Haven't touched this in a while. Hopefully I can give this story some new life.

Porcelain

Chapter Five

Patty ran around in the park, looking for the ice cream vendor. Dante lost another game of cards with her, promising her money to buy a treat today if she won. She made sure the hunter forked over the cash before dressing up for his appointment with Dr. Florus. She would have hung out with Kadir White a little more, but when she approached him, he asked her to be quiet and let him rest a little.

She slowed down to a halt as she neared the fountain, her face falling and a frown forming on her face. Usually she was a bit more insistent with people, but she couldn't bring herself to do it this time. For one, Kadir was quite mannerable when he asked her. For two, he'd been so helpful whenever she was cleaning after Dante. And for three, he sounded so tired. His face was covered in makeup, but even taking that into account, he looked sick when she spoke to him. Honestly, the girl was worried he'd pass out again.

"I could go to the park if you just wanna rest. I do it all the time when Dante's not here," she said to him, quieting her voice a little.

Kadir nodded at her, thankful that the girl wasn't pestering him and trying not to bother him.

Patty smiled at him. "Okay. Do you want me to get you something before I go? Or while I'm at the park. Dante gave me money for once," she offered, holding out the cash in front of her.

He shook his head. "I don't want anything from here until that kitchen is scrubbed down and sanitized...twice," he said.

Patty laughed a little as he leaned back against the couch. "Don't worry yourself with getting me something, either. Lady is taking me out in an hour or so. I'll be gone before you get back," he added.

The girl frowned when he said that. She was hoping she could do something else to help him feel a bit better.

A hand began to ruffle her hair, making her look at Kadir with a surprised look. There was the faintest smile on his face, and his usual cold gaze seemed just a tad warmer as he looked at her. "I'll be fine," he said after a few moments. "Go have fun!"

And that lead Patty to go to the park in a semi-good but worried mood. She played at the playground for a good while, then left to get ice cream. "I hope he's okay. The demons are bad enough to deal with..." She said to herself, eyes narrowing and remembering her own experience with them.

While her head was down, a man walking behind her started getting closer. He kept his hands in his pockets, and sunglasses on his face. To the regular onlooker, he was simply taking a walk. But the eyes behind those glasses kept looking back at Patty, making sure to keep a close watch of where she went without it looking he was paying too much attention to her.

He walked past her as she put her hand to her chin, going up to the fountain and putting his left foot on the edge. He undid the strings and began to retie them more tightly, keeping an eye on her through the corner of his eye. After a moment, Patty shook her head and ran over to the ice cream man. The man finished tying his shoe and followed her, slow enough to go unnoticed, but quick enough to get in line behind her.

He removed his sunglasses and placed them on his head, narrow grey eyes looking at the menu as the man stuffed his hands in his pockets. He wasn't concerned about Patty leaving. The likelihood that she'd leave before getting her ice cream was slim. Especially since there was no adult besides him keeping an eye on her.

He put a hand to his chin while looking over the flavors, a contemplative look on his face. The average onlooker would think he was trying to make a decision, but he was thinking about anything but ice cream.

"Next!" The vendor called, catching the man's attention. Patty raced forward, and he stuffed his hands in his pockets, idly watching them. "What can I get you, Little Miss?"

She smiled at him. "A Triple Scoop, please. Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry," she said.

The vendor chuckled. "All right then. That'll be $3.75!"

Patty got out the money Dante gave her and frowned. She only had three dollars on her. She could have sworn Dante gave her more than that. "I'm sorry. I'm short," she said sadly.

The vendor gave her a small smile. "It's okay, Little Miss. Would you like a Double Scoop instead?"

"I'll cover her ice cream!" A kind voice said. Patty turned around and the vendor looked up, seeing the man behind her step forward.

He was taller than most men, skinny and lanky, but still well-toned. He was in his early thirties. His skin was white, and he had long black hair that went past his chest. He was dressed casually, but still looked sharp. He wore nice white shoes, with a pair of boot-cut jeans, and a white button-up shirt; sleeves rolled up to the elbows and the top two buttons undone. His sunglasses still rested on his head, and wore a few other accessories. Two silver bangles on each wrist, and a black necklace that most took to be a rosary.

He was smiling warmly at the both of them, silent for a moment before saying to the vendor: "Oh, and would you scoop the same thing for me, please?"

The vendor nodded. "Certainly, Sir!" He said. The man paid him and the vendor got to work.

"Thank you very much!" Patty said, looking up to him.

The man looked down at her, closing his eyes before giving her another warm smile. "You're most welcome! Anything to help a lady!" Patty giggled at the man's remark.

The two of them stepped off to the side a bit while they waited for their ice cream. Patty offered her three dollars to pay the man back for the ice cream. He declined it, insisting she use the money to buy something else she wanted. He was kind, but not in a way that would raise anyone's alarm.

Once the vendor prepared both of their cones, the man took them, handing the one in his right hand to Patty. "Here you go!" He said.

"Thank you, Mister...um?" Patty's voice trailed off then.

"Oh! Pardon me, where are my manners? I'm Ray Stanton!" He said looking down at her.

"Patty Lowell. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Stanton!" She said, giving him a curtsy.

"It's nice to meet you too, Miss Lowell!" He said, a hand on his chest, giving her a half bow.

"Patty, please!" She said, looking up at him with a smile. She looked around then, looking around the fountain area until she found an open bench. After that, she looked back up at Ray Stanton. "Would you like to sit with me, Mr. Stanton?"

Ray relaxed his posture, his free hand going into his pocket as he said: "Sure! But call me Ray. Mr. Stanton makes me sound like an old man," he said, giving her a slightly nervous smile.

Patty giggled again before she began walking to the bench she spotted, Ray Stanton not far behind. They sat down together, beginning to enjoy their sweet treat.

It was quiet between them for the next couple of minutes. Patty was licking her ice cream, grateful that the man sitting next to her bought it for her. Ray ate in silence, coming up with possible answers to questions the girl next to him might have. Kids were naturally curious. Sometimes to the point that they were unbearable. With any luck, this girl wouldn't be that way with him.

"Excuse me, Ray?" Patty said. The man looked down at her, a quizzical look on his face. "Not to be rude, but are you new in town? I've never seen you around here before," she said, smiling.

Ray smiled back at her, giving her a light chuckle. "Well, yeah, I guess I am. I'm in town on business trip. Finally got some free time in, so I thought I'd check out the town. Turns out, it's pretty nice here," he told her.

Her smile grew. "I'm glad you like it, so far! There's a lot of diners and shops and even an amusement park on the other side of town. You should really go there, sometime!" She said.

He chuckled. "I think I can go to one of the diners, but not the amusement park, unfortunately. I gotta be on the road again, first thing tomorrow. Heading to Brewerton on business."

Patty perked up at that, looking a little confused. "But, if you're done with business here, doesn't that mean you get to go home?" She asked him.

"Not in this case, no," Ray told her. "I'm expanding my company. Current location's too small, so I'm checking out vacant properties in the area."

Ray licked some of the drippings on his cone as Patty spoke again. "What kind of business do you run?" She asked him before licking some of her own ice cream.

It was another minute before Ray answered her, satisfied that the ice cream wasn't melting on his hand anymore. Then he answered her. "Well, right now it's a carpenter shop. Handmade furniture and decorations, but I'm branching out into restoration and real estate."

Patty perked at that, leaning towards him a little. "So, you might be moving to town, Ray?"

"Uh-huh," he said, returning to his ice cream briefly before speaking again. "It's a good idea, I think. Last two towns I looked at had demon problems. Not exactly a good place to set up a new shop," he said, making the comment sound like an afterthought.

The girl smiled at him. "Well, you don't have to worry about that here! Even if a demon shows up, there's a devil hunter that can take care of it," she told him.

Ray looked at her with a raised brow, resisting the urge to smirk. "Oh really? And who's that?" He asked her.

Patty took over the conversation, telling Ray Stanton everything she knew about Dante, including a few remarks about how cheap he was with his money, had no idea how to interact with women, and was horrible when it came to money. The remarks made Stanton laugh, but he let her continue to tell him about her life there. She talked about Lady and Trish, and mentioned Dante's family that occasionally popped in. This eventually led her to reveal that Dante was working with a new client, and that most of the people she talked about were helping out.

"Wow! It sounds like you have quite the interesting life!" Ray said with a smile, his ice cream almost completely gone. "I hope it's nothing he can't handle!" He added.

"Oh, Dante can handle anything! No demon can beat him!" She said, biting into her cone.

Ray laughed a little. "Well, if that's the case, then I will definitely consider one of the spots I found here! Thank you!" He said standing up.

Patty followed suit. "Thank you again for the ice cream, Ray!"

"It's no problem, Patty! If I see you again, I'll have to tell you how the rest of trip goes," he said to her.

"That would be great! Dante doesn't let me travel with him much," she said, sounding a little disappointed.

Ray looked at his watch as he spoke. "Well, he's a devil hunter. He just wants you to be safe," he said as he looked back at her. "It's late. You should get home, and I should find one of those diners you told me about."

"Okay! I hope you have a safe trip, Ray!" Patty said, offering her hand.

"Thank you, Patty!" He said, shaking her hand before moving to leave. "Get home safe, okay?"

"Okay! Goodbye, Ray!" She yelled to him, waving him goodbye as he walked away. A few moments later, she turned heel herself and headed back to Devil May Cry.

Little did Patty know that once there was enough distance between Ray and the other people who saw them together, a large, creepy smirk appeared on his face.

Welp, it's been a while since I touched this. Finally found a direction to take it in. I'm curious to hear what you guys think is going on. Next chapter is being worked on now. I'll see you then!

~ K. Fang-sama