Chapter 3 - Solace
The girl fell on her knees and started to shake uncontrollably, her breathing becoming erratic, clutching her side and occasionally, wincing in pain. The devil hunter was at a loss of what to do. All the emotional mush always made him uncomfortable and at a loss of what to do. Still he slowly approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly while leading her away from the run-down apartment and towards his parked motorbike. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye from time to time, but each time she would just stare ahead with lifeless eyes, some rogue tears escaping onto the cold hard cement. He eventually let out a sigh. "Look babe…" her left eye ticked, so he corrected himself. "Tena. It's pretty clear you went through one messed up night, but you can't let that affect you for the rest of your life. We all suffered losses. Learn to move on." Her eyes darted towards his and she came to an abrupt stop. Finally releasing her pent up emotions, she started to lash out at him. "Move on?! Just simply 'move on' you say?" Her voice trembled. "You let that bastard get away! Aren't you supposed to be some kind of demon fighter or something?!"
"Devil hunter actually." He corrected her. She waved it off. "Whatever, the point is you weren't good at it."
Dante interrupted her rant with his own. "Oh, really? Well listen babe! For your information, had I not stepped in and saved your ungrateful backside, you would have ended up in the same predicament as your friend so be a little more grateful! If I remember correctly, you were the perfect distraction for him to get away, so you don't get to blame me. Oh no! If anything else, you should be apologising for messing up my mission! I was gonna be paid quite handsomely too!" After his little rant they held a scowling contest for a while, until eventually Tena looked away and sighed.
"Alright, you're right, I'm sorry." She looked back at him with tired eyes. "I thought the most I had to worry about was avoiding prison for charge of murder, but I never expected he'd be an actual demon. Then again after that near-apocalyptic night a couple of months ago, I should have been prepared for anything. I guess I was rather fortunate to have you there." She gave him a small smile holding out her hand. "Let's start over. I'm Tena Tyson. Nice to meet you, Dante." Dante looked taken aback but quickly covered it with his usual smug smirk and took her hand. "There, that wasn't so hard, now was it?"
She sighed and nodded. They resumed their walk and the music from the club started to get louder with each step they took. Tena eventually broke the silence. "So what now? How do we stop him?"
Dante stopped in his steps. "We? There is no 'we', lady! Your personal sense of retribution almost got you killed!" He pointed an accusatory finger in her face, which she swatted away with a frown. "But I want justice, I want to be the one to take his life! For Amandine!" Angry tears started to cascade down her face again. The demon hunter's ice-blue eyes softened. He knew the feeling all too well, but she was only human. She couldn't stand her own against a demon. Suddenly Lady's determined face entered his mind. For a human, Lady is certainly a force to be reckoned with and she is hard-set on getting her way. Even demons cannot deter her, unless she's put against himself of course. He smiled at the memory. But revenge isn't going to bring back the dead. Tena would have to realise that.
"Hey." He lowered his head to her level. "Let's make a deal: I kill him and you get to keep his head knowing that the bastard responsible for your friend's murder is dead!"
"Not good enough, I want to see the life leave his vile eyes! 'Sides, what am I to do with a head?" she grimaced at the thought of holding a decomposing head. "Teach me to fight like you! I'd do anything, how much do you want? You know what, I'll even compensate you for tonight." His eyes lit up. She groaned. "Not that way, you pervert!" His shoulders visibly dropped.
"Come on! Please?" her eyes grew to an unnatural size and started to glisten with soon to be tears while her lips formed a cute childish pout. She reminded him so much of Patty at that moment. If nothing else, he could keep an eye on her, because chances are, the incubus will finish what he started. He let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his head. "You know what, babe? Have lunch with me tomorrow and I'll accept your apology. And you bring the pizza! No olives! And about the training…well, we'll talk about it over lunch." She let out a squeal and hugged him. "Thank you, Dante, thank you!" He hugged her back but before his hands could travel further south, she stepped back. "Don't get your hopes up, I said we'll talk about it!" She smiled at him nevertheless. "That's only fair I guess, but you've already done more for me than most people I have met."
Dante stopped in front of a parked motorbike behind the club. He got on and patted the space behind him. She regarded him suspiciously. "I'll give you a lift, no funny business." He held up his hands in an innocent manner. "I happen to live close you know." She placed her hands on her hips. "With a demon out to get you running loose, walking home alone at night isn't exactly the best of ideas. Hop on already before I change my mind!" She jumped up behind him and he set off. "I live just 2 corners away, you can drop me off there."
She piped up once he drove past her apartment block. "Hey, you went past my house!" She was ready to jump off the moving vehicle. Dante glanced back at her. "Relax, babe! For the time being, it's safer in my shop. 'Sides, you'll know where to bring the pizza."
After 10 minutes of driving, they arrived at a smaller building between two larger apartments. The smaller building between them had seen better days, though the door and windows appeared new. She hopped off but Dante was unfazed by her dirty look. He casually strolled inside the shop, looking back at his guest from his doorstep shooting her an "are you coming or not" look. She huffed but followed him inside, raising an eyebrow at the pink neon sign "Devil May Cry" overhead.
The shop was tidy but bullet holes scattered around the walls as well as what appeared to be impressive and occasionally scary-looking trophies. She took a mental map of the room, memorising each individual piece of furniture, doors and notable decorations. The host himself sat leisurely on his chair with his feet propped up on his mahogany desk munching on a slice of pizza. "What can I get you, babe? Beer, pizza?"
"You got anything stronger?" she asked while plopping herself down on the sofa, wincing once her back made contact with the furniture. Dante shook his head. "Afraid not." She exhaled in annoyance then started massaging her eyes. "How long will I be staying here for, anyway?" Dante came back from the kitchen with a beer in each hand, handing her one. She instantly opened it, a fizzing sound accompanying it. "So long as it takes for me to take out that smooth-talker wannabe."
"Why do you care what happens to a nobody like me? Why did you even bother saving me?" she glanced at him then stared at her hands resting on her lap with somber eyes.
"Cause I won't sit by and let innocents get killed, not if I can help it. Even if she seems to have a death wish." He gave her a disapproving look. Ashamed at being scolded, especially by a stranger, she turned her full attention to the can in her hand, bringing it to her nose and sniffing it, more out of habit than distrust. "Soooo, no hidden motive, whatsoever?" she asked lightheartedly, trying to brighten the mood.
He placed an arm over the back of the couch next to her head and leaned uncomfortably close to her face, a cheeky grin forming. "Why, you want me to have a hidden motive? You don't have to deny being attracted to me, you know. I hear I'm quite the catch." She leaned away from him and sing-said "Hearing voices is never a good sign" while trying to conceal her smile behind the can unsuccessfully as she took a swig, grimacing at the taste. He looked away then stood up and murmured I must be cursed.
He sat in front of her. "I know it's been one hell of a night, but why ever did you think that avenging your friend all by yourself would be a good idea?" He took a sip of his own beverage and leaned back against the head board of the furniture, his eyes never leaving hers.
"I don't know." She sighed mournfully. "Mandy and I were pretty close. To be honest, she was my first true friend. She was more supportive of me than my own family. She believed in me when no one else did, protected me when everyone was hurting me and she never asked for anything in return. I owe her my life."
"A life you were willing to throw away tonight." Dante offhandedly reminded her. Instead of the scowl he was expecting, the young woman's shoulders just slumped dejectedly as she let out a tired sigh. A reminiscing light entered her eyes as a minuscule curve of her lips appeared. "We met at the music store, unknowingly both searching for that one album to help us escape the world for a little while. We instantly connected. We had so many things in common from tastes in music, to hobbies, to what we liked in guys." Tena chuckled with a slight glazed over expression. "We moved out as soon as we could and with joined funds managed to find a small apartment. We were inseparable, or so I thought. She found a job as a tourist guide. She was happily working there for 5 years loved by all until she met that…thing." She spoke the last word with such repugnance it almost sounded like she was hissing.
She frowned, taking a large gulp of her beer before continuing. "One afternoon on my day-off she rushes in all excited, telling me of how she met her dream boyfriend at long last! He was a tourist, but it appears that the type of attractions he was interested in weren't on the brochure. She kept repeating how much of a mannered gentleman he is and how handsome and he treats her like a precious princess straight out of a fairy tale. I was suspicious alright, I wasn't gonna let anyone hurt my friend, so I asked to meet this mystery man. I got a bad vibe from him from the start. He was just too…perfect. He knew exactly what to say to make me feel at ease as if he knew me, as if he…I don't know, read my thoughts or at least encountered enough protective friends to know how to reassure them?"
"He was definitely reading your mind. What surprises me is that you were able to see through his act. Incubi are masters of persuasion." Dante remarked.
"I don't know. He was just…the perfect image of what a boyfriend in my head should be, no faults. Then a week after our first meeting he starts to hit on me! He was my best friend's boyfriend and he couldn't stop ogling me and complementing me. But when I told Mandy about it, she was enraged. You could not get through to her! Before, we could talk about anything, forgive and forget, but now? She wouldn't believe her best friend!" Tena placed her forehead in her palm and closed her eyes. "She was convinced he truly loved her and that I was the one who was trying to steal him away. Me!" Suddenly Tena's gaze averted to the ground, her voice turning melancholic. "When she raced out into the night, I was actually believing her, maybe I was misreading it and he was just being friendly in his own way. Knowing he's an incubus now, I know he manipulated both of us. Turning friend against friend. The friend who failed to protect her in her greatest time of need."
A sob escaped her. "She did not show up the next day. I thought she was mad at me still, but I needed to apologise to her. Her colleagues said she missed work too. My worst fear manifested itself when the police showed up the day after. They found a body with her ID card. I had to confirm it's her." The young woman was openly shaking at this point. "I brought this on her! If only I had told her in a better way."
Dante listened attentively hearing such a story too many times. Still he reached across the table and patted her hand then stood up. "It's almost 2. You can have my room, it's upstairs." He casually pointed a thumb behind himself towards the staircase. He went to get himself another beer, but when he got back he found his guest sprawled uncomfortably halfway across the couch, halfway on the floor. He picked her up effortlessly and started heading towards the stairs. Tena's eyes ocassionally fluttered open then closed. "But I l-like this cou-uch soooo much." She slurred.
"And you wanted something stronger, Miss Lightweight!"
"He-eeey! Totally not my fault! The beer st-st…started it! It kept laughing at my misery. Did youuu seeee?" Then she snorted all of a sudden and started giggling uncontrollably. "First time drunk and I'm being carried into a dude's bed drrooooom! Dad would be soooo proud!"
"You wish! I like my babes sober!" he retorted. "You wouldn't remember how much you loved it so what's the point?" She yawned and her eyes dropped closed. Dante nudged the door open with his foot and carefully placed Tena on the bed, turning her on her side. She certainly knocked herself out. Did she even drink 3 full cans? Hopefully her hangover won't make her more intolerable. He cast one last glance at her quietly snoring form, then returned to his seat at his desk. The incubus certainly took a beating and would take some time to recover, so the mission was not a complete failure. But he has to learn more about him if he wants to stop him with minimal casualties. Tena pretty much explained every incubus and succubus's abilities. Dante would have to see where he will most likely strike next. But most importantly how is he going to pay Lady tomorrow?
I feel terrible for not updating for sooo long. I decided to update chapter 3 with the next bit instead of making it a new chapter, I felt it belonged together. So this is the last chapter that deals with the direct aftermath of the fight. The next chapter will start introducing our heroine to the devil hunter's daily life and circle of friends. Thank you all for reading, following and leaving favs and reviews! It really means a lot to me : )