"Sign here sir"

Honestly…This had to have been the most expensive gift I'd ever gotten anyone… Hell this had to be the only gift I'd ever gotten anyone simply out of altruism. But Truth be told, I couldn't think of anyone else that could have been more deserving.

This would be my parting gift to her…

I'd buried the gift within Devil May Cry until Missy arrived, and like any other day, she greeted me with her usual inquiries as to how my day had been, if she could rock out on guitar, and how long she was allowed to stay till… But this day she had another burning question to ask.

"I was wondering…"She began to say retuning the guitar, she thought long and hard before she started up again, "If you could grant me a wish, Dante."

"A wish?" I repeated over a different magazine. "What would that be?"

She set the guitar back into it's cradle, walked over in front of my desk and was sure to establish a piercing form of eye contact, I was almost surprised by her stance when I finally looked at her, she kept quiet until she knew she had my full attention when I'd relinquished the magazine and assumed an attentive sitting position.

"I want to be your apprentice."

Shit…

"I was serious the other day when I said I wanted to hunt demons for a living."

And she really wasn't kidding… I could tell just by the way she was carrying this request, and the way she practically avoided blinking when she asked… I had to approach this carefully though. Realistically, these periodic visits were all I could mentally handle, and even those soon had to come to a standstill. Missy had already been through enough in my care in the last week for me to even consider letting her remain hanging around Devil May Cry long term…And there was no way I was going to risk her getting hurt in my care ever again.

"And why should I let you be my apprentice?" I asked her disputably, I crossed my arms and stood my ground adding, "You a sucker for punishment or something?"

"Because it's my birthday."

Goddamn ultimatums… Yeah right I thought. But I ran with it.

"And you think the best Birthday present would be getting to spend all hours of your should-be-spent School days hanging around an old Devil Hunter learning tricks of the trade?"

What she said next caught me off guard…

"I'm not a kid anymore Dante."

I looked at her questionably, and pulled my hand out demanding proof, "Show me."

And would you believe the kid actually had ID on her…

"Missy Delamar" I recited thoroughly scanning through her ID card "Born April 5ft … 1994…"

… She was eighteen…

... Eighteen?

I looked at her, than her ID card…. I looked at her again… And she was right… Well I'll be god fucking dammed… The kid was legal. Sure didn't look it.

"Well Let me start by saying Happy birthday kiddo." I wished passing her ID card back to her but still pressed questions forward, this was business we were talking after all, "Alright, so your legal and everything, but what about your school…? You honestly think I'm going to let you skimp out on your education."

"There's nothing in School that can teach me what you can, Dante" She persisted, her eyes still fixated on convincing me that I should allow her to abandon her life to that of slaughtering Demons.

We exchanged a staring contest for quite some time… Finally, I decided it was time to close this chapter in my life once and for all… As much as I really didn't want to say goodbye to such a promising, hopeful and prospective person, it was for the best of both parties that we parted ways… I didn't want to flat out deny her request to be my apprentice without good reason, but I cared too much for her to allow her to involve herself in this kind of business… whether or not she was an adult. And quite frankly, I just didn't want to admit that I feared for her safety in my care. We had put it behind ourselves after all… At least she did.

"I'll tell you what." I said pushing myself out of my chair, as I made my way towards the couch I continued to say , "Why don't I make a better proposition to you Missy."

I could feel her intently looking on, following my every move. I reached underneath the couch and pulled out a case which I held as concealed as I could carrying it in my left arm walking back towards the desk where I laid it out for Missy to view.

"You accept this gift and renounce your request to be my apprentice…" I countered keeping my hands firmly on top of the case, I gently pushed it towards her, "Take it and pursue a life that allows you to let every raw emotion be the medium between you and this weapon of mass inspiration."

Her eyes ceased being fixated on me and looked attentively onto the black case now awaiting her decision… I removed my hands to allow her full reign… She snapped the locks and opened the case to reveal what I deemed to have been possibly the most beautiful thing this child had ever laid her eyes upon.

"Is… Is that a..?"

"Yep" I clarified nodding, and recited, " A Rebel Rockit Supernova"

Her eyes welded with tears as she uttered, "Dante… It's beautiful.."

She ghosted her hand over the cherry red and black sycamore body of her brand new electric guitar… Unsure if it truly belonged to her. "This.. Is mine?"She inquired looking up at me with such hopeful eyes.

I nodded, and pressed on suggestively "Under the condition that you change your mind about Devil Hunting… And it's all yours."

It took her a few minutes to truly decide…

I knew she wanted to be able to make up for not being able to defend herself in that testing time… and wanting to ensure the safety and security of others like her who had been victimized by demons… But I simply could not allow her to live that life… Not when I knew she had so much more to live for. So much potential.

Because they say that if you live your life doing something you loved… You never worked a day in your life…

Could I honestly say that?

Even if I couldn't, I'd do anything I could to lead her onto a more safe and productive path… One she could look back on in twenty, thirty years, and remember that very first real guitar, and who got it for her…

She carefully picked it out of the case and took it over to the amp. As soon as she sat down, hooked it up, and gave her brand new guitar it's very first strum, the very sound of electric cords echoing into the building heralded the fact that after today, I'd never see her again. She was in love.

After she played a few songs by her favorite artist, she unplugged her new found love affair and placed it delicately back into its case locking it in the process. And with the snapping shut of the locks she soon found herself next to me behind my desk, pulling me into a thankful embrace.

"Thank you Dante…"

"Happy Birthday Missy."

~Epilogue~

Devil May Cry sat silent for months on end… I guess you could say I was in a somewhat mournful state after having said my goodbyes and farewells to Missy.

Hey, I mean it's not every day that someone leaves such a deep impression on one's heart, that when they do leave it's like their leaving an open wound behind that could only have been stemmed with their hand in place.

As fate would have it, Missy really was on the rise to stardom. She'd been engaged in a few television competitions and was now becoming a fan favorite. As anticipated, she often played the very songs that echoed through here so many months ago, and was renowned for being able to play and sing many of Kurt Cobain's most beloved songs with pinpoint accuracy and epic style.

I'd finally decided to break the silence that had been plaguing my office in the wake of Missy's departure. I'd grown tired of the lack of music and seemed to have forgotten that I still had a complete set of drums and a guitar. I sat in my stool and attempted to play one of Missy's favorites…

Smells like Teen Spirit…

And When I say attempted…I mean butchered… I was off by so many keys, and tuning the damn thing would have taken forever…

I couldn't help but admit out loud amidst the sound of the newly repaired doors opening "Guess I should have asked Missy's permission to be her apprentice while I had the chance…"

"Good thing you can still ask."

Guess fortune and fame wasn't going to keep her from visiting this lucky little Devil any time soon.

The End.

Well that's it everyone! I hope you liked reading it as much as I loved writing it. and if anyone is slightly confused about the dates for Missy's birth year, keep in mind I set this story in the year 2012 since we're so close to it. Speaking of which I wish you all a happy new year, and please don't drink and drive, I want you all alive and well in the new year! Don't forget to review! Much love to all! Peace out!

PS!: Anyone who can guess Missy's date of birth significance gets a hero cookie!