A/N: Sorry it took so long for this update, things got a little crazy around here - I got promoted at work after a lot of craziness, and some other things happened in my personal life that kept me too busy to sit down and finish the chapter I'd started. That being said, not a whole lot of -drama- takes place in this chapter, but I hope you'll find it enjoyable anyways for other aspects of the story. I decided to cut the chapter where it was, otherwise I'd have had waaaay too long of a chapter with no end in sight, lol. Next chapter should be a little more action oriented though, I've already started working on it, and things SHOULD be a little quieter for me for now, so I shouldn't have so much of a delay in updating this time. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter! The usual disclaimers apply.


Chapter 8

Nero was up pretty bright and early the morning after his official 'meeting' with Vergil. There had been no real reason to stay up and hang out, so he had gone to bed after Dante promised to take him out on business for the day. Now he was up and surprisingly refreshed, though he supposed it was because he'd somehow managed to stay asleep the entire night and not have any nightmares.

The teen checked and gathered his weapons as quietly as he could, since Kyrie was still asleep, and slipped on his shoes. He was looking forward to getting out of the shop on a real job, and not just the boring small stuff he'd been helping with lately. Nero counted himself lucky that he didn't have to wait too long for Dante to saunter down the stairs, fully loaded with his usual weaponry and looking for too excited.

"Ready to go, Kid?" the devil asked, earning an annoyed grunt from Nero. He really hated that nickname.

"Yeah, just waiting on you, old timer. I thought maybe you'd fallen and broken your hip," the teen shot back with a snort.

"Hey, if I break my hip, that means you gotta play nurse for me, so don't tempt me. Now come on, let's get outta here before you wake everyone up," Dante teased back and led the way out of the shop.

Nero trudged after Dante, quietly closing the door to the shop behind them as they headed out. He really would have preferred walking to their job, but it was across town and Dante didn't have a car, so he begrudgingly climbed onto the man's motorcycle behind him. He always hated riding this thing with Dante, it made him feel like a dork. The teen urged Dante to hurry, masking his annoyance with excitement at getting to help with a job, and the pair took off without a second glance back at the shop. Vergil had been docile enough last night, and now he had his sword to calm him… the ladies would be fine without their help.


Vergil wasn't sure how long he slept, but he could tell it was later than was normal for him by the noise levels outside the shop. Inside he didn't hear much, which meant that either Dante was passed out cold, or he'd gone out with the boy like he'd claimed he would. Figuring it was the latter, the devil climbed out of the bed and stretched. He felt much better today, less wobbly and more in control. Vergil took a few test steps around the room, finding nothing concerning as far as his balance was concerned, and smirked a little. His eyes were still a bit sensitive, so he'd be keeping the lights off for now, but even they were substantially better than before.

The devil dressed quickly in the loose jeans and black t shirt he found at the foot of the bed, presumably left by Dante, and made his way out of the bedroom. Vergil paused at the top of the stairs, listening for anyone else awake. He didn't hear much except for some quiet movements in the main part of the shop, so he headed down, curiosity and hunger getting the better of him. He spied the girl from yesterday, Kyrie, folding up sheets and blankets from the sofa bed. He didn't see anyone else around, but the devil doubted they'd leave a defenseless human alone with him.

Vergil made his way down the last of the steps and into the main room, startling the girl a bit and earning a flustered greeting from her. He waved off her protests as he helped her close up the sofa bed and return it to its normal couch-state. A quick moment of polite conversation, mostly about how he was feeling that day and if he needed anything, earned Vergil the whereabouts of his brother - out with Nero, Trish - left on her own job, and Lady - making a supply run for the shop, and the location of leftover breakfast - in the microwave. Vergil thanked her and excused himself, feeling a bit hungry as he made his way into the kitchen to retrieve the promised food. Kyrie had seemed a bit nervous around him, but she'd still smiled and talked with him, so he supposed the day was off to a decent start.

The devil leaned against the counter of the darkened kitchen as he munched on the bacon left for him, running over things in his head. He wasn't sure how long he planned on staying with his brother, eventually it was going to get weird. Vergil realized though that besides his twin, he really didn't have anyone else to turn to; Trish was out of the question, Lady hated demons, and Nero… he didn't even know the boy, so he wasn't about to bother him. Sure, Vergil had some money stored away, but it was going to be a hassle to retrieve it, along with all the personal things he would need, like IDs, paperwork, and so on. Dante had seemed willing to take care of him for the time being, but eventually the novelty would wear off and he was sure his twin would be ready to be rid of him.

Vergil was so lost in his thoughts that he barely registered someone else entering the kitchen. It wasn't until a hand waved in front of his face that he realized Lady was standing there in front of him, eyeing him like he'd grown horns or something.

"Earth to Vergil. Are you there?" she huffed at him, snapping her fingers a few times to try and get his attention.

Vergil shook his head to clear it and stood up straight, finally taking in the huntress standing before him. Lady looked annoyed at him, and several feet behind her was Kyrie, looking a bit concerned.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" he asked as he ran a hand through his hair. Not the smoothest of responses, and it earned him a roll of the eyes from Lady.

"Kyrie is going to the grocery store. Do you need anything? Toothbrush, hair gel, pompous jerk cream?" Lady asked with a snort.

Vergil would have scowled, but that would have just been giving in to her, so instead he ignored the barb and glanced over Lady's shoulder to address the younger girl.

"Dante already got me a toothbrush. I'd love it though if you could sneak back some fruit… all of this pizza and grease after not eating for so long is upsetting my stomach," he admitted, giving her his most disarming smile without seeming creepy. Vergil could be polite and personable when he wanted to, and so far Kyrie was the least insufferable person here. The girl gave him a nod and a smile in response and turned to hurry out of the kitchen, leaving just Lady and himself behind.

"Your turn to babysit me?" Vergil asked, crooking an eyebrow slightly at Lady. He was surprised they'd leave just Kyrie here with him, but he supposed it had been because they had expected him to stay asleep for a while. He wasn't stupid though, of course they'd want to keep an eye on him at all times, just in case he was plotting something.

"Looks like it. Too bad the pay is shit and the 'baby' is a jackass," Lady shot back and moved away to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. She leaned against the fridge as she stared him down, looking like she was silently daring him to mess up.

"Jackass? Are you sure you're not confusing me with the other one?" Vergil asked, shaking his head as he eyed her. Really, he'd barely interacted with Lady, but maybe she had a point, considering the trouble Vergil and her own father had caused. Still… he really didn't enjoy hearing that about himself from her.

Vergil wasn't going to admit it aloud to anyone, not even under threat of death, but Lady had been on his mind quite a bit in the demon realm. So many times of trying to focus his attention elsewhere during the torture, his thoughts had naturally strayed to the things freshest in his mind. The look on Dante's face when Vergil cut him and fell into the demon realm was a big one, but it unfortunately didn't bring much comfort. One thing he'd thought a lot about when trying to distract himself was Lady - he didn't know the huntress that well, but he spent a lot of time trying to recall her face when he needed a distraction. He would count the freckles he could remember from the miniscule amount of time he'd seen her, picture the strange but interesting eyes that held so much disgust for them. He could see now he didn't remember it all perfectly, but hey, it was a nice, less depressing distraction when he had nothing else to focus on.

"Do you really want to go there right now?" Lady asked, her eyes narrowing a bit. She looked ready to murder as she glared at him.

The devil smirked slightly and moved away from the counter and stood in front of her, bracing himself with one of his hands beside her head. He knew he was pissing her off, but he wasn't going to actually do anything, and it had been a long time since he'd had this much interaction with another person - Dante didn't count. Riling Lady up was a nice distraction from his troubles, and maybe he could glean some info from her if he was lucky.

"That depends on where exactly we're going," Vergil replied smoothly, quirking his lips up just slightly into a smirk. If Dante or anyone else who knew him well had seen him acting like this, they'd probably think he'd been possessed or something.

"And here I was thinking you were just a frosty bastard. Instead, I find out you're an annoying one too," Lady hissed as she pressed the barrel of her gun into his ribs. "I don't know what kind of sick shit you're up to, but don't think for one second I won't blow a hole in you. Dante will get over it eventually. He did the last time he thought you croaked."

Vergil was about to respond when a surprised gasp caught him off-guard. Lady's gaze whipped towards the kitchen door, followed by his own. Vergil wanted to laugh out loud seeing Kyrie standing there, looking extremely flustered. The devil realized from her angle, she probably couldn't see the gun, and thought she had walked in on something… private.

"I-I'm sorry… I f-forgot my list…" the girl squeaked and hurried over, snatching up the small paper on the counter before she practically ran back out of the shop looking mortified. Vergil would normally have been upset at the situation, but he really couldn't find it in himself to be annoyed at her. Besides, this just gave him something interesting to deal with later.

Lady snarled in frustration and shoved Vergil away, holstering her gun before she stormed out of the kitchen herself. Vergil decided to stop being a brat and bothering her, though he filed the encounter away in his mind. She'd been annoyed, obviously, but she hadn't shot him, and he really thought she would have.

'Interesting.'

The devil grabbed himself a bottle of water and trotted out after Lady, intending to go locate a book or something to distract himself for a bit while she calmed down. He thought he was doing fairly well with himself, interacting like a mostly-normal person and not going on any power-trips or anything. Vergil was surprised to admit that he didn't actually feel up to plotting anything, he was strangely… comfortable with his current situation. A bit perplexed with some things, but comfortable nonetheless.


Nero had to admit, he was enjoying himself. There was a small horde of demons that had been causing problems outside of the town, and the pair were currently hacking and slashing their way through them with ease. Dante had suggested an unofficial contest to see who could defeat the most, and Nero was pretty sure he was winning at the moment.

"Hah, how'd you like that, old man?" Nero called out as he took out three demons with one swing of Red Queen. He was really enjoying himself, despite the seemingly never-ending crowd of monsters attacking them. Nero wasn't too worried, Dante had said this was a pretty huge nest, so they had to be making a dent in it, right? The teen grinned to himself as he flung some blood and gore from his blade and turned to find Dante in the mass.

"Hey Kid, look out!" Nero heard the elder hunter shout. He whipped around toward the direction of Dante's voice, only to come face to face with a sickle-like weapon slashing down on him. The teen barely managed to block it, but the force sent him sprawling backwards onto his back. Red Queen was knocked from his grip by the fall, landing just out of reach.

Nero narrowed his eyes as the devil moved to slash at him again. Red Queen was too far away to grab for, so he called forth the power inside of him… only for nothing to happen. Nero's eyes widened and he froze in panic as the blade came down on him. It took a second for the teen to realize what happened as the devil above him exploded into a bloody mist, but by then Dante had appeared and hovered over him, scowling with a look Nero wasn't used to seeing.

"You still had your gun, Kid - use it next time!" the elder hunter scolded and snatched Nero up from the ground by the forearm.

"I...I forgot…" Nero spluttered lamely, feeling like a fool. Not only had he forgotten that he could no longer summon Yamato thanks to the sword being gone, but he'd panicked and completely forgotten that he could just shoot the damned thing with Blue Rose. Was he really so dependent on Yamato now? He didn't have time to worry about it for long though, since there were still demons around. Dante tossed Red Queen at him and the pair got back to clearing out the demon nest, the air now tense and uncomfortable even as the numbers of the devils dwindled down.

Nero was still thinking about how close he'd come to getting himself killed by the time they were done with the horde an hour or so later. He couldn't shake it, feeling like a complete idiot. What would have happened if he'd been injured, or what if Dante had gotten hurt because of him? He was jolted out of his thoughts by a heavy hand clamping down on his shoulder.

"Relax, Kid. It happens to the best of us," Dante reassured him with a grin. Nero sighed and shook his head at the older man's antics, knowing Dante was just trying to cheer him up.

"I tried to summon Yamato…" Nero admitted with a sigh. "I froze up when nothing happened. I completely forgot," he continued. "I could've gotten us both killed."

Dante shook his head and gave Nero's shoulder a squeeze before heading off towards the bike, leaving Nero to follow.

"Hey, it's your first day without the thing in forever. No need to get so hung up on it. Shit happens… just learn from it for next time. You used to fight demons just fine without it before, right? Just… get back to the basics. You shouldn't be so dependent on one weapon anyways," the elder hunter explained. Nero wanted to believe him, but it was still bothering him.

"Hey, I've got an idea. Why don't you pick something out from the armory when we get back? I've got all kinds of cool shit in there," Dante suggested with a grin as he climbed aboard the motorcycle.

"Eh… maybe," Nero agreed with a half-hearted shrug as he climbed on behind Dante. He hated to admit it, but he doubted anything Dante had locked away was even going to come close to Yamato - but he would give it a try anyways.

The ride back to the shop was a little less awkward since Nero was distracted, but he was still happy for it to end all the same. He'd been so lost in his thoughts about what had happened that he almost forgot the whole reason he was without Yamato, and also why Dante had taken him out today: Vergil.

Nero entered the shop to find Trish on the couch channel surfing, and no one else anywhere to be seen, but voices were coming from the kitchen. He followed the sounds, his eyebrows raising slightly as he stood in the doorway and took in the scene before him. Lady was sitting on the far counter messing with her guns, more than likely keeping an eye on things more than tending to her weapons. Kyrie was tending to something on the stove, the one Nero was never even sure actually worked, considering how little it was used, and Vergil was at the counter beside her, chopping some… vegetables? What the hell.

The teen noticed that Vergil had those sunglasses on again, probably because Lady and Kyrie couldn't work as well in the dark as he could, but all in all everything seemed… normal. It wouldn't have been so weird if it was anyone else, but Vergil… this really was a different picture than had been drawn for him about the guy, but then again, maybe he was trying to put in the effort for them both. Nero supposed the least he could do was try and relax and not act like a total brat, especially about Yamato. If Vergil of all people - as limited as his social skills had been made out to be - could try and behave himself and be sociable, then so could he.

Nero wasn't sure if he liked Vergil being so friendly with Kyrie, but not because of jealousy - it was more of a concern for her safety since he'd heard less than admirable things about his so-called 'father' when it came to using people. Kyrie seemed to be enjoying herself though, she didn't even look nervous at all now, but she was always better with people than he was. Kyrie finally seemed to notice his presence and turned to him, giving him a small smile.

Nero gave her a small, awkward smile back and excused himself to take a shower, mostly so he could have a chance to calm down and collect himself before having to deal with Vergil. Maybe he should have asked Dante if they could go patrol the town or something instead of coming back so early. It was too late now though, and he wasn't going to completely chicken out. Just because Vergil was his long-lost father, had tried to basically open the demon realm on Earth, and was horrifically powerful, it didn't mean that they couldn't have a somewhat normal relationship, if that's what they both wanted.

Nero really didn't know what he wanted from the man… but he'd take his time in figuring it out. For now he was just going to try and enjoy lunch with his friends and Vergil, and go from there.