godofmadness43: I have never heard that song. I might have to look it so I can see what you mean xD. And you'll have to find out what killed them ;D. Thanks for the review!

.vendetta: I especially enjoyed writing the flirting scene. I think I laughed through the whole thing xD. Thanks for the kudos on the character continuity. I try to keep up with that as best as best I can. Thank you foor the review :D!

theUndertakerx: Yeah, I think it's safe to keep it at T. Thanks for the rating advice! And don't worry about wanting Nero to get caught without his sling. I thought about doing it, so it will probably happen at some point ;D. Thankies for the review! :3

Snookens5: I'm glad you decided to read this and enjoyed it! Thanks for the review!

noiroux: No! You're not a bad fan! I'm just happy to have people read it! Besides, I forget to review sometimes too ;_;. Anyway, thank you for the rating advice as well. As I said before, I also think it's safe to keep it as it is :3. As for seeing other characters in the story, I'll see what I can do. I think it would be fun if I could sneak someone in there somehow...it's just how is what ahs me right now .. Thanks for the review!

Taiyoukai assassin: Dante's lack of care for intelligence amuses me too xD. I try not to make him stupid because he doesn't seem that way to me in the games, cuz he shows some slight intelligence every now and again. I just take it as, like you said, he just doesn't care xD. Thanks for the review!

Mayuna: :D Yay! I entertained you! That's definitely what I was going for and I'm glad I was successful ;D. thanks for the review!

Alright! Here's chapter eight! I meant to get this out yesterday but I decided to play Just Dance 2 with my brother so I apologize. Anyway, this is a late Christmas present to my faithful readers! :D


Dante sprinted through the corridors faster than he had ever moved, especially in this direction, in his life. The scene he had witnessed minutes ago had both angered and saddened him in one blow. He knew a demon had to be behind this; there was no other explanation. He had dropped his defenses concerning the foul creatures when no others presented themselves after his close encounter. Now he wished he hadn't. It was the childhood tragedy all over again. The amulet around his neck seemed to weigh a ton as visions of that terrible, gruesome night flashed through his thoughts as if a sadistic photographer had documented the night in photos and was torturing the young half demon by forcing him to view them.

The sixteen year old skidded to a halt in front of the headmistress' office door, too distracted by what he was about to divulge to the woman to realize how out of breath he was. Deciding knocking was a waste of time, Dante threw the door open. Headmistress Connoly sat behind her desk, a pair of reading glasses perched on her nose as she filled out what could only be some sort of paperwork. The commotion caused the middle aged woman to abandon her work and don an aggravated expression. The sight of the worn out, troubled-looking devil in her doorway caused the anger to melt away and be replaced by slight concern. "Dante, what brings you here? I haven't heard from the other teachers that you are in trouble and I have yet to call you here..."

The moment Dante caught his breath, he managed to quickly gasp, "Girl dead upstairs. I think demons are behind it."

The headmistress' eyes widened slightly, and she sprang from her desk and joined the silver-haired teen at the door with greater agility than could have been expected of a woman her age. Dante followed the woman back through the corridors and heard her say, "If this is a joke, you will seriously regret it Dante."

"I could never joke about something like this," Dante informed Headmistress Connoly coolly. With what had happened to his mother still fresh in his mind, and even more so now, Dante would not even think about such a prank.

After a few minutes, Dante and the headmistress spotted Nero and Vergil standing sentry near the scene of the attack. Vergil was as emotionless as ever, though upon closer inspection of his face, Dante noted the slight worry in the eyes which were identical to his own. Nero's complexion was whiter than normal and his eyes darted from one spot in the hall to another rapidly. Without a word to either part human, Headmistress Connoly moved passed them, only to stop dead in her tracks seconds later. A hand flew to her mouth to muffle the strangled cry which emitted from her throat despite the woman's efforts to keep it at bay.

Dante joined his room mates and the three watched as their headmistress walked forward slowly, her hand still covering her thin mouth. She stopped at the young girl's feet and began mumbling incoherently. The boys exchanged confused looks between themselves before Vergil took a step toward the woman. "Headmistress? What are we going to do?"

Vergil's voice seemed to snap the headmistress out of her mutterings, and she turned around to face the three demons. "What happened here?" she asked as if she hadn't heard Vergil at all, her voice clearly on the verge of shaking.

Not knowing how to answer their headmistress accurately or satisfactorily, Dante and Nero both looked away. Vergil sent them both a discrete scowl before returning his gaze to the distraught woman before them. "We don't know. There was a scream and we came to investigate. This is all we found." The eldest half devil hesitated momentarily before turning to the brunette sitting against the wall, gripping her knees tightly to her chest. "She may know something but she's in shock and hasn't said a word since we found her..."

The woman's gaze snapped to the girl against the wall and she immediately strode over to her. As the headmistress began consoling the girl, the three demons lost track of her words. Dante, Vergil, and Nero remained rooted to their spots, patiently observing Headmistress Connoly coax young Lily to her feet and lead her toward the teens, keeping an arm at the ready in case the girl should faint or something similar. The woman's face was stony as she spoke: "Nero, hold her and make sure she doesn't collapse." As Nero scurried to Lily's side, Headmistress Connoly addressed the remaining males in the hallway. "You two go seek out the janitors and tell them what has happened. They'll know what to do. Be sure to tell them that I demand that they stay silent on what they see no matter what happens."

The twins gave their headmistress a curt nod before turning and swiftly abandoning the scene of the crime. Once out of earshot of Nero, Lily, and Connoly, Dante mumbled, "It was a demon, Verg. I just know it."

Vergil ran his fingers through his spiky, white hair in frustration; he was now beginning to show signs of the stress that had begun with finals week and was increased by the events of the evening. "It certainly seems that way..."

The twins began the descent down a flight of stairs two at a time, both beginning to become anxious since they had not caught even a glimpse of a custodian. Dante growled lowly, his hands curling into fists. "Where the hell are they? For all we know they're dead somewhere too!"

"Calm down, Dante," the elder said, trying to keep the edge out of his voice despite his own growing irritation. "Let's check their office. Someone is bound to be there."

When the twin devils arrived in the basement where the janitors' office was located, Dante and Vergil peeked through the window in the door. Sure enough, two of the custodians sat around a small table inside playing a game of cards. Dante scowled. "Lazy bastards! If they weren't so busy dicking around, maybe this wouldn't have happened!"

Vergil grabbed his brother around the waist and forced him backwards as Dante made to burst through the door and scream insults down the men's throats. "Hush. I know you're upset but you need to cease being so irrational." Without a word, Dante wrenched himself out of his brother's hold and leaned against the nearby wall, arms crossed and a defiant glare still set on his face. Satisfied with his double's most likely temporary calm, Vergil placed a hand on the knob of the door. "Wait here. I'll take care of this." After adjusting the prefect's badge pinned to his blazer, Vergil slipped silently into the janitors' office.

Dante closed his eyes, trying to empty his mind of the past. He couldn't help but wonder how Vergil was remaining so calm and collected as he always had, even after what was going on. Didn't he wonder why a demon was lurking the halls of their high school? Wasn't he concerned about the safety of the rest of the student body? About their own safety? Even as he considered these questions, Dante couldn't help but feel slightly envious of his brother's calm demeanor in any situation. It beat the hell out of worrying and dreading a repeat of the tragedy which made them orphans at least.

The door reopened moments later and Vergil stepped out, followed by the two janitors who had formerly occupied the small room. The custodians rushed passed Dante and up the stairs to the main floor. Vergil nodded to Dante, and without a word, the two followed the custodians' lead and returned to the main hall of the school. Their silence persisted as they crossed the hall and entered their headmistress' office.

Inside, the twins were immediately met with a dreary, atmosphere. Headmistress Connoly was pacing the small area behind her desk, occasionally peering out the window thoughtfully. Two chairs had been placed in front of the large, organized desk, Nero and Lily occupying them. The youngest half demon remained vigilant concerning the girl, who was staring wide-eyed at nothing in particular.

The soft click of the office door being closed caused Nero and Connoly to avert their gaze to the newcomers. The youngest teen flashed them a pathetic smile before returning his sad, azure orbs to the traumatized girl next to him.

The headmistress motioned for the twins to join them near her desk as she lowered herself into the high backed chair behind it. "We were unable to get Lily to speak much. At least nothing coherent enough to piece together." The middle-aged woman sighed softly, then continued. "I believe I'm going to have to close the school, at least for the remainder of the week. Hopefully, that plus the two week break will give us enough time to sort this mess out and avoid a repeat of tonight."

Even though this is normally amazing news, under the current circumstances, no one in the room felt like celebrating. The three devils nodded stiffly in response, wondering what this meant for them.

As if reading their minds, the head of Westbrook School went on. "As for you three, we will have to resort to finding a new place for you to stay. A friend of mine-"

"No."

Headmistress Connoly's facial expression became one of surprise at Dante's interruption. The teen's serious demeanor furthered this shock; the woman did not often see Dante so serious. "Why the objection to this, Dante?"

At this point, Nero and Vergil were staring at Dante as if he had spontaneously grown another leg and had begun speaking some dead language. Dante ignored his room mates and replied, "I don't know about these two, but I'm staying here to help. If it is a demon, there's a good chance it's after us, especially if the one that tried to take my head as a trophy was looking for us that day."

Vergil shook his head. "That could have been a coincidence. This could be a coincidence. I can't completely deny that this wasn't a demon's doing, but there is no proof that it has anything to do with us. Demons have certain instincts and a school is a perfect target for them."

"That doesn't matter to me," the younger twin stated impatiently. "Even if this demon isn't after us in particular, I want to be the one to take it down. I may not have been able to protect mom, but I'm not letting something like that happen here."

Shaking his head, Vergil crossed his arms, knowing his brother was going to be stubborn on this point. Connoly, however, had to argue. "As headmistress of this school and your guardian, I can not allow that. The school could be dangerous."

Dante simply shrugged and moved toward the door. "You can't make me leave. If something happens to me because of my choice, no one can blame you so I don't see why you're so worried."

Before the distressed woman could respond, the middle half demon had exited the room, not desiring to argue his point anymore. The older woman groaned and rubbed her temples. "You two may go. I'll discuss this matter with you more tomorrow, Vergil. I have other matters to attend to."

The remaining two devils followed Dante's lead and returned to their dorm. There they found Dante perched on the edge of his bed, a long, black case sitting behind him. Nero's eyes widened slightly, knowing what the case held. The youngest half demon had questioned Dante and Vergil, who had a similar case residing under his bed, about them after stumbling upon the mysterious cases while cleaning. Vergil informed him that they held swords their father had given them, but did not elaborate beyond this information.

Vergil narrowed his eyes at his brother. "You truly intend to remain here, don't you?"

"Did I not make that clear enough downstairs?"

With a haughty sniff, Vergil strode over to his own bed and sat down. "Then I'll be staying too." When Dante shot his twin an incredulous look, Vergil added, "I can't let you have all the fun, can I?"

A sound that would have been a laugh had he not been so stressed and worried about the future escaped Dante's lips. "Alright." His gaze wandered to Nero, who was shrugging the sling off his demonic arm once again. "What about you kid? You gonna join in on the fun?"

Ignoring the annoying nickname, Nero stared down at his red and blue arm thoughtfully. "Well, I sure as hell don't want to be alone with some old lady for almost three weeks. But I don't have a weapon or anything like you guys do. Plus, I don't think I know how to use one even if I did."

"We'll figure something out," replied Dante nonchalantly.

Vergil nodded in agreement. "I'll inform Headmistress Connoly about our decisions in the morning. But for now, we should probably stay in here and stay out of the way until tomorrow."

The two younger devils gave their consent to this plan, despite their want to do something. None of them wanted to simply do nothing with the possibility of a demon lurking through the corridors, but they didn't seem to have much of a choice at the moment. It seemed their only option at the moment was to sit and wait.