Chapter 4 - Overture

Devon never had craved for much company. Not when she had a home and a job. Not afterwards. The few people she had known had either moved or she didn't want to see anyone, because of the shame she felt when the small diner she had worked for went bankrupt.

Strange folk and dangerous creatures had started to roam the city freely, when that cursed tower had emerged and destroyed the whole inner complex, where most stores and companies had settled.

Though the outskirts remained untouched it quickly turned from a secret whisper behind closed doors to an anxious murmur until it became fully fledged screams of fear. The city was cursed. It was not safe any longer. Especially the closer one ventured to the ruins.

Despite all this, Devon stayed. She wouldn't and simply couldn't leave. She had lost faith in the world as much as it had lost faith in her. Even after the social class came to a screeching halt the more people fled the city, she stayed because she did not care any more.

On the other hand, to be free of any obligation was beneficial to her sorrowed life. She did as she pleased and went where she wanted. And within time, without money, she learned and adapted quickly to it.

And socially unacceptable people like her had the time of their life. So many abandoned buildings and destroyed stores or markets. It was like living in Wonderland.

But after a few years living like kings, it became evident that another layer of society had formed. Something that she did not want to be part of. Low town, how the district was called nowadays, the section closest to the tower, but not the actual ruined ring around it, was a dangerous place to visit. Especially after dark. At daytime, everything seemed to be dozy in a sleepy haze, but come night, the streets where jostling with busy people. It would only look like a district of non-stop parties, clubs and bars, wouldn't it be for that eerie looming danger underneath it all.

Dangers lurked around every corner. And for her alone, it sure spelled trouble wherever she went.

You could not see or touch it, but Devon felt that prickly sensation whenever she had went there in the beginnings. And then she stopped her visits altogether, feeling she wasn't welcomed in these parts at all.

So she mainly kept herself close to the outskirts whee still normal folks went to do their daily business, but after dark it was quiet because people did not go out and kept their doors and windows tightly shut. It seemed like two completely different cities had merged into one and not by choice.

And always she would be unaware of how her eyes roamed her surrounding for the man with the red coat. That previous night, when she had been careless, because of how sleepy and groggy she was she made a mistake and went head on into these rabid street junkies.

And as they attempted to slit her body open, she rediscovered her will to live. To fight. She wouldn't go down like this. And before she knew it, she escaped widely intact and the adrenalin coursed through her blood and she felt more alive than ever before.

She ran and ran until pain and exhaustion had caught up with her body and with her last remaining strength, she reached Cesare's place. A place where she knew a smile could warm her entire being so easily like none before. He was a kind man. And the initial shock had subsided quickly, and the fight she thought she had to put up when Dante had shown up, did not come.

All she really wanted was someone. Anyone by her side. And there he was. His glorious smile and red leather that smelled like oil and musk. She did not want to admit it, but he had been a most welcomed sight.

When Devon had woken up in Nero's room she took her time he in reliving all those things and ponder quite a bit. The entire house was silent, not eerie like the empty streets outside, but very peaceful. No threats that lurked in the silence, awaiting her to make a wrong move.

She simply laid there, revelling in the comfort of a soft bed and warm room. It was still too early to get up either way, through curtains fell only a soft light, meaning sun wasn't entirely up yet.

She wished she would be able to stay in this serene moment forever.

Nero was already wide awake in the living room, but in the rest of the house he couldn't detect any movement as of now. As much as he liked the couch, sleeping on it was far more uncomfortable than he remembered as he stretched once and his sore back cracked in protest.

With still sleepy eyes he stumbled through the darkened room over to the kitchen, where the rising sun greeted him bright enough to make him go blind for a second.

He rubbed his tired eyes and stretched yet again. His arm was itchy like hell and he took off the accursed glove he had to wear even through his sleep in order to hide it, if Devon would have woken up earlier than all of them. But right now he trusted his ears to pick up and distinct her footsteps from the twins easily, even from upstairs.

Or so he hoped. Truth be told, he was tired of this. He threw the nasty thing onto the counter and went to make coffee. His brain still half asleep, he lost track of how many spoons he already dumped into the machine, but was to lazy to scoop the coffee back out. Four? Or was it five already?

A thoughtful hum on his lips and with furrowed brows he put another one in for good measure. Couldn't hurt, if considered how tired he was. And while he pitied himself for the lack of sleep he recalled the reason in his sleepy haze.

The damn phone hadn't stopped ringing in the dead of the night. And because the brothers had him watch it and secondly it was located in the every same room, he had to stand back up and get the call.

At first he hadn't even recognized the voice on the other end until it had teased him unpleasantly. He couldn't really stand the guy, but he had to put up with him nonetheless for he was one of Dante's oldest and most trusted contacts in the city.

After promising the person on the other end multiple times to relay the message as soon as possible, he made haste to fob off the man with the, at least in Nero's eyes, utterly questionable occupation. Whenever they had to visit the club, Nero certainly did not tag along voluntarily.

But he knew both twins were home, ans himself would get assigned to watch over the female instead of coming along, he already laid his plans out for the day. Ans on top, with Vergil and Dante probably out of the vicinity, he could at least do a proper cleaning and listen to his loud music to his hearts content. Always a pleasure he looked forward too, since Dante had questionable taste in music and Vergil preferred silence over anything else.

And within said silence currently reigning the house, Nero's ears picked up the faintest of noises coming from above, source not clearly detectable. But he was certain both his companions would rather sleep through the day, than to putting up with a bright day and a city full of people.

He filled his cup with the fresh coffee and took a large gulp while watching the sun coming up. His still focussed senses kicked suddenly into gear. He smirked, knowing exactly which twin to anticipate. Without giving away his knowledge he opened the cupboard above the coffee maker, and calmly retrieved another cup.

Casually flinging it over his shoulder with his devil bringer, he waited if it would crash to the ground. But all he heard was a faint swish. His smirk grew wider.

"Paying attention I see, " Vergil mocked, but the slight praise was music to Nero's ears. He finally turned to see the twin stroll in, stopping right next to him. While doing so, Vergil didn't fail to notice how exceptionally smug the young man looked. "Don't let it get to your head."

Nero shook his said head, the comment was delivered in a demoralizing voice, just as expected. But he couldn't help to feel slightly proud to have noticed Vergil. It was next to impossible for normal persons, for he made no sound loud enough for human ears to hear. The non-existent heartbeat, or human body for that matter, were responsible for this, since Vergil had been stripped of his human component a long time ago.

And over the course of their living together, Nero had made a point to eventually be able to perceive Vergil before he came into view. It became something close to contest. Nero wanted to learn this ability by heart and not having to focus so intently anymore.

"You wouldn't let me, even if I wanted to." Nero retorted, before cocking his head, slightly puzzled. "You're up early, though."

"What of it", Vergil scoffed, clearly aware it was kind of unusual for him. But the unfamiliar smell in the house had been keeping him awake and on his toes. Of course, he wouldn't admit that to Nero openly.

"Actually," Nero shrugged, "that's quite convenient. I had a phone call this night. Interesting to say the least."

Vergil immediately perked up at the hinted promise of work to do. He motioned impatiently for his younger companion to go on, who was refilling his cup and settling himself on top of the counter, feet dangling happily in a childish display.

"Well, it was dude from Love Planet." Nero declared with a scrunched up nose, making his dislike visible.

"What did he want?" Vergil asked with narrowing eyes.

"He only said, he had a message...For both you and Dante." Nero scratched his head, because Vergil looked disappointed.

"No job then? Password?" The older twin was disgruntled over the seemingly uselessness of said call, since Nero shook his head no. "Can't be that important then." Vergil concluded with a grunt.

Rolling his eyes and chuckling the young man replied, " you know, he said you would say that." Now came the undeniably curious part. And he'd be damned if he wouldn't find out what the hell was going on. "And because of that he told me this. It was a message delivered by a bird."

The effect the information had on Vergil, startled Nero, for the older hunter's eyes pierced right through Nero's soul, and a cold shudder rolled down his back.

Despite this Vergil's voice was as calm as ever. "A bird, he said." He repeated slowly, putting his cup down.

"Yeah, what's that about?"

Nero could just helplessly stare at the blue flash, indicating Vergil's curt leave, jiggling cup left in his wake. The young devil hunter heaved a deep sigh. So much for getting anything out of Vergil's stuck up ass.

Dante awoke with a start, eyes zoning in on his surroundings. He stood up lazily and rubbed his eyes. Straining his ears, he made out one by one all the occupants of the house. All their heartbeats were at normal pace, he checked like he did ever so often before doing anything else. It was a habit he developed over the years and years in business. He paid more attention to his surrounding, noting even the slightest difference by now. Every drop of temperature, every shift in the atmosphere around him.

His senses were trained to an abstruse amount, that even Vergil found to be worth of praise. Specks of dust floated around him in the dim light, coming through the curtains. Sun was setting, time to get up for him.

Dante did not really hate broad day light, but he found twilight and nights to be his favorite time of the day. Direct sunlight always bothered him. It was imply to bright for him.

He yawned lazily and stretched in front of his wardrobe. He heard soft footsteps of naked feet above him and knew Vergil was awake and already on it.

Sometime Dante found it rather impressive that Vergil was so into this, other days he found it plainly annoying. Especially when he was trying to sleep. He knew Sometimes Vergil did it just to grind on his nerves. But, that was a given. Dante did much the same. They still were quite a ways from what people would call a healthy sibling relationship, but for Dante they did fine.

As Dante plucked a plain black shirt and faded blue jeans from the wardrobe, he wondered how Trish was doing. He couldn't help but smile lightly about this. She was restless soul, ready to absorb knowledge like a dry thirsty sponge.

Whenever business was slowing, she would just run off. At first it was unsettling, though she already had gained his full trust. Upon her return she would constantly babble about where she had been and what she had seen and learned. Time after time again, Dante would steadily learn, that she indeed was travelling the world.

A world she had only known by poisoned words that were sown into her very existence. And when she had started to question it, thanks to Dante, she became curious. Like a young child she would venture out farther and farther until the city and the surrounding country became to small. And her thirst became bigger.

Dante's eyes flitted across the vast array of souvenirs. Some impressive, like the exact copy of the famous nose less sphinx or the snow globe with an intricate small Eiffel tower in the midst of other famous tourist sites.

Others were quite silly, like wooden clogs from some place in Europe with a bright flower pattern. He would kill himself before ever putting those on. Another was a square shaped teapot with union jack design. He offered the ugly thing to Vergil. He didn't want it either.

The stupid stuff clearly outnumbered the actual useful things, but Trish said, that it seemed to be a starnge unwritten rule in every souvenir shop around the world. Maybe except for the Japanese hair oil (which Vergil almost greedily accepted) or the Turkish mosaic lamp making it's home on his night stand.

And Trish had brought back also one of these huge, dramatic mirrors, joking he could practice his flirting faces in front of it. Like he needed to, really. First it kind of had creeped him out, but finally he found it added quite to rooms atmosphere.

It was like a private horror cabinet and Dante always took pride in all the trophies hanging from his walls. Knowing his quirks quite well, Trish had brought him also the head of one of the stone lions from Mallet Island.

These things had looked regal and sure had been a royal pain in the ass to fight. He grinned at the stone head, with mane and all, which decorated the space over his bed perfectly.

He always missed Trish when she was on her long travels, because, even he had enough insight into female business, he liked the womanly touch to the house. And because she never got tired of his jokes.

She was his soulmate, but on a completely platonic basis, in contrast to what other's believed. Not even Nero knew, that Trish had been made to look like his mother. And the thought of taking anything further never had crossed Dante's mind.

He had needed hours to calm Vergil down and explain their whole ordeal and how Trish eventually turned on Mundus to help him flee. Vergil would always be wary of her, but they actually were on friendly terms with each other. His twin came to the realization just how versed Trish was.

She showed so much exceeding knowledge from demonology, over medical treatment to speaking many different tongues forgotten or not. Decoding or translating old texts was next to nothing for her. And thus she might not have gained his friendship, but his respect for definite.

Dante didn't desire any thing beyond a good time to vent off steam. He wasn't interested in serious stuff. The one and only commitment he took seriously was his business. Which brought him back to the female currently residing within the devil household.

He had meant what he had said. She was good looking, bit thin, but that was about to get fixed. Having no home and be constantly in survival mode, had taken a toll on her. The malnutrition could be easily spotted. Her fingers, her hair, little details had given it away when he had started looking.

After she had showered, he had estimated her age somewhere close to Nero. At first he didn't give a damn about her in any other way than helping her out. It was good nature kicking in, if he wanted it or not. He was a constant flirt, he knew that and played with that image any given opportunity. And Devon didn't seem to mind him either.

Would it be inappropriate? Maybe, but how would he know if she responded. He would test the water. Inch by inch. Maybe she would respond to him. And if not then he wouldn't mind either He shrugged at his reflection in the mirror, which he had stared at for God knows how long.

He decided to not wear shoes. Or socks. He liked it to walk around bare footed. Something him and Vergil strangely had in common. Blowing his hair out of his eyes, he turned to see what everyone else was up to. The 'dancing' above him had already stopped long beforehand.

The very moment he had meant to open his door, he knew Vergil was on the other side. The flare in his brothers energy hit him unprepared. Same as the loud banging, violent enough to make the door shudder and crack. He chalked to another perfectly fine door ruined, not really an uncommon in his shop.

"Verge! What the hell?" Something clearly had his idiot brother in an uproar, though. And whatever put his brother in such a vile state, effectively resulting in the attempt to knock his door down, could only spell trouble. Lots of it.

"Dante. Get up!" Vergil hollerred, instead of providing an answer.

"I am!" Dante yelled back, obviously peeved. Can't one have even one minute of silence around here? And he chuckled to himself, usually it was the other way around. Vergil demanding silence and Dante causing a ruckus.

"Move! We have an appointment!" Vergil's voice boomed throughout the house and it didn't sound the slightest patient any longer.

Dante opened his door, to see Vergil waiting, impatiently tapping his foot and crossing his arms over his cheat. Completely dressed to boot. "Now:" He growled.

"What's the hurry, bro?"

"Nero told me, Johnny called last night. We must speak with him. Something's wrong."

In a matter of seconds, because Vergil's dark voice let no room for doubt, Dante, too, was dressed and downstairs in a mere second, his satisfied brother on hi s heels.

Nero watched both of them with great concern, because this was tremendously unbecoming of them. He already had established the situation to be somewhat severe, when he had heard Johnny's voice yesterday. Something wasn't quite right.

Johnny had sounded afraid.

Even if he didn't like the guy one bit, he had to give him credit for his always unshakeable, blithe demeanour. He was known to be dauntless. He rarely showed much concern for the demonic activities haunting the city, knowing full well he'd be more than able to stand his ground.

Yet, when both brothers performed a hasty departure, Nero suddenly knew why Johnny had already set his alarms off. When a nonhuman person, who successfully runs a night club in a city, that had seen so much demons and cursed beings, was afraid, the devil hunters had all the right reasons to be unsettled.

Nero retreated back into the kitchen for another coffee and to find something for to get occupied with while he waited for the twins to return. Only a short while later, when he had retrieved the newspaper from atop the stonestairs outside, a small voice was heard from the living room and he frustratedly slumped down in defeat. They all had forgotten about a certain someone.

Great.

Now it was up to him to clean up behind them and deal with a woman, who had witnessed something she better hadn't and no doubt had a ton of questions. But, estimating the situation soberly, he knew it would fall to him to watch the house and cater to their guest. Like the twins probably expected him to do.

Dante and Vergil visited Love Planet on a regular basis and were on friendly terms with the owner, who had changed after the destruction Temen-ni-gru had brought. The establishment was rebuild by the hands and undiminishing resources of a person named Johnny. And this time around, Dante had become easily became aqcuainted with the mysterious nonhuman.

At first, no one knew of his origins and secondly really bothered. In fact, that was on thing no one really talked about. It was not necessary and everyone minded his own business and would ask the same of others.

Dante just had known Johnny wasn't human either. The first time they met, a simple sniff told him as much. A curious smell of salty water. But neither made it the hairs on his back stand, nor did his inner devil show much concern, so he never really bothered.

The only puzzling thing was, neither Dante nor any other higher devil or demon could look past the human appearance Johnny had chosen to display. He was a very good looking lad, with his white blonde hair touching his shoulders and piercing eyes that glinted mildly amused all the time. He regularly made the ladies swoon over him whenever he entered the club, much to Dante's dismay.

Sort of like Trish, who could change appearances at will and as often as she liked, it had been safe to assume Johnny was higher, full fledged demon. Yet, the devil hunters seemed to have their plate continuesly full, and it wasn't always pizza, for it mattered only that Johnny was far from being a danger to anyone. Over the more, Johnny became a valuable and, which was much worth these days, reliable source for ongoing or looming threats.

Thanks to him, Dante, Lady and Trish never ran out of jobs, even though he wished they sometimes would.

This was all before Fortuna, Nero's relocation and Vergil's return.

On a later occasion, all three hunters eventually did find out from which supernatural stem Johnny truly originated from. And when they found out, it all clicked into place and made finally sense.

Johnny was a Siren.

And Nero had been the catalyst to uncovering the big mystery surrounding the fascinating being with it's enchanting voice and hypnotizing eyes.

Poor Nero, owning not the exact same immunity the twins possessed, because of his unequally distributed mix of demonic and human blood, had his natural resistance falter radically after being exposed to the natural allurement for to long.

Vergil and Dante had to step in and rscue the completel yflabbergasted partial demon from his unwilling determined tousle with Johnny. He had an infatuation with the youngest hunter, the twins couldn't understand. Well, they succeeded in resorting the matter on a peaceful and for all parties agreeable terms. Nero would stay the hell out of the place, especially when not accompoanied of either hunter. And Johnny received a friendly but resolute advice from Vergil. To cut him into tiny pieces and feed him to the fish in the bay.

No one ever spoke of this incident any more. So, it wa sbest for Nero stay home and watch the house upon their leave.

"I hope Nero takes care of her. I mean, didn't tell him to do so, but..." Dante scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"He knows, I'm sure. You should give him more credit. He is more reliable on that matter than you. You just go and expect things from him, without even specifying what exactly they are. You should be thankful he picks up more, than he is supposed to. And I'm positive, he will keep our involuntary house guest entertained."

"I guess so."

For Vergil the subject was settled with Dante's indifferent answer, so he dashed forward not minding, if his brother would be able to keep up with him or not.

As for Dante, yes, with a vast pool of stamina to call upon, the fast movement wouldn't even make him break in a sweat when running across the whole city, but trying to think and keep up with his brother in something like a mad race, a few huffs escaped him inadvertently, when he finally had caught up to Vergil.

His older twin stood in front of the entrance of the infamous Love Planet, that looked strangely serene in the rosy morning light. Vergil leaned next to the doors of the still closed establishment, fresh like morning dew, looking as if he had to wait hours for Dante, face a display of impatience and chagrin.

Without so much as a glance, Dante strutted past Vergil and the doors flew open under his outstretched palm. "Could've waited." He couldn't withstand to jibe either way.

"I did, right here." Vergil stated calmly, as he followed his brother inside. Dante only scoffed in return.

It was dimly lit inside and completely abandoned, except for one lonely presence somewhere hidden in the back behind huge double doors, which lead from the main hall to the secluded area and the private apartments. They crossed the hall, aiming for said door and it silently slid open, awaiting their arrival already.

"Neat." Dante commented smugly, sauntering down the hallway, which was exceptionally brighter than the rest of the club. It was the business premise after all and held a complete different and more sophisticates look than the full on cliché public area.

Across a long hallway, with many a sculpture or an expensive painting on display, they reached a golden double door, which as well opened miraculously by itself.

As expected, both were awaited eagerly. Two comfy looking armchairs stood in front a large desk, to which Dante's own one paled in comparison.

"Hah, would you look at that." Dante pointed at two tumblers already filled with an amber liquid. Vergil smiled mildly and instantly took a seat.

Johnny was a man of class, he thought as he went straight for one glass and tipped his head in a silent greeting, before tipping the glass and revelled in the taste of the wickedly expensive bourbon.

Dante didn't feel like sitting and instead leaned against the side of Vergil's chair, perching sloppily on the armrest. "Verge, you mind passing me mine?"

Without blinking or a single complain Vergil obliged, feeling charitable precipitated by the exquisite taste of the alcohol.

For Dante it took one large gulp to let the bourbon disappear, placing the glass next to his feet on the floor, too lazy to make extra effort to reach out and put it back on the desk.

Keen iridescent eyes, the colours of shiny pearls, zeroed in on the devil hunters, watching their actions intently and in solemn silence.

Dante he saw ever so often, as customer and as business partner, for most jobs these filtered through his trustworthy circles before ending up in their office. Which wasn't really an office anymore due to the fact, that Nero and Vergil both lived with the hunter now.

"My friends." His melodic, buoyant voice drew their attention in without any effort, indicating unmistakably what race he belonged to. Both devils found it hard to not hum in unison and the purest delight to hear it. Most humans couldn't even listen for a second before the spell enthralled them wholly.

Only their potent devil blood in their veins offered a secure resistance to the siren's heavy charm. Still, it could incite the most magnificent of feelings of pure ecstasy, if they would let it reign freely in their minds and hearts. Which neither was inclined to do at the moment, though Johnny was the epitome of good looks and a promise on two legs for pleasure in many ways.

But it was just his nature and nothing he had to try hard for, even in his casual jeans and plain white shirt, he was a gorgeous sight for sore eyes. His light blonde hair shimmered, when he inclined his head and folded his hands on the desk. But instead of his usual elated expression, when he saw the half bloods, it was laced with sad concern.

And the look of a saddened siren was even more dangerous than the other. The strongest man on earth could feel his heart break at such an overwhelming sight. This effect wasn't lost either on both Dante and Vergil.

Johnny's beautiful ageless face, devoid of wrinkles or any blemishes whatsoever spoke volumes. Vergil finally was the first to recover.

No greeting and straight to the point. "Show me." His voice was still thick as the siren's effects started to wear off.

Johnny leaned back in his chair in order to pull something from his pocket awkwardly.

"A bird flew into my office yesterday and landed on my desk. He put this down, " at this he reached his hand over for Dante to pluck the note from between his index and middle finger, "looked at me those small clever eyes and had the audacity to pick a hole into my desk."

Dante didn't bother to hide his smirk at this and the way Johnny complained, much like a sulking child.

"What kind of bird?" Vergil asked, genuinely interested by the odd behaviour of said creature.

"I don't know. A big one." Johnny painted a silhouette into the air with both his hands, looking genuinely clueless.

"A dove?" Vergil asked matter-of-factly. For his logical thinking, it was conclusive that this distinctive creature would be naturally chosen to deliver a message.

Johnny stroked his chin, looking highly concentrated. "That's a white bird, right?" The siren questioned in an uncertain voice. "No. No, it was black..."

Incredulously so, Dante followed their conversation until he became mildly irritated. "You're kidding, right?" It was a rhetorical question and Dante didn't wait for an answer. It was so unbelievable ridiculous, he even laughed at the poor, perplexed Johnny. "You live here since when? You should know such things by now!"

"I'm a business man, not an ornithologist." Visibly miffed, Johnny waved him off with his right hand.

At that Dante burst into boisterous laughter and slapped his thighs. "Yet, he knows how it's called." He pointed his finger at the siren as he turned his head to Vergil, who simply chuckled in return, for affirmation.

"It was black and huge, I tell you. Those tiny button eyes looked at me as if they were mocking me. And he wouldn't stop ruining my desk, until I shooed him off. And he gave me that look! He clearly understood that I called him an asshole." Johnny gushed out without pause, making his point clear he disliked the feathered creature greatly.

But the description was sufficient enough.

"A crow." Vergil's voice had dropped to speak in a dark, ominous voice.

Forgotten was Johnny who cheered, throwing his arms up in the air. "That's it! That's the bird."

"Bingo." Dante whispered, as his gaze dropped to the paper he had been flipping over and over in his hand all the while, a strange sense of foreboding tightened his stomach, drowning the loud obnoxious siren out.

He regarded the note intently, seeing it as some old scrap of parchment, folded twice. Chewing on his lower lip, his fingers gingerly peeled it open to finally read it.

And the world stopped for a second.