Blessed and Cursed


Disclaimer: Devil May Cry and its characters = © Capcom. I don't make any profit from this story.


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Chapter 2 – Drowning/Sinking

I don't think it would be a good idea to join the wedding, after all.

So why the fuck am I in this church, dressed up in a tuxedo and also sitting up front?

It felt so strange to be here, like I wasn't allowed to be there. I didn't belong here.

Jacques stood at the front, looking super-neat in his Frenchman-attire. God, everything on him looked polished – I think I would be able to use his shoes as mirror.

I regarded him from top to toe, still wondering why Kyrie had chose him over me. Maybe because Jacques didn't have a demon arm? Said arm was covered by a sling, by the way. Jacques had called me and asked for that. How did the bastard even get my number?

Anyway, he wasn't too bad looking. His hair was black and short, his face perfectly shaved, everything just looked … perfect on him. Just like a propped up mannequin. Somehow, it scared me. Weird, he looked so familiar although I was sure that I saw for the first time ever now… And then it hit me: He looked just like Credo, Kyrie's older brother who had died during the savior incident.

How come I didn't notice that before? The resemblance was so obvious, after all – their hair was the same, Jacques even had the same stupid chin-beard! Their facial features were the same, their sense of style – and the way that bastard had talked to me on the phone had been the same. Jacques had the same pejorative way of making other people feel like lowlife – as if he was superior! Now add the French accent to that.

In my eyes, extreme perfection was sick. The part of his hair, for example – it was such a straight line, it couldn't be natural. The way he was standing at the altar – perfectly straight with this wide smile on his face, showing off his pearly white teeth, which were of course also perfect.

Not only did he scare me, he also pissed me off. Why is this guy standing there with his dumb grin, stealing away the girl that had meant the world to me? I wanted to destroy whatever they had built here. He didn't deserve Kyrie!

But wow. Kyrie had left me to marry the incarnation of her own brother. Somehow, I was disgusted at that. And insulted.

Well, he could keep her. After breaking my heart and running off with him I really wasn't interested in Kyrie anymore. Yup, keep her Jacques. Please.

I wanted to run away. Of course, now the damn music had to start. I guess I had to sit through. Everyone turned around to look at the bride. I didn't though. Not now, anyway.

What would it be like to look at her now? Seeing her in white, pure as always, blushing a little, as adorably as always? The thought caused more pain than I expected. Although I wasn't interested in her in any way (I was convinced that it wouldn't be possible for us to be friends again after that), it hurt.

That means that I have two options: either running out as quietly as I could before I do something stupid during the ceremony or enduring the ceremony and getting as drunk as possible after that to make me forget all of this.

Wait, I am actually invited to this, aren't I? Free booze! And cake.

What the fuck is going on in my thoughts lately? Anyway, Kyrie arrived at the front. As expected, she looked breathtakingly gorgeous. The dress was strapless and showed off her round shoulders and her pale skin. The top was decorated in silver embroidery and pearls and it was laced so tightly that I was wondering how it was possible that she could breathe in that thing – let alone walk. From the waist down, the dress was quite wide, making her look like a princess – Oh really?

So Jacques was the knight that carried her into his castle on his white horse? I know that girl and exactly this is what is going on in her head.

The priest started talking and I started to blank everyone and everything out. Just another hour, then you can stuff yourself at the buffet and drown your thoughts with expensive French champagne. No regrets up to now.

"You may now kiss."

I raised my head just in time to see them kiss. And then something inside me snapped. Should I have been angry at her? The heart wants what it wants, you cannot force it to feel something. It felt as if something inside me had died – similar to what had happened a year ago but it didn't have the same effect. I wasn't angry anymore. I wasn't desperate anymore.

I was furious.

Jealousy burned hotly in my veins and made it hard to breathe for a minute.

Kyrie had found what she looked for but I on the other hand had just realized a painful truth: for me, it wouldn't be that easy to find completion like her.

According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created as beings with four arms and legs and two heads. God was afraid of his own creations though – saying they were too powerful and separated them again so that they would spend their lives trying to find their other half.

But we're talking about humans here. I, on the other hand, was a freak of nature with my demon arm and was far from human. I was something in between, not really belonging to either side. It was like I wasn't supposed to exist anyway.

There it was again, the drama. And the anchor that threatened to pull me down again. And no matter how badly I wanted to, I just couldn't blame Kyrie anymore. Not now that I saw her so happy together with that guy. How could I blame her for my misery? It was clear to me now why she left – she wanted someone more like her. It was a natural instinct. Everyone wanted someone like them. Someone who wasn't completely alien to them. I also wanted this – someone like me. Was that really too much to ask?

It took a moment for me to realize that people were leaving the church to celebrate and congratulate the newly-weds.

Getting drunk sure sounded nice now.


"Another."

"I think you had enough now, sir", the bartender replied, eying me suspiciously.

"Well, I don't think so."

I reached over and grabbed the vodka bottle from his hands, gulping the last bit down. One bottle downed, many more to go.

"But you just have knocked back a whole bottle of this stuff!", he argued, "I wonder how you are even able to talk now."

Demon blood and experience but I couldn't tell him that. So I just shrugged.

"Anyway, you're not getting any alcohol from me anymore", he said and crossed his arms.

I shrugged that off, too.

"Alright", I said and got up from the bar, slightly wobbling. No need for a fight. There were still some bottles of champagne next to the buffet. That would do, too.

Even though my body seemed to be little affected by the alcohol, my mind was a mess by now. I hadn't talked to Kyrie yet and somehow I tried to avoid that. I didn't know what to say. I didn't even know why I was still here. Eh, my head hurts.

I grabbed a bottle of champagne and a glass from the buffet. Maybe I should go home. Oh well, another drink first, that wouldn't hurt.

"Nero, you came!"

Something slammed into me, making me wobble a little and I felt arms curl behind my neck. When the arms released me, all I could see in my slightly blurred vision was white.

"I didn't expect you'd be there, you know", a female voice said. A very familiar voice, in fact. Kyrie. Great. Just the one person I didn't want to talk to. Also, she came in the worst moment possible.

"Well yeah, we're still family, aren't we?", I asked and forced a smile.

My vision cleared a little so that I was able to focus on her face. Her big brown eyes gazed up to me. Even in her high heels, she was still much shorter than me.

"You look pretty", I said automatically. It was a serious compliment though, she did look pretty.

"Thanks", she said and blushed slightly, smiling a little, "I'm really glad you accepted the invitation, I was worried we would never make up."

This conversation sure didn't turn out to my liking. I started getting angry again. Make up my ass! She didn't put any effort in our relationship or friendship or whatever we shared. And now she was talking about making up. After all, she didn't understand what I had been through. Not the tiniest bit.

"Kyrie, listen –", I said but she interrupted me and just kept on talking.

"We didn't break up quite well and I thought a lot about how it should have ended…", she rambled on and I really couldn't believe my ears.

"So you thought about betters ways to reject me?", I asked and she glared at me.

Then she caught herself. "No Nero, that's not what I –"

"You know, I thought you have accepted me", I said, fighting against screaming everything out, "After you were gone, I lost the touch to reality. The last year is a blur to me, I barely believe what I have done. I am not blaming you for my depression – but Kyrie, I was drowning."

I rubbed my temple. My headache got worse and worse. I didn't want to talk to her. I wanted to be at home. Everywhere but here in fact. I didn't want to be in a room with her.

"Nero – "

"No, listen", I intervened angrily, "You don't get what I've been through and you don't seem to want to understand. And now hearing this from you –"

"Do you want me to apologize?", she asked equally angry, her voice high pitched, "You can't expect from me to take responsibility –"

"Are you even listening to me?", I yelled, now completely enraged, "Why are you constantly hurting me?"

"Nobody forced you to come here!", she replied.

We were both screaming now. Most of the people were staring at us. The small string quartett that had been playing music before had stopped playing.

"Nobody forced you to invite me!", I screamed.

Jacques appeared behind Kyrie, laying a hand onto her shoulder and frowning down on me.

"Is there a problem?", he asked.

"Oh, here comes the gentleman to solve the problem!", I bawled mockingly, not even quite realizing what I was saying. "Look Kyrie, in the end you got what you always wanted!"

I slammed the glass to the ground and smashed the top of the bottle on the edge of the buffet table. Frantically laughing I took a gulp.

"You didn't feel comfortable with me, huh?", I asked, "Didn't like to be with the beast, so you searched for a prince instead?"

I continued laughing and drowning the champagne. Well, there was the outbreak of all the things I didn't say a year ago. Everything that had went through my head from the moment Kyrie had said that she leaves.

I didn't care that the people stared at me wide-eyed. I didn't care what they were muttering to each other or that they frowned upon my behavior.

I just didn't give a fuck about anything.

"Well, congratulations!", I yelled and raised my bottle to drown the rest of it. "Congratulations Kyrie, you snagged yourself a great prince, I am sure you will have your happy ending which you desperately searched for!"

I threw the bottle away and watched as it shattered against the wall, the glass shards showering onto the cake beneath it.

During my outbreak, Kyrie just had stared at me. One hand was wrapped around her mouth while the other held her stomach. There were tears in the corners in her eyes.

"Why are you crying?", I said, much more softly now. I was tired of it. She had no reason to cry in my eyes.

"I invited you b-because I thought I had been wrong", she replied so quiet I could almost not hear her. Her body was quivering and Jacques wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"What do you mean?", I asked, "Wrong? About what?"

"About you being a demon", she replied and everyone in the room started murmuring again. It sounded like a swarm of bees and reminded me of my headache again. Great.

"What did you expect?", I continued to ask, "That one year apart would make me forget everything? That I would take our break up lightly? That it wouldn't hurt me? I assume you think that I don't have any feelings or emotions, let alone a heart that can be broken?" I was getting louder again, the last words were screamed and I thought I was losing my mind this time. I wanted to destroy something, anything. It didn't matter now, nothing mattered. I was hurt and I wanted to cause pain.

"No Nero, what are you saying?", I heard her yell somewhere far away. My own blood rushing through my veins overshadowed everything. There was a voice deep within me. So deep that I couldn't make the words out but it definitely was there.

"Nero, I never meant to –"

But suddenly screams pierced through the air. The haze in my mind cleared a little at that and I spun around to see where it was coming from. The people in the hall started running through the emergency exit.

Automatically, my left hand slid down to my thigh – good thing I decided to bring Blue Rose with me. Also, I unclipped the sling. Since I didn't have Red Queen with me, I needed my bringer for the fight.

"Run", I instructed Kyrie and Jacques, pushing both towards the exit.

"But Nero –", I heard her protest and she was slightly struggling.

"It's dangerous here, go!", I shouted and pushed her back more urgently.

I turned my back towards her, already aiming in the direction the shriek came from. She just stood there a moment, attempting to say something but Jacques grabbed her and dragged her outside.

The people were out of the fire line, I could still hear them outside, on the other side of the huge hall. The high shriek I've heard before ended with a disgusting gurgling sound. Then there was silence.

Slightly tense, I listened for more sounds and made my way quietly to the front door. Still, my mind was a little clouded from drinking too much and now I cursed myself for that, making the mess in my head even worse. Fortunately, the adrenaline that flowed through me now burned away the haze in my head.

Before I could reach the door however, it flew open. All I saw before I rolled out of the way was a mass of black tentacles and a gaping jaw filled with sharp teeth.

The demon let out another horrible shriek and I got up to my feet, shooting the damn thing so it would shut up.

That didn't work though – it screamed even louder.

"Pal, I'm having a serious headache so would you – ", I grabbed one of the chairs closest to me with my Bringer and threw it onto the demon, "– be so kind and stop screaming?"

This didn't help either so I continued to shower the thing with bullets. The bullets shot straight through its body – which looked quite strange. It started to dissolve around the edges of the wounds I inflicted. It seemed like its body was being sucked away – as if I was burning holes into it. Wherever a injury was inflicted, the black mass would disappear.

Curiously, I continued my assault with Blue Rose and occasionally threw a piece of furniture at the thing.

Until I noticed a flash of red of the other side of the unshaped demon. A wave of power washed over me. It seemed familiar to me and it's presence like something I had felt before. Could it be…?

Next thing I knew, I was covered in black goo from top to toe.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me…", I growled and wiped the foul smelling liquid off my face. It smelled kind of weird, not like the usual smell of demons which consisted of smoke, sulphur and death. I couldn't quite place it, but it was weird…

"Now is that how you greet a friend, kid?", a male voice asked.

Dante came into my view. Dante Sparda, the infamous devil hunter. The one who had haunted my mind just yesterday.

"What are you doing here?", I asked slightly annoyed. My headache didn't subside, I had fought with Kyrie yet again and I was covered in disgusting demon liquids. I really hated this day.

He clicked his tongue in disapproval. "Really kid, someone needs to teach you some manners", he said, "I came here for a job." He pointed at the remains of the squid demon.

"Well, that thing swallowed me and I had a little trouble ripping my way out."

I snorted at that. "You let that thing get you?", I laughed.

"It had tentacles!"

"Whatever, old man."

"Old man?"

"Yeah, if you're going to call me 'kid', I'm going to call you 'old man'", I said with a smirk.

"Sorry to crash your wedding, kid", he said and tried to wipe the gore away from his coat.

"It's not my wedding", I said quietly. My head drooped and my shoulders slumped of their own accord. Damn Nero, get a grip.

There was a moment of silence. "But I saw Kyrie there…", Dante said slowly and seemed genuinely confused.

Silence again.

"She married some other guy", I said after a while, desperately holding on to the last shard of dignity that was left inside of me. It was humiliating. Why was I even breaking down now? I really was an emotional wreck and it pissed me off to no end. I didn't want to look weak in front of him, in front of anybody.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Nero", he said and patted my back a little. "Come on, let's get out of here. We'll talk a little, how does that sound?"

I nodded unconsciously and let myself be dragged outside by him. Somehow his hand on my back felt good. I felt safe. Accepted. I didn't know why but I decided not to struggle against it. Just for once.

But at the same time I felt like shit again. It was like a déjà vú, a replay of the things that happened a year ago. Only worse this time. I had been right from the beginning – I really shouldn't have gone here. I couldn't remember what my intentions were when I came here two hours ago but it surely wasn't fighting and making myself a fool in front of all these people.

I focused on Dante who didn't say a word for now which I was thankful for. I couldn't deny that it felt good to be close to him. I didn't question what he was doing or why he was doing it and briefly wondered why I even trusted him. When I met this man first, we had tried to kill each other. Also, I didn't know him at all.

My headache returned with a vengeance, making me grit my teeth slightly.

The silence that lingered between us was not uncomfortable. It wasn't the same silence that used to separate Kyrie and me.

It gave me the opportunity to think. I was pretty sure that someday my thoughts would kill me. Hopefully not today.


I am always quite insecure about my writing since English is not my first language _ So if there are any errors, feel free to tell me! Also, feedback is always welcome :D