Disclaimer's Note: I do not own any of Devil May Cry characters or items associated with it. So if you try to sue me you will lose! Muwahahaha!
Hey guys. Thanks for all the reviews. I feel really proud that my fanfic is enjoyable. Sorry for not updating sooner I have been busy and brain blocked on this fanfic. Hopefully that will not remain much longer. Well on again to story. Thanks again.
Italics will be for thoughts just to give a heads up.
Recovery
Sahale looked on as the devil hunter left his shop and remained in his rocking chair taking puffs of his tobacco pipe. When he felt content he got up and walked around his shop. He inspected every slot and case to make sure everything was in place and full. He came across a slot with brightly colored blue and violet feathers attached to small various shaped bottles. Examining them he realized one was broken and took it to the counter up front putting it away. Looking around once more he found everything to be in great condition and just a few things short on supply. Walking back to his desk he grabbed a pen and took out his inventory sheet and checked the items that he was running low on. Finishing that he went upstairs and checked on Aya, who slept soundly, and changed the bag of blood with ease. Making sure everything was ok he left and went downstairs on the second floor to his own bedroom. Three dream catchers adorned the ceiling, the walls were painted with snowy landscapes with wolves creeping under the trees, and in the far corner a bow and quiver of arrows was neatly placed. He walked over to his bed with a patched quilt and laid down falling asleep within minutes due to fatigue from the days of searching for Aya.
The next morning in her magical domain Aya stirred from her slumber. Slowly she sat up and looked down to her arm to see the I.V connected to it. "Oh I feel like hell.." She groaned softly to herself. Already the cuts and gashes on her body were healing rapidly and were becoming faint lines that too were disappearing. Then looking around she saw the familiar walls and the ceiling that was in her sight before she fell into sleep. Home...a word she hadn't known or felt until now. She had gotten into bad situations but the one from yesterday was something she would never forget. Gently she removed the needle from her arm and rubbed the area it was stuck in. A simple little sting yet it was pain all the same. Closing her eyes she let her senses take over and found nothing to be stirring within her home. Opening her eyes she got up and looked in a full-length mirror to see the torn clothes she wore. "Oh this will not be winning a beauty pageant anytime soon." Stepping over to a closet she pulled out a sky blue blouse with long cuffed sleeves, black jean caprice, and found some comfortable sandals with beads sewn on the top and sides. When she was dressed she looked in the mirror again and stared at the reflection that looked back at her. The more she stared the more a emptiness took over in the pit of her stomach. How long had she been here in this world? How long had she been living? No, the better word would be existing. Slowly she leaned against the mirror on the wall and rested her forehead against the cold reflecting glass. Sounds began to form in her mind, whispers at first but then became loud and clear.
"You..are a monster..."
"Innocent blood stains your hands..."
"Enjoying the screams of agony, the blood, and the wails of grief. You are and always will be...The Warlordess of Grief."
"Guilty...guilty...GUILTY!"
"Aaah! No!" Aya pushed herself away from the mirror and landed on the floor, scrambling away, then huddling against the wall. "No..no.." She softly whispered as the voices faded away and left her shivering with thoughts of regret. Slowly she brought her trembling hands up to her face and looked at them. They were pale, slender, and clean. With a deep breath she stood up and walked out the door and down the stairs.
The morning rays of the sun shone through the windows of the downstairs shop signifying a new day had come. As Aya walked towards the counter she felt the warmth of the sun rays on her ivory skin and wished the light of the rays could erase the darkness within her soul. Looking around Aya noticed Sahale was not up. "Odd..he is usually the early bird before me." She glanced at the clock and it was nine 'o' clock am, the store's opening time but no Sahale to open it up. "Guess he was really tired and didn't even notice it himself." With a slight shrug she looked around and made sure everything was in order before opening as Sahale had taught her to do. She unlocked the door and turned on the neon sign saying "Open" outside. Running the store didn't bother her at all. She had seen Sahale do it at least a thousand times and she was confident of her own skills at sales. However she had been tempted to bite a few of the customers who had given Sahale a hard time. A smile came across her face as she remembered a particular woman who ranted about an amulet that was in perfect condition but to her it didn't shine to her liking. Sahale had told her it wasn't for decoration it was meant for protection. Then she had used a racial term against him and she had turned at the exact moment to look at Aya who smiled at her with her fangs showing. The woman's face turned white as a ghost then looked at Sahale and apologized quickly for her insult to him. With a quick nod she basically ran out the door and sped off in her Jaguar convertible. Sahale had looked to Aya who only shrugged with a look of innocence on her face.
The bell above the door rang as a person entered the shop. Aya was straightening the display of the daggers as she heard the bell. "Hello and welcome to Nai's Shop-" She turned around with a smile and it faltered as she saw the person. "It's..you." The same man who had rescued her was right here in the shop! What was his name again? Donnie?Donfae? Dante? Yeah! That was it. Dante Sparda. Why did the last name sound familiar? She shook her head supposing it was from a movie she had heard of or seen. He stood beside a shelf on one of the aisles dressed in a black short sleeve shirt with a light denim jacket over his shoulder, black jeans with a few sliced holes around his knees, and faded blue-black tennis shoes.
"I guess the old man was right. You do heal fast, just like me. Heh."
"Sahale told you what I was?" She asked quietly as she put up some jewelry on top of the counter.
He was silent for a moment then spoke. "Yeah. He told me. I was surprised to know that such bloodlines could coexist in a body." He suddenly saw Aya still at those words and her fingers clenched into a fist making her knuckles turn almost white. "Aya? Are you alright?" His words were soft and hesitant.
She exhaled slowly, uncurling her fingers, she ran a hand through her ebony silken hair sending strands falling near her brow and thicker strands falling over her shoulders. "I'm fine. I know..my blood would fascinate some people. However..it has made some enemies as well." She continued looking around the shop never resting her eyes upon Dante's curious expression.
"Enemies? Why would-"
"Forget it. It's not your problem so don't worry about it." Her words had a bite to them and almost made Dante wince.
Oh yeah, Sahale was right about her being a loner. He then decided to walk around and look at the various products. It was a bit harder to focus on the products when there was a beautiful slender woman at the counter. He smirked and shook his head at the words he had said the night before about not ever crossing paths again, boy was he wrong. Then soft, haunting music began to play within the store. Dante turned around to see Aya at a stereo adjusting the controls. "You like to listen to music?" He knew it was a stupid question but he wanted to talk to her some more. "Yes. It's my favorite pastime when I'm not out killing creatures that pose a threat." She said it casually as if it were a daily chore. His eyes rested on her for a minute taking in what she had said. Could that be the reason why work has been so slow lately? A thought popped in his head and he decided to go ahead and ask her something. "Hey Aya how long has this shop been here? I never noticed it til last night." He waited on her reply.
"Sahale just moved here from Texas recently. He complained about the heat messing up some of his finer products. So he decided to come up here where businesses thrived a bit better."
"How long ago did he move here?"
"Mmm...about three weeks ago." Then it couldn't have been her since work slowed down two weeks ago. "But I came up a week after. I was handling..."personal" affairs when he first moved up here." Her words struck home. So she was the cause after all.
"How often do you go out killing the creatures?"
"What is this? A interrogation of my activities?" Her voice was a bit irritated and made Dante sorry he asked the question. Strangely it made him smirk as he was amused at her aggravation. "Why are you grinning like an idiot?"
"Nothing. If you don't already know, I take on requests to kill demons, creatures of threat, or other little things. I think you killing the things is taking away my business." He said it as carefully as he could without completely pissing her off. Unfortunately it didn't happen that way...
"Oh excuse me! I didn't know I was killing your money! Next time I see a demon eating a defenseless person I will walk on by knowing you will be there to do the job of killing and collecting your money. Hell, I will personally come get your ass so you can kill the thing and get paid for it!"
Yeah, she was pissed really bad. Guess she was feeling much better and recovering quite well. Her blue eyes flared angrily at him and he decided to go ahead and give up on this conversation. Then he saw a slot with various shaped bottles with feathers attached. Just what he needed! Some of his bottles were getting low since he had to use them in the heat of battle and they would shatter when he dropped them. "How much are these?" He held up one of the little bottles and Aya looked at it. "One dollar and fifty cents each." "Good. I'll take some." Grabbing about seven bottles he came up to the counter and gently set them down. He pulled out his wallet as Aya rang the items up. "So do the feathers do anything special to the bottles?" He asked looking curiously at the bottles. "It protects the potion that you put in it so it will not be tainted." She answered as she took the amount of money he gave and gave back the correct change. Then carefully she wrapped up each bottle with newspaper and put them in a box with cardboard slots for each individual bottle. "There. Anything else?" She asked with complete coolness in her voice. Yeah stop biting my head off. "Nah. That's all. Well I guess I better get going and I will see you around love." "Not too soon I hope." She said sarcastically. He just laughed softly and walked out the door with the bell ringing as usual. Oh Dante Sparda was going to be a pain in the ass alright. Her ass anyway...
