Late update is late... I've been a bit busy with travelling back home from Uni, but here is the next chapter! Thanks again for everyone's reviews, you are all awesome!!

Furesesse1 – I always figured Lady to be the 'interrupt hot moments' type and thanks for the cookies!!

SirenaLoreley – Glad you're still enjoying it and soon you will know about the demon!

Tmelange – A brilliant review, thank you! And thanks again for enjoying to development of their relationship

KawaiiYue – Do they come in Dante flavour?? And you should try writing some time, everyone has their own way of writing and it's good to share for experience.

Evaniel – Thanks again and yeah, Nero's certainly playing hard to get!

Bitbyboth – Great to see you're still enjoying the tension between them!

Toolazytologin – I added the OOC warning just in case, I try to keep them in character as much as possible, I'm just being cautious.

I hope you enjoy and I'll try not to keep you waiting so long for the next update...

************


Chapter 7 – Uncertainty

After losing the race to Dante's bike, Nero ended up riding behind the elder hunter with both Red Queen and Rebellion strapped to his back. Dante was grinning broadly as he could feel the embarrassment radiating from his passenger in waves. The feeling was enough to set his inner demon off, dancing victoriously. There was something incredibly sexy about having Nero ride behind him, his hands tentatively grasping him around the waist. And of course, there was no way in hell that Devil Hunter Dante would be riding bitch.

"You okay back there kiddo?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Marvellous," Nero sneered, his face bright red.

"You should be flattered!" Dante chuckled. "I rarely let anyone ride with me on a bike, so think of it as a privilege. Besides, you're the passenger of the sexiest man in the world, doesn't that make you hot?"

"You wish."

Yes I really do. "And you make one cute passenger!"

"Shut up and go faster will ya."

Dante snickered as those words were twisted in meaning by his mind. "Eager are we?"

"The less time I'm behind you, the better."

"Ah, so you'd rather I was behind you?"

"Dante!"

The red clad hunter laughed, knowing that the only reason Nero didn't try to beat him to death with his Bringer was because he'd crash. Not wanting to drive the kid over the edge and risk destroying his bike, Dante decided to lay off the teasing. With the way they'd been around each other since getting back to Devil May Cry, it was possible they'd end up bickering whilst fighting demons. That was a situation best avoided, regardless of how much Dante wanted to talk to Nero about the kiss and what it really meant. The last thing he wanted was to scare off the man of his dreams. Damn, did I really just think of him as that? He silently cursed Lady for the interruption, especially considering the fact that she knew about his unspoken love. How did she find out, anyway? He guessed it was women's intuition, something that often put demonic senses to shame.

"Do you think that the girl will be okay, old man?" Nero asked suddenly.

Dante sighed. "Hopefully, my paycheque depends on it."

"You can be so cold, you know that?"

"Got a problem with that, kid?"

"Not really, but she's only a girl."

"Then she's lucky that we're going to rescue her."

"Good, because if she gets hurt, it'll be your fault and I'll kick your sorry arse."

"What are you being so overprotective for?"

"Hey, it's hard on a kid her age to find out that monsters aren't just something made up in stories to scare them. She'll be terrified out of her mind and will want someone to rescue her. She needs to know that whenever she's in trouble, there will be someone to protect her."

Dante bit his lip; he was still hung up about Kyrie. "Then we'd best get to it."

He picked up some speed, focussing back on the road as Nero became silent. When he first met him in Fortuna, he knew that the younger man had done everything in his power to protect Kyrie. After everything he did for her, she hated him. The kid had ultimately been hurt deeply by his 'sister'; the one person in the world who he'd cared about the most in his life. Dante knew all too well what it was like to have your heart broken by a sibling. All he wanted to do was to hold Nero and assure him that he'd never be hurt again. Deep down, both men had a need to be loved and he wanted to be that person for Nero. Perhaps if he ever went back to Fortuna one day, he'd give Kyrie a good slap. He wasn't the type to hit a woman, but some deserved it, even humans; her kind were the worst.

Eventually, they arrived at the small village and they rode through it slowly, looking for the right house number. Nero thought the village looked cute and the houses reminded him of the places couples had in the sappy romance films Kyrie used to watch. How he hated those movies; life was never like that. In the real world, there was no way she would 'see the light' and want him back in her life; she'd hate him to the bitter end. After a moment or two, the teen pointed out a small house with a front made of white painted wooden panels. Dante pulled into the driveway and parked the bike alongside a yellow Mini, both men heading towards the door.

"Here, I'm not lugging this around for you," Nero held out Rebellion.

"Heh, as if I'd let ya," Dante smirked as he took it.

He knocked on the door and waited for an answer, taking his time to notice how quiet the place was. The door immediately swung open and it appeared as though the woman on the other side had been standing there all day, waiting for them to show up. Her eyes were bloodshot and she looked terrible; she was obviously worried sick about her daughter. Nero felt a twinge inside as he imagined how it would feel to have a parent love you like that.

"Are you from Devil May Cry?" she asked, her voice cracking with emotion.

"Yes," Dante replied. "I'm Dante, this is my partner Nero."

"It's almost a relief to know that you don't work alone."

"Anything to protect someone in danger," Nero told her, smiling.

Dante glanced at him briefly. "Did you see what happened?"

The woman shook her head. "I heard my little girl scream that the cat was dead and there was a monster in her room. I ran upstairs to check on her and she was nowhere to be found, or the cat's body. The window was open and I saw tracks out of the back leading to the woods but I didn't dare follow. I didn't know what to do."

"It's okay, we can handle it," Nero assured her.

"Can you point us in the right direction?" asked Dante.

The woman nodded and she walked out of the doorway, leading the two devil hunters around to the back of the house. Over the garden fence was an open expanse of field separating the houses from a small, sparsely populated wood. There were no damaged panels on the fence which suggested the demon was able to jump it with no effort. The open window to the girl's bedroom was on the second floor of the house, which was a decent height to jump from without damaging the ground. Not only was it agile, it was light on its feet and Dante was anticipating a decent fight. He really needed something to challenge him right now.

"They continue over the fence," the women explained, showing them the tracks.

Both the elder and Nero observed the prints on the muddy ground, noticing that they looked like an odd mix between clawed hands and giant paws. Dante remembered the woman saying the cat's body wasn't found. That was it! The demon had either been the cat or possessed it, thus having easy access to kidnap the child. The next question was why and this was what interested Trish. It did all seem a little strange.

"Can you track it down?" asked the woman, nervously.

"Shouldn't be a problem," Dante replied.

"Please save my daughter, she's all I have."

"Don't worry, devil hunting is my speciality."

Nero rolled his eyes skyward; there really was no end to the man's arrogance. The two hunters vaulted the fence and followed the tracks which headed across the field towards the opening of the woods. There was no scent of the demon yet and they needed to be cautious with the wind blowing towards the trees. If the demon became alerted to any kind of danger, it might attack the girl. A six year old would have no chance.

"It's the cat right?" queried Nero.

"Well done kid," Dante replied, almost teasingly. "You catch on quickly."

"The tracks kind of give it away."

"Good to know you're perceptive, it helps with this job."

"Am I living up to your standards, old man?"

Dante laughed. "Hey, it ain't dead yet! For now, you're still a rookie."

Nero stuck his tongue out. "I'll show you."

"Don't get cocky, there's a child involved here."

"All the more reason to get this bastard."

"I'll be keeping an eye on you."

Nero glanced at the elder as they crossed the line of trees into the wood. "What for?"

"To see if you live up to those standards of mine enough to be employable."

"I told you Dante, I'm not staying."

"Come on kid, if you're a natural I'll need someone like you."

He was still being defiant. "I'm not staying."

"What if I told you I want you to stay?"

"Doesn't matter..."

He trailed off as Dante backed him against a tree, his hands placed on either side of his head. Nero couldn't remove his gaze from the other man's ice blue orbs, even though his head was screaming for him to run away. But there was a look in those eyes that he couldn't place and it unnerved him a little.

"Even if it's nothing to do with the job," Dante continued.

"And what does that mean?" Nero replied.

"I want you to stay."

"And I said I'm not."

Nero moved away, but the elder shoved him back. "I mean it kid."

"So do I, old man."

"If you think I'm going to let you walk out of my life, then think again!"

Nero blinked. "Dante, you..."

But there was no time to discuss that as they picked up on the scent of the demon. It was not a usual smell and it was only because they were hunting it down that they'd attribute it to a devil. There was no sense of threat or malicious intent, but it was still accompanied by a strong demonic presence.

"Why does this always happen at inappropriate times?" Dante cursed.

"I guess we'll be discussing this later?" asked Nero.

"Damn right, now come on."

The younger smirked a little. "Just don't get in my way."

"Whatever, punk bitch."

The two hunters headed towards the scent of the demon, making sure to create as little noise as possible on the leaf covered ground. But the smell was starting to become a little fainter again until it was completely masked by the surrounding air of winter. However as they continued their advances, they began to pick up on another smell; fear. Beginning to feel tense, Nero picked up his pace much to Dante's displeasure. The kid was beginning to take a personal slant on this mission and that could end up in trouble. He didn't want to end up rescuing both the girl and his partner.

"Dante!" Nero called back in shock.

He stopped in his tracks, hands reaching to take out Ebony and Ivory, but it wasn't the demon Nero was alerting him to. The six year old girl, clad in a muddy, flowery dress was huddled against a tree and shaking like a leaf. Although she was practically caked in mud, it didn't look like there was a single scratch on her. Obviously, the demon hadn't hurt her and that made the situation rather puzzling.

"She's terrified," Nero observed, sadly.

"But she's not hurt," Dante added, scratching the back of his neck.

"I wonder what it wants with her."

"Beats me, but we should get her out of here while it's not around."

Nero nodded and approached the girl, whose hazel eyes were wide with fright. He knelt down in front of her, trying to offer her an air of assurance.

"It's okay," he told her, gently. "We'll get ya back home."

Without thinking, he held out his uncovered devil arm so she could take his hand. The girl shook her head violently, tears now escaping her eyes as she shrank back from Nero. He tried again, but she continued to flinch away in fear with her wide eyes locked on his dimly glowing Bringer. She would have screamed if she wasn't so afraid.

"It's my stupid arm isn't it?" Nero mumbled, acidly.

Dante watched sadly as the kid got to his feet, feeling an ache deep within his chest. Upon first sight, everyone was afraid of him and no one trusted him because he had that arm; because he was different. Somehow that made him angry, even at a child who didn't know any better.

"I guess I'll have to take her," Dante sighed.

"Why is everyone so afraid of me?" Nero's voice was full of hurt.

"I've told ya before kid, it ain't everyone."

The elder hunter walked passed him and picked up the little girl, who protested at first until she realised her rescuer appeared normal. But her eyes, so full of fear, were still locked on Nero and he looked away, clenching his fists.

"You're little glow stick's fine with me," Dante added.

"Don't call it that," Nero snapped, pouting slightly.

"You hate it, but you're still so protective of it."

"Shut..."

But at that moment, the demon's scent returned and it was stronger than ever. Nero stepped in front of Dante and took out Blue Rose, aiming it in the vague direction of the smell. Even with the trees being so sparse, there was no sign of it. Elusive as well as agile; Dante licked his lips in anticipation.

"Come on out," he growled.

"Get her out of here old man!" Nero hissed.

"Huh?"

"She's not safe! Get her away and I'll stall it until you come and back me up."

"Damn it kid, I'm running this..."

"Just go!"

"Alright, but you'd better leave some for me."

Dante took off quickly, leaving Nero alone in the small clearing to face the demon. The scent continued to grow stronger until it was overpowering and the younger expected it to show up any moment. He glanced at his Devil Bringer, which was glowing brightly to indicate it was somewhere in the vicinity. Then it hit him. If it had been the cat and it was attacking, why would it use the ground? He took aim into the trees and just about managed to dodge it as it attacked.

He spun round on his heel, holding out Blue Rose with a steady hand and locating his target. The demon was probably twice the size of a tiger and its features twisted oddly into a mix of cat and something reptilian. Most of its strong body was covered in black fur, but there were patches of rough scales where armoured plating protected the joints and spinal column. It growled lowly, amber eyes filled with predatory instinct as it stared Nero down. The face was still largely feline, though the jaw was more elongated and the teeth were laced with a paralysis inducing venom.

"You want some huh?" Nero taunted with a grin.

The demon yowled. "Give her back to me!" it bellowed in a demonic voice.

"She doesn't belong to you!"

It arched its back and hissed dangerously, its long tail swishing aggressively behind it. With another growl, it lunged at Nero, who rolled to the ground a fired a shot at its underside. The bullet seared through soft flesh, drawing blood but it was barely enough to injure it severely. He got to his feet, watching as the bleeding quickly stopped and the wound slowly closed. Slight healing ability too; Dante was going to love this.

Nero grinned. "Here kitty."


***********

... Uke in peril? I wonder... I'll try and update quickly, but I may still be busy for a few days.