Disclaimer: I don't own Capcom or Devil May Cry. Don't sue me.

AN: sigh another short chappie. sorry. but its worth while. I promise the next one will be longer with lots of fighting. Enjoy!

Chapter 6

Dante woke up sore and hung over from the night before. He sat up slowly, rubbing the kink in his neck. I'm not sleeping at my desk anymore, he thought to himself. He yawned and stretched, hearing a few joints pop, relieving some of the pressure created by his awkward sleeping position, and making him feel a bit better. He looked down at the desk and spotted the loosely crumpled picture.

He reached over and picked it up, opening it and trying to smooth some of the creases. He looked over at the girl curled up on the couch sleeping, then back at the picture, somewhat confused as he tried to resolve her action with what he little he knew about her.

Dante would question her when she woke; for now he decided to go take a shower. He walked down the back hallway and turned on the overhead light. He grumbled as he saw a few roaches scatter into the cracks in the floorboards. He managed to catch one below his boot, smashing it. He twisted his foot to make sure it was dead.

Dante walked into the bathroom and flipped the light on. He turned the water on, playing with the dial until he reached the temperature he wanted. Once satisfied with the heat of the water, he undressed and stepped into the shower.

He grabbed the bar of soap off the holder and absently ran it across his chest, thinking about the photo. Maybe now that it's light out, I can actually read it, he thought to himself.

Dante set the bar of soap back down and stepped into the hot stream of water. He closed his eyes and looked into to the water's path, letting the hot flow hit his face as he forced himself to think about it.

After a few minutes, he grabbed the shampoo bottle nearby and poured some of the liquid soap into his hands and lathered up his hair. "Why did she do that to the picture?" he asked himself in a low whisper.

He knew he would have to ask her about it. He stuck his head back under the rush of steamy water and rinsed the shampoo out of his hair. He turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, grabbed his towel off the rack and wrapped it around his waist before walking back out toward the office.

Crystal opened her eyes after hearing Dante leave the room. She checked to make sure it was all clear then got up and tip-toed over to the desk, picking up the picture and straightening it out. She stared at the blonde woman holding the baby as she walked back to the couch.

Crystal turned and paused for a moment as she gazed upon the lady's smiling face, before sitting down. A small smile appeared on her face as she ran her fingers over the lady. For the first time in a long time, she was happy. It may have been an old picture of her mother, but at least she got to see her.

She didn't notice Dante standing in the doorway, watching her smiling down at the photograph. He frowned, confused by her actions toward the picture. He found it crumpled up earlier, yet now she seemed happy.

Dante quietly made his way over to her and peeked over her shoulder without her noticing. She ran her fingers over the woman in the photo again before seeing Dante next to her. She jumped a bit and took in a sharp breath, holding the picture tight to her chest. Dante looked at her oddly.

"Why do you have that picture?" he asked.

Crystal looked away from him and blushed wildly when she noticed he was wearing only a towel. "Uh… Um… I was just curious…" she stated meekly.

"Can I have it back?"

She shook her head no, still blushing and afraid to look at him. When she refused he walked around from the side of the couch and stood in front of her. "Fine, do what you want, I'm going to change," he stated, looking her over then walking off back down the same hall he had just exited.

After he left, Crystal looked down at the lady in the picture again. She ran her fingers over the woman and the baby again. She stared silently down at the picture for minutes on end.

"I wish I could have protected you. I should have known…" she trailed off. "I was too young to stop him… I will make father pay," she murmured angrily though clenched teeth.

By this time, Dante had walked out into the office again, the towel on his shoulder. He was wearing his favorite soft, black leather pants, his biker boots and no shirt. "What did your father do?" he asked with a frown.

Without really registering that he was there, she replied, "He killed my mother…"

Dante sauntered over and sat next to her on the couch. When she felt the sofa sink as he sat down, she finally realized what was happening. Crystal closed her eyes tight and cringed a bit, knowing she would have to tell now, as much as she didn't want to.

"Let me see the picture," he said with a frown.

Crystal hesitantly handed it over to him and looked away, her hands in her lap. Dante eyed her for a moment, shocked at the change in her emotion. Gone was her angry disposition. She looked like she didn't care about him knowing anymore.

"Will you tell me now? I can and will help you, babe," he said softly.

She looked at him for a second. "That asshole that doesn't deserve to be called my father, that man in the picture… wants me dead," she explained with malice, her eyes growing dark with anger.

"Why?"

She snorted and sneered, "He thinks I am the cause of my mother's death."

"Were you?"

She sent him a dangerous glare. "No! I fucking did not kill my mom! I was five fucking years old."

Dante opened his mouth to reply but closed it again, in another rare moment of tact. He didn't want to ruin this chance to find out more about her. It might be his only chance.

As the silver-haired demon hunter thought of what to say to her, Crystal snatched the photograph from his hands and ripped the man out of it, crumpled it up tight and threw it to the ground. "And now I don't want to speak of him again," she stated flatly.

He raised an eyebrow and smirked inwardly. She is hot when she is angry, he thought. He shook the thought out of his head.

"I'll help you," he stated.

She looked into his eyes and smiled faintly. "Thank you."

He grinned and stood. "Why don't you go take a shower and get cleaned up. I'll order us some breakfast," he suggested.

Crystal looked up at him and nodded as she stood. "Okay…"

"Good. Shower is in the back on the right," he stated, walking over to the desk.

The brunette girl turned and walked into the back.