Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry.


She who wears Trunks

Chapter Twelve

Would you bleed out for him?

"What are you fucking demons doing here?"

She didn't sound as angry as she would have if she didn't have a piece of demon appendage in her right shoulder. Nero couldn't really tell what it was other than that it wasn't a man-made blade there.

Dante glanced at him but turned away to worry over Lady like she was a stray puppy he'd found somewhere, like she might die. Dante was really having a hard time keeping himself together all of a sudden. While Nero was partially demon, he had had to deal with taking care of human injury before, and he knew that Lady would be fine if they just gave her wound some attention soon.

"That hurts, Lady; I know that's not how you really think of us," Dante managed to joke through his evident worry. Nero took time to notice how interesting the interactions between the two veteran demon hunters always were. He wondered what would happen if Lady realized she was a human too late one day and disappeared. Would Dante be crushed, would he curse her for making him care?

He supposed that was an unnecessarily mean train of thought. Lady was a friend, and an ally; no need to get jealous over things that don't mean anything. Not that Nero was jealous; god forbid he get too attached, too involved, should he end up dying while trying to get Vergil from his head. He knew that it might be too late for Dante to withdraw from his feelings, and that was a disastrous path to lead. But what could he do about it?

So he crossed his arms and watched the display, finding no real need to help out. Lady complained to Dante half-heartedly about how he probably broke her window again as he led her to sit on the dusty living room couch, and Trish walked around the place with a sense of direction, probably looking for some medical supplies. She seemed to know where she was going despite the look of confusion she got when she sifted through some of the boxes they'd pulled out.

"You might be right about that window, but I swear I'll pay for it this time. Just for you, babe."

"Damn right you're paying for my fucking window. You owe me enough money as it is, Dante."

"Ouch- My tab isn't as big as it used to be; I'd be done owing you if you got us better jobs."

"If I don't bleed out before Trish gets here with a god damned devil star, I'm going to shoot you in the fuckin' head. Maybe if your funds didn't go to places like Love Planet or- what's the name of that pizza place? You'd be done," She scathed. Nero, from his place against the wall, enjoyed he show with a small observing smirk.

"Maybe you shouldn't do that here; wouldn't want any more broken windows, eh?"

Nero understood Lady a bit. I mean, with Dante unconsciously flirting with you while you had a giant blade hanging out your shoulder, anyone could wear a scowl. Though she seemed too easily aggravated for this kind of group. Dante and Trish could be obnoxious when they wanted to be. Their personalities clashed a lot, yet somehow they work so well together.

Trish sauntered over in her own unconsciously flirtatious way just then with a devil star in her hand.

The blade had to be removed first, lest it heal into her skin, so Dante grabbed Lady by both shoulders from her front with his brows creased, and held her fast as Trish made her way behind the dusty couch. Dante looked at Trish, and then at Lady in a way that not only seemed intimate, but trusting; Nero could tell it was not anything like the look you'd give a lover, but the kind you'd give a partner. It was hard to explain the jealousy in his chest. Was it right to feel like he might not be that close to Dante?

She griped the rusty demon blade tightly, and Lady closed her eyes, listening to Trish count down from three as warning to brace for some serious pain.

"Fuck!"

If the couch wasn't shabby before, I was decimated now. Blood was just gushing out of the wound, and Trish had done a pretty shitty job of getting the blade out cleanly as far as Nero could tell. The wound looked bigger, but it could just be because of the blood gushing out. His eyes widened at how much blood poured out. He'd forgotten that little tidbit of human life that made blood so easy to exert.

Her breathing was ragged, teeth clenched, and her eyes were squeezed tight in what can only be described as an effort to hide the tears. Nero wasn't judging her for it; she was just human, and a very strong one at that. It would not matter if she teared up, or ever passed out because it's just a natural occurrence for humans who loose blood like this. But he knew Lady didn't see it like that. He knew she was trying her best to keep up with the demons around her.

"Use the devil star," she called out to Trish breathlessly, who to Lady must've been taking her damn time getting it ready for use. It really was only a couple of seconds after the blade was pulled out that it swirled in Trish's hand, and burst over Lady's wound. Just like that, the wound closed almost instantly, and the pain on Lady's face turned into relief, with the only evidence of their ever being a wound was the ruined button-up and the bloody couch.

The crease between Dante's brows vanished and he let a small smile spread over his face, though it stayed for less time than he would've liked because Lady's gun was right between his eyes and firing before he could move.

He scrambled away from Lady, complaining that he didn't deserve the shower of bullets. He ran, sloppier with his movements than Nero had ever seen him. Dante actually tripped into Nero with a bullet to the back of his head, which pushed the man further into Nero and the wall. Did he get like this when his composure failed him? It would be mean if the kid didn't steady Dante at least a little bit, so he grabbed him by the arms and pulled him so that he wasn't tripping over everything with a grimace. Why was he being so sloppy?

By the time Dante had regained his footing, Lady had come up behind him and pistol whipped him a few knots on the top of his head. Nobody said anything, but Dante shrugged Nero's hands off and turned to face Lady, who still wore an angry face. The kid expected him to complain some more, flirt with her, or maybe even get angry with her, but he didn't do any of this.

He hugged her, and she seemed to get even more pissed off, but she hugged him back anyways, dropping her gun and sighing like life was a sinking ship; Nero felt ridiculous for getting jealous, and Vergil was taunting him in some faraway place of his mind for it too. If he looked over their shoulders, he could see Trish trying to busy herself distantly. Couldn't she see that the way Dante and Lady acted with each other was out of a good friendship, not romance?

He was listening to what Vergil had to say because he had no choice in it, and because of that distraction, he was surprised when Lady pushed Dante back into him. He caught him again, but he couldn't see his face.

"I swear if I come home to one more broken window, I'm going to fucking murder you."

And Dante was laughing again! He was shifting back to his normal self, and if Nero had to make a guess, it would be because Lady was trying to also. He couldn't tell if it was an unconscious decision or not, but it was working.

"Are you going to tell me why you're here?"

Trish came over to get in on the conversation now that the strange moment of caring between Dante and Lady had ended, and her features revealed great interest.

"Well, I didn't expect you to get back so soon, and me and the kid," Dante said with a thumb jerking in Nero's general direction, "didn't want to wait, so we came inside the fun way. It's not very exciting hanging around Devil May Cry with nothing to do."

"Don't I know it," Lady replied offhandedly, turning away from them and heading for the kitchen. Nero wondered if Dante was going to follow, or if he was going to just stare after her like some kind of starving poverty child.

"Hey, Lady," he called out to her, and Nero would've sworn he was about to ask her for food, "Why exactly are you back so soon?"

Not what Nero had expected, but he supposed it was a better question than what he thought he'd say.

Just as her head ducked down to take a peek in her old looking refrigerator, she replied with, "Wasn't actually a demon, just some funny farm escapee with an interesting arsenal of severed demon limbs."

"How'd you get hit?"

"It was all hidden in this… fuchsia robe the guy was wearing; really caught me off guard."

"D'you kill him?"

"Hm."

The conversation wafted through the room like Lady hadn't almost bled out a second ago, and it felt a bit refreshing to get this sense of normalcy after seeing Dante about to break down. What would he do if Lady disappeared?

"He would no doubt forget you and fawn over her grave like a widowed broad." Well, if Nero wasn't expecting a response like that he might've been upset. He wondered if because Vergil is Dante's brother it meant that he knew him better, and what he was saying was true, or if he was simply baiting him for a response. It was quite possible he was doing both.

As friendly banter continued to wash through Lady's apartment, Nero withdrew himself to listen to Vergil. It wasn't that he was taking what he was saying to heart, it's just that it was easier to listen to what's in your head as opposed to what's outside of it.

"Tell me why my brother's attention means so much to you."

"Hmph. You already know the answer, Vergil."

"Yes," he confirmed, "But I want to hear the words from you."

"No. I don't need to tell you anything. Surely you've heard the answer enough times from my subconscious, am I right?"

He paused. "I suppose soDo you wish you could bleed like humans do? Would it please you to be in a human's position if it meant Dante would lose his whole demeanor over you?"

"I doubt she means more to him than I do at the moment, if that's what you're asking. No, I wouldn't want to be in Lady's place." Nero wasn't blind; he knew what Vergil was implying.

"Oh? I wouldn't say that, but I suppose you know best, right, boy?"

Nero would've questioned Vergil if there wasn't an angry Lady in front of him with a book on his forehead, telling him to stop zoning out and tell everyone what he found in the book and what he planned to do.

"Um."


I've got no excuse for the long wait on the chapter other than that I'd lost my passion for DMC for a while. But school is starting for me tomorrow, so I thought I'd finish this chapter anyways. I promise to finish this story even if it takes months to push each chapter towards the internet.

So how did you guys like this one? I don't really have any questions about this one other than if you think the plot is coming along nicely.