"What the hell's keeping him?" Dante asked no one in particular as the four of them waited outside the shop for Nero to arrive.
Though Lady and Haji weren't coming it didn't mean they couldn't wait as well for the strangely-late man.
"It's almost eleven. Where is he?"
Saya shook her head.
At first he had wondered if Nero was playing against them now that they were stronger. But the thought had slipped out of his mind when he realized them getting killed here wouldn't give him much of an opening at Ritorno.
Still, though, Dante wouldn't have figured him to be the kind of guy that would be late.
They tried to pass the time by discussing how they would go and try to find Vergil down in the demon world. But as the only ones of them who had actually been on the "other side" were Vergil and Diva, the group was at a loss as to how they would do it within the first few minutes.
"We can take 'em even if Nero doesn't help us. But I don't like not knowing where that guy is." He thought out loud.
Saya bit her lip a bit as she looked down the street towards where they estimated Nero would come from.
"I don't know how we'll find our way around though." She added.
Dante nodded, remembering how big that place had looked. But if the rooms just led from one to another they would be able to find their way with some time.
"Maybe he isn't going to show up." Lady offered, voicing the thing everyone had been thinking.
However, as they began talking about how much longer to wait before going on their own, footsteps could be heard coming down the dark street.
Dante thought a bit on how strange it was that at eleven in the morning the sun was still just rising, but then decided it didn't matter to him and Nero walked towards them.
His expression tightened when he saw Nero's hair exposed, the bandages no longer covering the very top of his head.
But the hair was now white.
Nero's hair-style was exactly the same as when they had seen him without his disguise on in the "pit". But, though it was white with pigment, the original color had completely vanished.
It almost reminded him of Vergil, albeit with a different style.
As the man approached them, sheathed-weapon in hand, Saya took a step towards him.
He came to a stop near them and Saya reached out a hand, touching his hair.
"Nero…what happened to you?"
The hidden eyes peered out at her for a moment before he turned away.
"They found out that I am helping you. Ritorno stabbed me with his sword. As a result, my body aged decades before I could escape." He responded, walking out of reach from her.
Dante blinked.
Nero's skin still couldn't be seen in the least, due to the bandages covering every part of him that the suit did not, aside from the hair.
But he did look somewhat decrepit.
Saya brought her hand back down to her side before whispering another question.
"And Diva?"
Nero trembled before falling forward, barely keeping himself from falling to the ground by thrusting a leg out.
"She…was taken away." He responded, forcing himself to stand up again.
"Sorry. I'm still not used to this body." Nero continued before turning away from them again.
"If we are to rescue your sister and kill Ritorno, now is the best time to strike. They won't be expecting that I'm alive, so we can catch them by surprise."
Dante was surprised that Nero was so eager to do this after having almost been killed by that Ritorno guy.
"But I thought you guys were all human. If he stabbed you, wouldn't you be dead by now?" He asked, not sure if it was out of suspicion or just plain curiosity.
Nero sighed, showing that he definitely seemed less patient than he used to be.
"The higher-ranking ones of us are stronger than the ones you fought. We are more durable."
Eventually Dante just accepted it with a shrug.
"Alrighty then. Ready when you are."
He nodded before looking back at Saya, who said she was ready as well.
Then they started walking off towards the mansion.
"Now then, is everyone here?" Ritorno asked them all as they sat down in the chairs that stood next to the table.
Thankfully when those pansy-attackers fought here, little damage had been done to the chairs or table, so there was nothing to worry about.
The whore and that worker-peasant were both dead, and he guessed that eventually their bodies would have to be removed on account of the smell that they would soon be emanating. But that wasn't anything too worry about right now.
"Nero doesn't seem to be here." He heard coming from the seat next to Nero's empty one.
"Nero won't be attending this, or any other meetings from now on, Bianco. I'm sure you understand."
Though it seemed to upset the man that his elder brother was dead, he acknowledged it.
So Ritorno nodded.
"I'm glad you agree with me. Anyone else have an objection?"
They were silent.
He chuckled before continuing on.
"We already have one of the swords. All that is required is one more. Still, if you happen to encounter them, feel free to take both. Better to have more than you need and throw away the junk, than to miss the chance to get something that could be valuable."
(Heavy breathing)
"In any case, they should be coming back soon. I'm sure Dante's weapon has already repaired itself. But there shouldn't be any problems. They're as weak as they were before. It should be easier than killing a baby. More or less anyway."
(Heavy breathing)
He gave a mental sigh, glancing over at the sound, before continuing again.
"I want the same three Nanbas to occupy the "play room" again in case they go that way. Everyone else can wait down below."
(Heavy breathing)
Ritorno gave an audible sigh before focusing over on Mizu, who seemed to be taking this all in with casual enjoyment.
"Mizu, if you don't mind, what is with all that noise over there? You know I don't like being interrupted." He teased.
The man glanced down behind him before shrugging.
"Guess I've got the collar on too tight. Not meant for people. If it makes you feel any better, the girl at least doesn't wail and cry anymore. Turns out like the babe is now, only a few good smacks quiets her down."
Ritorno leaned back in his chair.
"Well, isn't that interesting? Really though, I don't care what you do. Make her be quiet, please."
"Yesir." He responded like they were joking around before bending over the chair and giving several loud strikes to the noisy girl.
"By the way, I want you to stay in your room the whole time after this. Since that's the only one they absolutely have to go through to get where the rest of us will be, it'll mean you can stop them if any of the others fails." He continued on, ignoring the crying.
Eventually, with a crack, the noises ended, and he gave a sigh of relief.
"This is getting boring, everyone. Let's make the next time they fight the last time, shall we?"
They agreed before he pushed his way up and out of his chair.
"Well, then. This meeting is adjourned. Mizu, make sure you stay put down there. And try to keep her unused enough so that you can still fight when they find you. I would be embarrassed for all of us if one of our strongest members was caught by the enemy with his pants down."
They all stood up.
"We'll clean the rest of them up and get back on track. Who knows? Maybe there'll be time for lunch afterwards before dinner."
