Blessed And Cursed

Disclaimer: Devil May Cry and its characters = © Capcom. I don't make any profit from this story.

A/N: If my OCs were alive, they would chase me with torches and pitchforks. Same applies to Dante and Nero, haha 8D
I'm sorry that it always takes me so long to update. I've been quite busy the last few weeks and finished this story and I have started writing on the sequel xD

Replies:

SirenaLoreley – What will come after the hunters now... That's a really good question ;) I'm happy you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing :D

bitbyboth – *wriggles eyebrows* Yup, you're right about that :D Thanks for the review!

Alexandria Volturi – Yay, an update :D

AngryAngel89 – They have earned a happy ending indeed. Or a break at least xD Thanks for reviewing :D

Blue-Moons169 – Yes, there will be more trouble. Much more trouble. A whole sequel with more trouble, in fact xD
Thanks for the review :)

CupCakeHunter – Thanks for the compliment, I'm glad that you like the story *-* And that you also like Sayume :D She will return at some point. Not now, but she will come back ;) And yay, you remembered the pearl! :O Yes, it will affect Nero.
Thanks for reviewing :D

Warning: this chapter contains a lot of angst. And shonen ai.

Chapter 11 – Truth Has Come

The Underworld, shorty before Sparda's rebellion

"You are not welcome here."

How can a usually so gentle and soft voice cut like a knife? The commander slightly flinched back from the woman he was talking to but didn't relent.

"Oh please, Yulija – you know why I'm here." He lifted his helmet, revealing a handsome face with sharp cheekbones and a defined nose. His eyes were of a vivid green with deep red, snake-like slits as pupils, his skin a rusty red.

"Leave immediately, Verroth. You and your troops." Yulija's gaze was cold.

"I came to –"

"You came to destroy", she interrupted him, "And we will not yield. Leave before you will do something you'll regret."

"Like...?", Verroth asked, stepping closer. They currently were in the palace of the royal family. What a fascinating place with its heavy pillars and painted walls, decorated with gold and jewels – amber and thousands of white pearls.

Yulija narrowed her eyes. "Like attacking my clan. You stand no chance against us and you know it."

Verroth chuckled quietly. "Is that so?" His green eyes locked onto her golden orbs. "You don't know anything about the battlefield, pretty. But I don't want to fight you. Not today." A wicked smile played about his lips. "Say, does your family about your bond with my sister?"

Yulija hissed, her feathers flaring up hot-white for a moment. Verroth closed his eyes so that the light wouldn't blind him and started laughing.

"I knew it." So her family didn't know. Not yet. "I'll be back, Yulichka. And next time, I won't come to talk." He turned to leave.

"We'll be ready", she shot back, "I know you, Verroth. You would never endanger so many people because of one silly thing like that."

"Silly?", he repeated, stopping suddenly and turning back to face her. He spat the next words out, his voice venomous. "I courted you properly. Your father gave me his blessing. And I can give you everything you need. But you chose my sister." His voice was laced with pain, his eyes blazing with anger. But he composed himself quickly. This situation was hopeless anyway. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"What will you achieve if you kill me or my clan?", Yulija asked, getting desperate as well. "I chose Pheolae because I love her. Are you ready to kill thousands of people to separate us? To get your revenge on us? There are more important things to deal with at the moment. Rumors say someone plans a rebellion to overthrow your father."

Verroth chuckled again. "Sparda is no match for my father. His rebellion won't succeed."

"You are always underestimating everyone", Yulija sighed, shaking her head. "The firebirds belong to the neutral zone, don't forget that. We won't attack unless we are assaulted while you... you..." She struggled for words. "No matter where you go, you leave destruction behind. Your creator destroys and kills and calls it 'conquering'. He won't stop, can't you see?" She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "We would be on Sparda's side."

"By making an alliance with Sparda, you are also betraying Pheolae", Verroth pointed out.

"You parted ways. She told me she doesn't want to be part of your family anymore."

"Really? Did she also tell you that the troops I command are her creation? Did she tell you that she is responsible for what happened to the underworld?"

Yulija bit her lip. Of course she knew that those monsters were her lover's creation. But she had shut her eyes, didn't want to acknowledge it. She had been selfish, thought of her own happiness first before thinking about the consequences for others.

"Never love a destroyer, Yuljia", Verroth said into the silence. "It will only bring pain onto you." With that, he finally took his leave and the young woman broke down in tears. Love – what a pain to live with. Verroth realized this as well. But he had already decided to put an end to this emotional nonsense.

This night, ear drum shattering cries could be heard throughout the whole majestic castle that Mundus and his children inhabited. Blood stained the floor of the small laboratory where Verroth leaned onto a table, eyes closed and breathing heavily. His chest was torn open, the ribs cracked. Scalpels and blades, crusted with blood laid on a tray, next to it a small bowl which was filled with a greenish liquid and some pieces of metal. He squinted his eyes shut in pain when he dipped another curved piece of metal into the venom before inserting it into his open chest. One by one, he encased his heart with steel. Stopping the wild thumping of his heart, stopping its flattering and its clenching and eventually stripping himself of all the humanity that had been left in him.

Never love a destroyer. Never love what can destroy you. Never love...

–

"I see you changed your mind, Pheolae." A smirk graced the lips of the speaker, his facial features hidden by the darkness surrounding him.

Pheolae sighed quietly to herself before squaring her shoulders. "Show yourself, you living nightmare."

"Aw, a new nickname?", came the reply before the man did as he was told, stepping into the light and unveiling his facial features. His face was oval shaped with high and very prominent cheek bones and a sharp jaw. The bridge of his nose was slightly flattened, his nose rounded. His skin was dark with a slightly reddish tint and his lips were quite full, curled into a smirk. But his eyes truly stood out – they were completely black, no iris or white part was visible.

His face was framed with long black hair that reached down to the middle of his torso and he wore a headpiece with sharp spikes and an armor made out of blackened silver. He carried no visible weapons with him though.

He stared at her for a moment and she frowned at him. "What do you want, Daevus?"

He chuckled darkly. "This is not about what I want. What do you want from me, Pheolae?"

"I want your blood", she replied without hesitation. She wasn't going to play any games today. Playtime was over. She needed to react, quickly.

"Really?", Daevus chuckled, stepping closer and putting his hands on her shoulders. "What for?"

Pheolae flinched and tried to pull away but Daevus grip only tightened. "You know what I need. You owe me. Now give me what I asked for." With that, she leaned in, kissing him on the lips. Her conscience set in immediately, scolding her for doing this, for cheating on her mate. But Pheolae was left with no choice. She knew about the rebellion Sparda planned and knew that Mundus's – her father's – reign would come to an end. She knew her brother was going to attack the clan of her lover and she needed to save her. She was doing this for Yulija.

"Don't think of it as cheating on your little firebird – view it as necessary evil for a greater good", Daevus whispered after they parted, leaning in for another kiss.

For a greater good. And that's what Pheolae would say when they met again a few days later after the kingdom of the firebirds had fallen and her lover had been found dead. This is how she would justify her plans when she freed the Master of The Void who her father had put in chains. She needed Daevus's blood as the key to enter The Void.

Daevus was an anaya – a demon that usually dwelled in The Void. They are monstrous, horrible creatures that have no true shape and are able to kill with their gaze alone. But Daevus was different from the low-life anaya that walked in hell – he was the son of the Master of The Void, had a humanoid form and the power of manipulating shadows and walking into dreams. A living nightmare – literally.

And as they made the physical bond which was necessary to connect them, Pheolae wished none of that had to happen. She cursed her father for creating her and her brother, cursed their hunger for power. She cursed Daevus for doing this to her, for offering her his help. But most of all, she cursed herself for obeying both of them, for being selfish and ignoring all the warning signs that had led to this mess. And even more importantly, she hated herself for succumbing to the pleasure this demon gave her.

But at the moment, she pushed all these thoughts away and leaned back, desperately trying to convince herself that the blood bond with the most powerful creatures of The Void would be enough to save her and her lover.

In the end, it hadn't been enough. When Pheolae had hatched her plan, she had forgotten one very important factor – her brother Verroth and his abilities that would lead to the destruction of Yulija's clan. Only hundreds of years later, she would find a way to get revenge on her brother...

My eyes snapped open in panic and I sucked in a breath, trying to calm down. I was strangely comfortable... but why? I looked around – seemed like I was in the inside of a car and pressed against something solid. I could smell leather, gunpowder and blood and a very faint trace of strawberries... Dante.

I blushed lightly when I realized I was sitting in his lap, my head resting against his chest while his arms were loosely draped around me. Two female voices quietly discussed something in the front of the car. Trish and Lady.

How did I get here? I already opened my mouth to voice the question but shut it again quickly when I picked up what they were talking about.

"I've never seen him act this way", Lady said with a light giggle. "It's verging on a miracle that Dante can even tolerate someone for so long – you know his patience."

"And I have never seen him looking at someone the way he looks at Nero", Trish added thoughtfully, "Wow, I guess he really is in love."

In love? Dante? With me?

They were silent for several minutes. Then, Lady started talking again. "I'm surprised that both of them actually get along. They seem to be complete opposites."

"Opposites attract", Trish said wisely and Lady turned silent for another minute.

"Maybe you're right. I mean, Dante and Nero complement each other somehow..." She mumbled something to herself and Trish chuckled.

"That's what demonic mating is about", she explained, "Finding completeness. Once demons mate, they mate for live. Dante and Nero are soul mates."

Lady seemed to be stunned by that. "Things like these exist?", she asked after a while.

"Yes", Trish said curtly, "Remember the demons asking if Nero was Dante's mate? Other demons sense it, too – they belong to each other."

"Who would've thought that a guy like Dante would ever be in a relationship like this... Well, in a relationship at all. I remember how many times I came to the office in the morning and met his one night stands. It was so awkward..."

Trish laughed lightly. "One of the reasons I moved out of the office. Dante and his romps have kept me awake too many times at night."

I felt a pang of jealousy but it was quickly swept away by the next thing Trish said. "He didn't tell me much of his past but I think Dante's been though a lot of bad things..." She paused for a while. "Maybe he was just desperately looking for any kind of affection when he slept around. Remember that he lost his whole family. Maybe he had tried to fill the emptiness."

Somehow, Dante and I had made similar mistakes in the past. Trish was right – we both had tried to fill the emptiness we've felt in a wrong way. Maybe things would turn out for the better now...?

Fingers ran through my hair and I raised my head, looking at a smiling Dante. His hand slid down my back, rubbing it gently and he leaned closer, placing a kiss on my forehead. The gesture was sweet and innocent but for some reason I felt my cheeks heat up.

"What happened?", I asked, noticing that my voice was quite raspy, "I remember being captured and having the shit beaten out of me and then you..." I trailed off silently.

"How did they manage to capture you?", he asked instead.

"Hey, answer my question first old man."

He laughed. "Alright – I went after you after... erm, you know... Anyway, when you were nowhere to be found, I stumbled across this little demon of Verroth's creations..." He told me the whole story and I was quite amazed.

"So his so-called 'miscreations' helped you?", I asked and he nodded.

"Unfortunately, most of them died", he sighed, "It's too bad, really – they were good guys."

It was silent for a while. Dante's hands still roamed over my back. The touch was soothing, comforting. It felt good to be in his arms. The torture was finally over, I was safe.

"You didn't answer my question, kid", Dante reminded me.

"I awoke in a room tied to a bed", I replied, "One of the girls of Verroth's harem wanted to keep me as her plaything but I convinced her that it wasn't a good idea. When I tried to find my way to Verroth's dungeon, I stumbled across the whole harem." I huffed in annoyance. "The girls weren't that much of a help. I traveled through the spheres of that hell hole, met a witch and was attacked by demonic flowers."

"Attacked by flowers?", Dante echoed and raised a brow.

"They were magical", I pointed out, "Sayume – that was the witch's name – said they would grant me a wish but the price for that would be some of my power. The flowers drew me into a tree that seemed to work like a portal but when I arrived on the other side, Verroth's monsters instantly attacked me. I only had Yamato to defend myself and I was weakened from the teleportation – oh shit!" I exclaimed suddenly, making everyone in the car startle. "My gun! I lost it there."

"Nope, I have it", Dante said, "Found it in the dungeons on one of the examination tables."

I tensed when he mentioned "examination table", forcing back the memories that came into my mind. "Well, anyway – Verroth's monsters attacked me and knocked me out. Next thing I knew, I had some spiked thing around my head and that guy tried to electrocute me."

Dante's arms tightened around me. "Are you okay?", he asked, his voice laced with worry.

"Yeah", I mumbled, snuggling closer to him. I rubbed my cheek against his chest, closing my eyes and basked in his warmth, glad that he returned the embrace. "Well, Verroth cut me open and burned me with demon venom but the effects are gone, I think."

"He did WHAT?", Dante exclaimed angrily and firmly pushed me back an arm's length, examining the damage. His fingers glided over the already closed wounds and I leaned closer to him – the touch felt cool against the still slightly burned skin and soothed the pain.

"That sick asshole", I heard Dante mumble and suddenly he drew me closer to him, holding onto me as if he feared I would vanish. He buried his face in the crook of my neck.

"Nero, I was so afraid that he would kill you", Dante whispered silently and I felt his whole body quiver, "I was afraid I wouldn't get to you in time."

"But you did", I said, looking up at him again. Dante looked sad, his brows were furrowed. I have never seen him like that. Also... did he just admit that he had been afraid? Afraid about what happened to me? Carefully, I reached out with my left hand, tracing the contours of his face.

Dante's hand caught my right wrist and I froze. He traced the scaly skin of my demonic arm and interlaced our fingers, brushing against the rough red hide with his thumb. I tried to pull away but he wouldn't let me.

"Does it hurt?", he asked.

"No...", I replied slowly, "It seems to heal faster than the rest of my body. Verroth dug into my bringer and injected poison into it."

Dante continued to rub the hide of my hand, carefully sliding his fingers beneath it and touching the ribbed blue skin directly. "You're still thinking about those things that idiot said, don't you?"

"Maybe he was right." I sighed quietly, still trying to pull away but Dante's grip tightened even more, not hurting me but keeping me in place.

"Don't say things like these, Nero", Dante said firmly, "He was – "

"All of them were right. My devil half tried to bring me back to life but it made the pain only worse. Verroth should have killed me."

I was fucking frustrated. It's not like I didn't want to be happy – it's just that the negative things that happened in your life always stick. You can't forget them, you can't just replace them with the few positive things that happened to you. It just doesn't work this way. I hated my way of thinking, hated the fact that I just couldn't let myself be happy, couldn't let myself believe that good things happened to me.

"This thing" – I raised my bringer that was still interlaced with Dante's fingers – "is not the reason for all the shit I've been through. It only got worse since it grew but life's always been –"

"I'm sorry that he tortured you."

"You're sorry?" What?

"Verroth wanted me and not you – he shouldn't have hurt you in the first place. And I shouldn't have let you go after... after the kiss." Dante didn't let go from my demonic hand and I was surprised that I didn't protest. No one had ever wanted to look at my bringer, let alone touch it. But Dante was gripping my hand tightly – as if the glowing skin, freakish scales and rough hide didn't unnerve him at all.

I didn't know what to say and felt panic well up inside me. He was going to pity me, to reject me. He would say something along the lines of "We should have never kissed" or something like that. Oh hell, why am I even reacting like this? I didn't need another mental breakdown in front of Dante. But I couldn't help but being insecure – and anxious.

"You're brooding again", Dante said angrily. He let go of my bringer and both of his hands gripped my face now, cupping it gently. "Nero, listen to me – Verroth was wrong. Everyone was wrong. There is no such thing as being 'flawed'. You are not tainted or cursed. And most importantly: you are not weak."

"But I –"

"Don't be so hard on yourself", he interrupted me, "And let the past be. Your past doesn't define you. And you can't change it anyway." He was looking into my eyes, the look on his face soft and understanding. Our foreheads touched gently and our lips ghosted against each other.

"Perfection does not exist", Dante whispered, "And flaws make us human. There are many people out there that just don't understand that. And both of us will always have two sides inside of us, sides that need to be balanced."

How could he still be so gentle? I was used to being thrown away, to be used and abused. This was just too much. One single tear rolled down my cheek and Dante wiped it away with the pad of his thumb. I cursed myself for being like this – overly emotional. Goddammit, pull yourself together.

"Why are you doing this?", I whispered.

Dante didn't answer right away, still holding my face and looked into my eyes. "What do you mean?", he asked back.

"I don't know", I said, getting even more frustrated with each passing second. "You're always so nice and patient … and I … I..." I struggled for words. "I'm a mess, Dante. I just don't deserve this."

"Don't deserve what?"

"To be treated like this!", I replied. I tried to pull away but he was still holding me. I closed my eyes. I didn't understand why Dante didn't throw me away. All the things I saw in my mind's eye – the rejection of the townspeople of Fortuna, Kyrie getting married, my suicide attempt, the pain I've received today... Good things just don't happen to me.

"To be treated like what?", Dante continued his query, "Like a human being? Don't deserve to be taken care of? Nero, there's one thing in life you don't seem to understand – if someone abandons you or hurts or betrays you, it has nothing to do with your worth. It says everything about their character."

I had a hard time believing everything he was saying even though I just wanted to believe it was true.

"Look at me", Dante pleaded and reluctantly, I opened my eyes again. "I know you had a hard life, Nero, but..." He trailed off and his thumbs brushed over my cheekbones. "I'm not going to throw you away. Never."

With that, Dante closed the distance between our lips and kissed me softly, tenderly. It was a simple kiss – just our lips pressed against each other – and it was so different from our first kiss, but nonetheless it felt wonderful. We broke apart and gazed into each other's eyes.

"I love you, Nero."

The look in his eyes, the way he had spoken the words, the way he had kissed me – all of it sounded and felt so sincere. I meshed our lips together in response, feeling incredibly happy. My heart was hammering in my chest – all the fear, the anxiety and panic I had felt for the last few months fell off me, leaving pure happiness behind.

Our tongues clashed together, fighting for dominance and suddenly, both of us felt the need to be much closer to each other. Dante's hands traced down my sides and slipped under my shirt, brushing over my skin teasingly. My hands roamed over his chest, catching the zipper of his leather shirt and pulling it down, exposing his upper chest and collarbones. Before we could continue though, a noise made us break the kiss.

Trish cleared her throat. "I know that's very romantic and so on but please, boys – we're at the office soon. Save it for later."

I scratched my nose, my cheeks flaring up. I had forgotten the girls entirely. Lady giggled silently and I nuzzled Dante's chest again, trying to hide my blush.

Dante laughed lightly, diving down and kissing me again sloppily. When we parted, I pulled him close to me, leaning in to whisper into his ear. "I love you too."

Both of us sported the same silly grin now and we stayed like this for a while – me pressed close to his chest while his hands slid across my back and I couldn't believe it. He loved me, he really loved me. Was I dreaming? It was too good to be true. Dante's lips claimed my own again, showing me that this was real and I melted into the kiss.

"You know, the girls of Verroth's harem said some weird things", I said when we parted.

"What did they say?", Dante asked with a smile.

"Well, something about demonic mating being all about raw pleasure and dominance and submission."

"Wrong", Dante and Trish said at the same time, making me raise a brow.

"Dominance and submission is a part of mating", Trish explained, "But it's not the most important thing. Your instinct drives you to the mate made for you, someone you perfectly fit together with."

"So this whole 'soul mate'-thing is true?", Dante asked amazed.

"Apparently yes", Trish confirmed.

"All of them wore Verroth's mark", I continued, "If mating is about finding your other half, why did all the girls there have his mark?"

"Because he was a maniac", Dante reasoned, "Maybe he brainwashed the girls. His creations told me he always took the prettiest woman of the tribes he attacked. I don't think they were there because they wanted to."

I thought about the water pipe I had seen there... The smell the smoke had given off hadn't been tobacco only – well, Verroth had been some kind of alchemist. Maybe he managed to convert Ciale's aphrodisiac into a consumable drug?

Even when the girls had irritated me while I was captured, I couldn't help but feel sorry for them. Also, this bodiless voice between the spheres was still on my mind. It said that I shouldn't die, that I was still needed. It said something about a game and a Queen. Also, there had been this strange music. It had sounded so familiar to me... Somehow, I had the feeling that it belonged to the warning we had seen at the bonfire even if I didn't know why I felt that way. And there was still the issue with the little black pearl... and the fact that my trigger had hurt me instead of healing my wounds. It made me a little uneasy but I would talk about that with Dante later. I have been paranoid for too long.

"Maybe all the spheres were destroyed – or sealed", Trish mused quietly, interrupting my train of thoughts, "I guess we'll never know what exactly happened to them."

"If the spheres were destroyed, Sayume is most likely dead", I said. It made me a quite sad that she could be dead. She had been nice and helpful to me... and I had promised to help her too.

"The witch you met?", Trish asked and I nodded.

"Why are you asking?"

"Because we can try to summon her. If she's still alive, that is."

"She said the place where she hid was a shelter, made to protect." I paused. "Does that mean she could have survived?"

"Yes, it could be", Trish replied, "I see what I can do about the summoning. I need some occult items for that and I will only see the client in some months."

"In some months?", I echoed, "I promised to get her out of there."

"And we will", Trish assured me, "But it will have to wait."

It made no sense to argue with her anyway. "...I see."

"Well, I guess that means things are gonna be quiet for a while now", Dante said, placing another short kiss on my lips. I couldn't bring myself to mention the voice. We always had later...

My finger ran over the scar on his chest. "You never told me who did this", I said and frowned lightly.

"It was Vergil."

"What? Your own brother?" My eyes were wide and I stared at him.

"Yeah... he stabbed me – first with Yamato, and then again with Rebellion", Dante said, rolling his eyes, "For some reason, people like to stab me with my own sword or shoot me."

"I shot you when we first met", Lady reminded him, tapping her forehead.

"I pinned you onto the wall of your shop with your sword", Trish added and I laughed. When Dante and I first met, I had impaled him onto a statue with his own sword... On the other hand, he had also tried to kill me. I guess that made us even.

He was laughing as well. "It's okay, Nero", he assured me, "The same does not apply to you two, though."

Trish and Lady simply huffed at that and I was pretty sure that Lady would continue to shoot Dante at every opportunity she got.

"Girls, when I first met you, you said something about a bet", I remembered suddenly and both of them tensed at that.

"You don't want to know", Lady said then, looking into my eyes through the rear view mirror.

"But –"

"No, Nero. You don't want to know", Trish added with a grin.

"What are you even talking about?", Dante asked completely confused.

Instead of answering his question, I pulled him into a kiss. Dante seemed to be okay with that and we both quickly forgot about Lady and Trish in the front of the car or today's events.

When we finally arrived at Devil May Cry, we said our goodbyes to the girls and rushed up the steps to the front door, kissing frantically all the way.

I think I heard both Trish and Lady laugh and whistle but I didn't care. Somehow, Dante managed to open the door and threw me inside. Then, he turned around, locking his eyes with mine. I shivered under his predatory gaze and heard my devil side purr loudly in my head.

One more chapter to go :O And I'm currently working on the sequel, as mentioned in the author's notes above. The sequel will be a continuation of "Blessed and Cursed" and deals a little more with the background story revolving around Pheolae, Verroth, Yulija and The Void. Also, it will be written from Dante's POV mostly.