's face and decided to change the subject.

"Um… I could use a bath. Care to show me where the bathroom is?"

Kat's expression lightened up a bit and she nodded. "Sure, follow me."

She helped Mai up from the bed and proceeded to lead her to the bathroom. They walked down the hall past a few doors. She looked over and saw an elevator. The building itself was about 10 storied high. An awfully large amount of floors for a demon hacking corporation. Kat led her to the bathroom which was all the way down the hall. It was surprisingly pleasant and elegant. The walls were painted red as usual. The sink was a golden marble tile that matched the floor. There was an elegant mirror hanging over the sink. The bathroom was rather large. Up ahead was a white fancy bathtub and next to it was a fancy shower. Mai smiled and nodded in approval.

"Pretty nice, huh?" Kat said.

"Oh yeah," Mai nodded in agreement. "For a loud mouth, violent delinquent, he sure has taste."

Kat giggled. "Oh! Let me go get you something to freshen up with. I'll be right back."

Kat closed the door behind her. Mai turned and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked tired and bland and her eyes were dull. She stared at her bandaged arm and saw little stains of dried up blood. She closed her eyes and sighed. She needed to relax. She was under a lot of pain and stress. But now it was time for her to wine down. And besides, pregnancy and stress don't mix well at all. Mai decided to get ready for the bath and began to strip. She began removing the T-shirt from her torso flipping it over and sliding it off of her wild hair. Kat finally arrived with a bottle of body wash, a wash cloth, and a big towel to dry off with. She opened the door and stepped inside. She stopped and stared.

"Whoa…" She admired the big exotic, colorful Japanese dragon tattoo on Mai's back. The tattoo began to glow, illuminating the bathroom with colors. Kat stood in the door frame in amazement, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open. She had never seen a demon as beautiful as her.

Yakushima, Japan: (Yakushima Forest in Limbo)

"Higher, mommy!" she cried with joy.

The young eight-year-old girl was soaring through the air on the back of her demon-dragon mother. Her bright-redflower kimonodanced in the wind as did her wild, jet-black hair. Her big, bright hazel eyes gazed beyond the fluffy, odd-colored clouds. Her mother flew gracefully through the sky. The cool, crisp winds glided across her metallic-red scales. Herlong tailswayed from side to side. Her large, leathery wings were spread wide on each side, allowing her to glide easily through the air.

The sky was a bright peach color with swirls of baby blue and an unusual blood red. The sun sat just between the tall mountains. Exotic butterflies flew at an abnormally high altitude. The forest's trees were also abnormal, stretching up real high into the air, almost into space. Just below them was a flock of what looked like birds. The young girl looked down and watched the birds fly by.

"Mommy, look!" she pointed down "What kind of birds are those?"

Her mother looked down below them. She chuckled to herself.

"Those aren't birds, Ai. Those are harpies."

Harpies are flying demons with angel-like wings and skinny, boney bodies. They carry spears with them that extend when they attack.

Ai tried to get a closer look. She squint her eyes and leaned forward.

"Are you sure?" she leaned closer. "Cuz they look a lot like birds to me."

Ai sat on her knees as she inched closer.

"Ai, don't lean forward so much or you'll fall." warned her mother.

"But mommy… I can't tell if… AH!" Ai shrieked as she began to lose her balance.

"Ai, be careful!"

Ai couldn't regain her balance and her foot slipped, and she fell off of her mother's back.

"Ai!"

Ai was falling right above the harpies. One of them spotted her and headed towards her. It caught her just by the collar of her kimono. It began dragging her off course and the others followed. They screeched and giggled as they carried young Ai away. Her mother's eyes began to glow as she roared with rage. She began diving after them with great force. A wave of fire began to form around her as she came closer to the flock of harpies. The harpies caught site of the fierce dragon charging at them, and three of them began heading towards her with their spears ready to strike. She didn't stop despite their awareness of her, and she pursued further. The three harpies aimed their spears toward her and extended them out. She dodged the spears and headed for one of the harpies. She quickly scooped one up between her sharp teeth. The harpy struggled and squealed in pain. She bit down and crushed the harpy in between her jaws. Pieces of its body fell out her mouth and drifted in the sky. The dragon then swooped back around and headed for the other two demons. She blew red, hot fire from her mouth and burned the two harpies. They cried and screeched as their boney flesh burned to ashes and drifted into the air. She heard her child cry and saw that the harpy was making its escape with Ai in its clutches.

"No!" she cried. "Let go of her, now!"

She flew at full speed towards the harpy. But there were still a few other harpies left. They followed behind her and readied their weapons. One of them extended its spear and stabbed her in her wing. She roared in pain and quickly folded her wounded wing to her torso. She managed to keep herself in the air with her good wing, but just barely. She gave a quick swing of her tail and knocked away the other harpies.

"Mommy!" Ai cried out to her wounded mother.

Ai looked up at the harpie that was carrying her with pure anger. Her eyes began to glow a menacing blood-red, and she quickly clawed out a chunk the harpy's flesh. The harpy squealed in pain and dropped her. Ai fell through the sky as her mother watched helplessly and injured. Suddenly, there was a flash of blue. Ai opened her eyes and found herself staring at rows of metallic-blue scales. She looked up staring at a reflection of herself. The girl stood there smirking while shaking her head in disappointment. Ai just stared back at her, mouth slightly open and her hazel eyes wide with tears. Her heart was still beating a bit faster than usual. That's good, she supposed. She wasn't dead... she could still breathe.

"You're just LOADS of trouble, aren't ya?" said Ai's reflection sticking her hand out towards her.

Ai's cheeks began to burn as she took her twin's hand. Ai was standing face to face with her sister. They were identical; the only difference was that her sister was older by two minutes and wore she a blue flower kimono instead a red one, and her hair was a snowy-white instead of jet-black.

"Arigato, Seiu," Ai bowed slightly to her elder twin.

"Yeah, yeah. Nan demo," Seiu rolled her eyes. "Ya know... I'm getting pretty sick of having to save your sorry butt all the time. Do you know how irritating it is to have to constantly come to your rescue every time you get into trouble?"

"Now now, Seiu… go easy on your little sister. It is important that you two look after each other no matter what."

Both sisters turned to look at their demon dragon father. Ai sighed silently thanking her father for getting her elder twin off her back.

Seiu rolled her eyes and obeyed her father's word. "Hai, chichi..."

Their father began to change course and turned back around. Ai felt a bit dizzy at the sudden change in direction and stumbled back down, sitting Indian-style. Seiu couldn't help but giggle at her younger twin's clumsiness.

They headed back to their injured mother who was still dangling by one wing. She sighed in relief as she saw that her precious Ai was safe and sound. Their father flew beside their mother and extended his back for her. She adjusted herself on top of her mate's back and quickly began to morph back into her human form. She limply sat down, Indian-style, while clutching her wound. Ai quickly ran to her mother's side.

"I'm so glad you're safe," her mother said to her.

Ai looked at her mother's wound."Mommy… Your arm… I… I'm so sorry," Ai began to break down in tears.

Seiu just rolled her eyes.

Their mother smiled. She scooted Ai closer to her with her good arm and cuddled her.

"Don't blame yourself, Ai. It wasn't your fault. And besides, I'm fine. See?" she lifted up her arm to show her youngest daughter that her wound had already healed completely without a scratch in sight. It looked as if nothing had ever happened. Ai stared at her mother's miraculously healed arm. Her tears had stopped flowing from her eyes. She slowly reached for her mother's arm, making sure to approach carefully.

"It… d-doesn't hurt?" she muttered.

Her mother chuckled, "No, my dear. Totemo genkidesu yo, subete ga umaku narudarou." She hugged her younger daughter in a tight embrace.

Ai smiled, "Yoi!" Ai leaned against her mother's torso and felt the cool breeze dance across her face. Her mother gently ran her fingers through Ai's wild yet very soft hair.

Seiu pouted and turned around in a huff. She crossed her arms and walked along the back of her father. She approached her father's head and sat on top of it. She gave a cued sigh and her father acknowledged her frustration. He briefly looked up at her then put his eyes back on course.

"What's the matter, my little rain drop?" her father asked.

Seiu looked down upon her father. She stared at his scaly, blue head.

"Does mom love Ai more than me?" Seiu asked.

She could feel her father shaking his head.

"Now why would you think that?"

Seiu sighed again. "Well… I mean… just look at em'! They're all peachy and super close to each other, and Ai is always acting like a little baby, and then mom always comes to her. She probably wouldn't even care if I was in danger."

Her father grumbled to himself and shook his head once again at his eldest daughter's words. "Seiu, your mother loves you just as much as she loves your sister. And nothing is going to change that."

Seiu rolled her eyes. "Well it sure doesn't feel like it."

"You want to know why your mother is showing Ai so much attention instead of you?" her father asked.

Seiu nodded her head, "Mhm."

"It's because your mother knows that you can take care of yourself. You're a brave and strong young girl. And your sister looks up to you. And if anything should ever happen to us, she's counting on you to protect yourself and your sister from harm. She believes in you and she loves you very much."

Seiu stared up at the odd-shaped clouds as she took in the wise words of her father. His words repeated in her head like a broken record.

Her father assumed she was lost on what he had just told her. So he tried to reach out to her. "Do you understand, my blue rain drop?"

Seiu smiled at the sound of her nickname and nodded. "Hai wakarimasu."

Her father gave a grunt in approval and proceeded to carry his family back home through the skies of Limbo.

Present Time Limbo City: 10:50 p.m.

Her wild, snow-white hair danced in the night air. The bright moon gave off a luminous light that brought out a glow to her hazel eyes. She wore a tight blue, long-sleeved leather corset top that had a cape attached to the back of it, black finger-less gloves that revealed her tattooed fingers, blue leather pants and black leather boots that reached up to her upper thighs. She had a tattoo on her chest and along the sides of her waist that looked like Japanese symbols. Her lips were blue. She carried two black katana swords strapped to both sides of her waist. They had two beads, one red and the other blue, that hung from the hilt. She closed her eyes and took in the moon light. Her memories raced through her mind. "Mai…" she gently uttered to herself, "…that was ancient history..." She stood up on the roof top she was kneeling on. "Things have changed since then."

She sensed something coming her way and she instantly gripped one of her swords. She turned and looked carefully at the dark shadowed area of the roof. Nothing came out. Her eyes began to glow and she activated her night vision. She sighed in annoyance.

"You can stop spying on me, Jerriko. I know it's you."

Just then, a handsome-looking young man appeared out of the shadows. His hair was dark and long. His eyes were yellow. His skin was very pale. He had two pointy wolf ears that stuck out of the top of his head. He wore a long-sleeved dark shirt, ripped jeans, and black combat boots. There were a few piercings in his ears. He had a silver chain tied around his neck. He gave a wide grin revealing his pearly white fangs. His dark bushy tail swayed back and forth.

"Hey! What's shakin', babe?!" Jerriko welcomed her with open arms.

She relaxed herself and released her sword. "Shouldn't you be fetching a newspaper for your master?" she asked sarcastically.

"Aw, c'mon now. I just wanted to drop by and say hi. And besides, she let me out tonight."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, I've got something to take care of. I don't have time to fool around."

"What's wrong with a little foolin' around, huh?" Jerriko gave a devilish grin.

"Tch. Street mutt…" she muttered under her breath.

"Aw, Seiu… that hurt," Jerriko put a hand over his chest.

She had almost forgotten that he wasn't a fool when it came to super sensitive hearing. Suddenly when she wasn't looking, he appeared right in front of her. She flinched and looked at him suspiciously.

"What?" she asked irritably.

"Have you found her yet?" he asked.

Seiu relaxed herself yet again when she realized who he was talking about.

"I'm on a close trail. She's been losing a large amount of blood lately, I can tell. I've been tracking it down. These demons must be giving her a hard time. It's to be expected. After all, she is pregnant..." Seiu trailed off.

Jerriko gave her a curious look.

"It's a shame I have to destroy the child, too. But we all have to make sacrifices in order to get what we want… right Jerriko?" Seiu looked at him sympathetically.

He hunched his shoulders. "Hell, I guess so," he scratched the back of his head.

Seiu turned to the moon. Its bright light shined on her smooth, tan skin.

"Put everything behind you. The past is nothing but a burden. Let all of your emotions go. Let power drive you, and destroy those who stand in your way…"

Jerriko gave Seiu a concerned look. "H-hey… Just a thought. Why do you want to kill her so badly? Doesn't your past mean anything to you?"

Seiu paused. She just stared at the moon. Jerriko waited for her answer.

"I need more power," she said. She turned to look back at Jerriko. "She possesses a power far beyond what you can even imagine. But it is in fact fatal to its host and can consume whoever has it entirely, unless one knows how to control it. She's not even aware that she has this power, yet. By now she's probably already experienced its… "symptoms." This rare power is passed down through our kind, the demon dragon. I want that power, Jerriko. And the only way to obtain it is to rid of the person who wields this power."

Jerriko stared at her. Was she really going to hunt down her own flesh and blood just to satisfy her thirst for power?

"What if you can't kill her?" Jerriko asked.

His words caught her attention.

"What if you can't get this power you're talking about? What if… she…"

"That won't happen, Jerriko. I'm going to need you to trust me on this."

Seiu placed a hand on Jerriko's shoulder.

Even though they were two very different beings, Jerriko grew very fond of Seiu. Jerriko belonged to a queen who went by the name Rose. She was a firey red-head with a short temper; she was a fire demon. She ran a nightclub deep underground, surrounded by hot magma. It was like her own private hell made just the way she liked it. Jerriko is her, well, dog. Her second in command, actually. Occasionally, they'd share a more intimate relationship with each other; other times she'd let him roam free around Limbo City. During those times, like tonight, he would try and find a way to get to Seiu. Something about her interested him. She was graceful and unique in her own way. He liked that about her.

Jerriko gave Seiu a warming smile. He placed a hand on her smooth face and sighed. "Just be careful. I wouldn't want anything happening to that pretty face of yours."

Seiu chuckled as she removed his hand from her face. "You just make sure you take care of yourself. And watch out for that devil hunter," Seiu moved away from him and headed towards the edge of the roof top. She gave him one last glance and he gladly locked eyes with hers.

"Tell Rose I said "hi" for me okay?" she said before she leaped off the roof top. She headed gracefully into the night.

"Will do," Jerriko said softly to himself.

Devil May Cry Organization: 11:00 p.m.

Mai carefully stepped out of the bath tub. She reached for the red velvet bath towel hanging from one of the racks and dried herself off. She wrapped the towel around her once she was finished. Her hair was damp; tiny drops of water dripped from the tips of her hair. She had a long journey and she had been in a lot of pain. She needed to relax. She took a look in the foggy mirror when she noticed something dark and ominous in her reflection. It looked like it was standing right behind her. It appeared as a shadow figure. She noticed that it took the exact same shape as her. She became paranoid and quickly turned around. Nothing was there but the platinum towel racks on the wall. She slowly turned back to the mirror. It was just her normal reflection. She exhaled in relief.

"I just… I must be tired," she murmured to herself.

She jumped a little at the sudden knock on the bathroom door.

"Y-yeah?" she stuttered.

"Hey! It's Kat. I was just checking up on you. Dante's back from his mission."

Mai felt even more relieved now that Dante was back.

"O-oh… Okay! I'll be right out."

"Kay," Kat headed back down stairs.

Mai grabbed a comb and headed out the bathroom. She couldn't explain it, but she felt a big release of energy when she left the bathroom. Like a big heavy load was just lifted off of her shoulders. Maybe it's just the pregnancy. Yeah, that's gotta be it, Mai nodded to herself on the way to Dante's bedroom. She stopped in between the door frame when she saw that Dante had already ruined her chances of getting any privacy to herself.

"What are you doing in here?" she stepped all the way in the room and set her comb down on the nightstand.

Dante turned his head and lifted up a brow as he removed his coat.

"Uh, this is my room last time I checked."

He noticed that she wasn't dressed in anything but a bath towel and a few drops of water dripped down from her hair on to her shoulders, trailing their way down her silky, tan skin. He smirked. "I wouldn't mind a little company, though."

Mai scowled at his usual flirtatious behavior. She folded her arms across her chest.

"Last time I gave you 'company' I ended up with this baby in my belly," she made air quotes around the word "company".

Dante chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "It was one hell of a night, though, you gotta admit," he added.

Mai blushed at the fact that he still remembered the events that took place the first time they… well…"did it".

"Yeah… I gotta tell you, Mai. You are one freaky demon chick. Hard to believe that it was your first time, too. I mean you were into it. Like… really into it. Hell, I didn't wanna admit it, but I almost couldn't keep up. Oh but you came around, once I got you on your…"

"Okay! I get it! You don't have to… go into detail… " Mai's face burned with intense heat.

He chuckled at her flustered expression.

"C'mon. I'm just trying to bring back some good memories," Dante purred.

She jumped a little when she realized that his firm, muscular arms were wrapped around her in seconds. Instantly she felt his warmth surrounding her body. She noticed he wasn't wearing his shirt anymore, either, and she could feel his sculpted chest resting against her bare back. He buried his face on her neck and shoulder and took in her scent. He could smell the fresh, pure scent of cherry blossoms. He tightened his grip on her and gently caressed her stomach and hips. She tried not to make a sound. She didn't want him to know how much she was enjoying this. However, despite her efforts, he continued to sooth her as he placed soft kisses up and down her neck. Her body trembled and she tilted her head to the side allowing him to get in closer. He must've noticed her giving in and he grinned. He ran his fingers through her wild locks. As he continued to play with her hair he would massage her scalp a few times. The tip of his nose slid across her shoulder and his lips were just centimeters away from her ear.

"Do you still remember that night?" he whispered in her ear.

The husk in his voice and the warmth of his breath brought chills down her spine. Slowly, she raised her hand and placed it gently upon his forearm. She relaxed herself in his arms.

"How could I forget?" she closed her eyes as she pictured that night in her mind.

He nuzzled in and kissed her jaw then headed back for her neck. She was enjoying every minute of it. He was making her feel calm and serene. She finally felt at peace now that she wasn't running away from herds of blood-thirsty demons. She needed this.

Dante made her face him and he stared deep into her hazel eyes. They were like pools of caramel he could just jump into and swim around in. They sparkled a little bit, too. She was lost in his icy blue eyes. They were like clear, blue crystals. Without even thinking, her lips connected with his. She closed her eyes as she sank deeper into the kiss. He was a bit surprised himself that she interacted first, but he kissed her back anyway. He cupped her face and began to kiss her more lustfully. She tried to slow it down but she knew that he wouldn't cooperate. He rubbed her hips to which he received a groan of pleasure from her. Her heart began to beat faster. Goose bumps covered her arms and legs. The tiny, little strands of hair on the back of her neck were standing. All of her memories of the night she had with Dante were returning one by one, filling her mind with excitement and desire. Her kisses became more desperate. She wanted more. She swirled her tongue around his making him follow. She quickly hopped herself onto him and wrapped her legs tightly around his waist. He couldn't help but chuckle and her erotic behavior. She was becoming lost in the moment and let her lust take over. Dante broke the kiss to breathe, receiving a disappointed groan form Mai who tried to lock lips with him again. He turned his head slightly avoiding her lips from pressing against his again. She went for the next best thing and kissed on his neck. She earned a moan from Dante, making her suck on his neck even harder.

"Damn, babe…" Dante moaned. "Relax."

But she couldn't. She couldn't even stop. Something took her over. She couldn't explain what, but something wasn't right. She took it from zero to one hundred in just a matter of seconds. She began biting at his neck, putting red marks on his skin. Her moans became louder. Her cries for more became desperate. She began clawing at his back leaving scratches. Her moans were even louder and her clawing became more violent. She moaned and growled and without thinking twice, she scratched his back leaving a big bloodied claw mark on his back. She quickly pushed herself away from him. She stared in horror at the mark she made on his back. She covered her mouth and backed away slowly in shock.

"Dante… I…" she said breathlessly.

Dante turned slightly to face a mirror and examined the damage she inflicted on his back.

"Well geez, Mai…" he turned back to see that she was missing from the room.

"Mai? " he called out for her

She was gone.

Dante sighed and began to stretch his back. The symbol on his back began to glow and his scratches healed, leaving his back fresh and smooth.

"I guess she forgot I like it rough, anyway."

Mai ran as fast as she could. She darted inside of the elevator without saying a word to anyone. She quickly pressed random buttons hoping that one of them would take her somewhere she could be alone. She had no idea what happened to her back there. She completely lost control of her actions. Like she was... possessed, almost. She shuttered as she tried to process what had just happened. The elevator made a "ding" noise and the door opened, revealing an outside balcony. She slowly stepped out and stared into the night sky. The stars were out tonight. They twinkled and sparkled, creating millions of shapes in the sky. She stared at them, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. She used to stare up into the night sky and watch the stars when she was little. It reminded her of home. There was a large gust of wind, which reminded her that she didn't have any clothes on. She hugged herself and blew out a breath of fire to warm herself. She heard a noise and quickly whipped her head around.

"Who's there?" she said aloud.

There was silence. She stood there silently, her breathing quickened. Her eyes were focused on the dark shadow in front of her. Suddenly, something swung out from the darkness. A sword struck her in the chest and pinned her to a wall. She struggled and gasped for air as she choked and winced in pain. She grasped the hilt of the sword as she struggled for air, coughing and choking on her own blood. She could see a figure in the distance appearing from the shadows. It was a woman dressed in tight, blue clothing with white hair and another sword attached to her. Mai's eyes grew wide as she realized who the strange woman was.

"S-Seiu..."

"Hello, Mai. It's been a while... little sister."