Finally the chapter where you'll find out how the paths of Dante and little Nero crossed! Thanks to all the reviewers and the new followers!

Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry or the characters!

Chapter 6: Led Away

"But-"

"No 'buts' Dante! Get your lazy ass up and do your job! You still have debts to pay, don't forget that."

It was in the middle of december and in a certain shop a certain devil-hunter and a woman with short brown hair and with a huge bazooka on her back were arguing. It was so cold outside that even demons didn't want to come out which Dante was quite happy about. He had finally some days off! But just when he had made himself comfortable on the old leather-couch and zapped through the tv-channels, Lady came bashing in and said she had a job for him. Just the thought of going out there made him shudder. And where was this 'Fortuna' anyway? Must be far away if he never heard of it before.

"Why don't you do it yourself if the job is so well paid, huh?", the man asked annoyed.

"Me, going out there? Are you insane?", Lady chuckled.

"You seem to think so. I'm. Not. Going. End of discussion!"

"You still owe me money you lazy bastard! You. Are. Going. End of discussion!" And with that she left the shop before Dante could even say another word. Cold air was flowing in from the outside making it even colder in the shop than it already was before the doors closed behind the woman and a motorbike driving off could be heard just some seconds later.

He picked up the note Lady had left on the couch table. Some frosts in Fortuna... Can't be that hard, right? And it was well paid, too. Dante looked out of the window, it wasn't even snowing anymore because it was too cold and there were already some traces of snow flowers on the thin glass. This just wasn't his day. 'Damn.'

The white-haired man stood up, sighing. The demons could wait a little bit longer, right? He wanted to shower and eat some pizza first before he would go out and freeze his sexy ass off.

Well, no matter how cold it was, Capulet City looked beautiful in winter. The fresh, white snow covered the dirty ground and swallowed every single sound in the night. The streets that were so crowded in the daytime and that were decorated with a lot of colourful lights, inviting possible costumers into the shops to buy some christmas presents for their beloved ones, were silent. Dante didn't care at all. He was busy with cursing his car for not having a functioning car heater and he didn't like this time of the year anyway. It was a time that you spent with your family and he didn't have one anymore.

Yeah, he was sure he would freeze to death in his own car before arriving in Fortuna. Maybe it was a little bit warmer on the small island because it was down in the south, he would really appreciate that. Usually it would take the devil-hunter four or five hours to get to the said town (that was what he had guessed), but the street's surface was icy and he never had went there before, he was sure that he would get lost one time or another. This would probably take longer than necessary, just wonderful.

Dante already had a bad feeling about this.

He arrived in Fortuna in the next morning and to say that he was in a bad mood was an understatement. He didn't even tried to flirt with that hot women who was staying in the hotel room next to his own. So his client who was sitting in front of him now started to feel quite uncomfortable with being in the same room as the moody Dante. "Just some frosts, right?", the devil-hunter asked.

The client nodded. "T-that's right.", the chubby man answered a bit nervous. "The Order already tried to get rid of them, but no matter how many they kill, they're always coming back. There must be a nest near the town. We want you to find it and kill them all!"

Dante nodded in acknowledgment even if he had no clue what that Order-thing was and he didn't really care as long as he got paid. "Alright, that shouldn't take too long.", he said while taking the money he got in advance from the table. He holstered his guns and grabbed his sword and wanted to leave the room.

"Wait, there's more Mr. ..."

The devil-hunter stopped and turned around. "Dante is fine."

"Well, these demons seem to be attracted by something that is inside the town. So we need you to get rid of that too, but I guess we can discuss this later.", the man explained.

Dante gave him a curious look. Lady didn't mention that before.

He shoved the thoughts aside and nodded, going outside. Even in Fortuna it was freezing, much to Dante's discomfort.

To find the nest was kinda easy, a cave near the coast was the perfect hiding place for them. It was cold and dark. The devil-hunter stood outside the cave and could already hear the demons roaring and he could smell their stinking bodies from miles away. His mood got better by the thought of crushing some icy armors and bones. And as soon as gun-shots and piercing dying-screams started to fill the air, Dante had chopped the head of the last bloodthirsty creature off and it was quiet again. But there was still that weird feeling that made him uneasy.

The chubby man seemed to be pleased by how fast Dante had killed these demons and was more than happy to give him the rest of the payment. Well, he had done the dirty work for them and didn't destroy any buildings or anything like that (which was quite rare, he was surprised himself).

"So, what is that other thing you talked about? My 'partner' didn't told me about that before.", Dante asked, sitting down on a chair. He felt like he was in a hospital, the man's office wasn't just tidy, it was sterile.

His client opened one of the desk drawers, obviously looking for something and found it just some moments later. "Ah, here we have it.", the man said and gave Dante a picture. "I want you to get rid of it.", he added. The devil-hunter's eyes widened.

"I'm not hunting humans.", Dante said, his voice dripping with disgust.

"I know, you're a devil-hunter and I would never ask you to kill a human. Take a closer look, that thing is a demon and it's causing us trouble everyday! But that sneaky thing always get's away."

The 'thing' that the man was talking about was a little boy, maybe five or six years old. Pale, short, thin and with unusual white hair. He looked a little bit like Dante when he was a kid himself. So, okay, the boy looked weird, but he was far from looking 'demonic'. That was until he noticed the kid's right arm. Was it... black? And where there blue scales on it? 'Another half-devil?' Things were getting complicated now. Should he just leave? He already had gotten his payment and he wasn't planning on killing some poor kid. But then they would just get someone else to kill the boy.

And if he really was a half-demon just like Dante... "Fine, I 'get rid' of him.", he simply stated and left. He just hated this disgusting man now and couldn't stand his sight anymore. Killing a child, unforgivable.

He made his way back to the hotel. He never met another half-demon beside his brother before, well, if the boy really was one. Dante still couldn't really tell until he met the boy himself. The devil-hunter felt sorry for the poor thing, being stuck on this island were everyone hated him because he was different. Dante had it easy, no human could tell the difference between him and a normal human. He would just grab the boy and get out of here and find a place where he could stay. The only problem was that he had no clue were the midget could be, Fortuna wasn't really a small town.

The next morning came faster than expected. Dante barely got any sleep, too many thoughts were racing through his mind all night long. He showered, put his clothes on and skipped breakfast. He had to hurry and find the boy before someone else did.

Wait, what the hell was wrong with him all of a sudden? It seemed that his demon-side got kinda nervous. 'Calm down.'

Dante left the hotel and inhaled the fresh morning air. It was still cold... no, freezing outside and the streets were empty. Where should he look first? Crap, that would take the whole fucking day. Asking the people in the stores wasn't a big help either. No one wanted to talk about the 'cursed child', about the 'monster' that was attracting demons and caused so many problems.

So he was running around in Fortuna and didn't even know where he really was anymore. That was until he caught an interesting scent. Somehow demonic but human at the same time mixed with dirt and another foul smell. The kid needed a bath that was for sure. He followed that trace through some dark alleyways and empty streets and stopped suddenly when he saw said midget across a street sitting in a dark corner on the frozen ground.

Dante being Dante just walked over, grabbed the boy who yelped in surprised by his collar, lifted him up and took a close look at the squirming kid. There was no mistake about it now. He was not a full human but not a full demon either.

"L-let me down, old man!", the kid demanded, still trying to get free from Dante's grip.

"O-old man?" Dante was beyond shocked! He was just 31 years old! He wasn't old at all, was he? "Negative kid, you're coming with me.", he said while throwing the boy over his shoulder, small fists hitting his back now.

"We're leaving this shitty place.", the demon-hunter simply stated and started to walk.

"L-leaving?", the kid stuttered.

"Yeah. Or do you want to stay here so badly?" He still didn't know where the boy could live in the future, but the midget could stay at his shop for a day or two. Dante was sure that one of the girls would've an idea.

The kid just shook his head and stopped struggling, realising that it was useless. Every other place would be better than Fortuna anyway and he wouldn't wait for the Order to get him and there was just something familiar about the man. He couldn't tell what it was though.

There's no place in the world where I could belong, and yet...
"Let's leave together." You led me away...

IA - A Tale of Six Trillion Years and a Night