By the time Devil May Cry was in view, it had stopped raining. Now, there was a sharp chill in the air that made her shiver. Nero was still walking behind her, but she barely heard him. She almost regrets yelling at him. Almost. The only reason she felt even a modicum of guilt was because she knew that she just took out half of her anger on him. She pushes the door to the shop open, the familiar groan gives her some comfort.
"Where's Dante?" Mona asks when she sees Trish in his chair.
"Said something about seeing a man about a dog," Trish says while she looks up. "You're both wet."
"It was raining," Nero grumbles, slamming the door shut as he comes in behind Mona.
Mona refuses to look at him or even in his general direction. Trish watches the two through her narrowed eyes before uncrossing her legs from the top of the desk. The thud heavily when she drops them to the floor.
"I'm going to take a shower," Mona says before Trish can speak. "Will you send Dante up when he gets in please?" Before Trish can corner her, she heads up the stairs.
Nero, who wasn't paying attention before, quickly snaps his head up to watch Mona walk up the stairs. Of course, Trish smiles and says she will. Trish watches and waits until Mona is in the bathroom with the door shut before she turns on Nero with a snarl.
"You, sir, have done something to her. Explain yourself and I might be able to help you fix it."
"I didn't do any–"
Trish snaps her hand out and smacks him on the back of the head. "Bullshit," she hisses.
"Apparently," Nero snaps back, "I was flirting with her–" Trish nails him again. "Alright! Fine! I was flirting with her friend. But only a little bit!" He held his hands up before she could hit him again. "I wanted to get closer to her to get more information on Mona. I don't think she's always honest with us. Don't give me that face. Oh," he added, "and apparently I wasn't excited enough that she did well on her audition."
Trish heaves a deep angry sigh and crosses her arms. "I should slap you again for being so stupid. You never flirt with a girl's friend. Ever. That's an unwritten rule, you insensitive swine. And you always act like Dante died when something exciting happens to someone! I don't care if it's the most insignificant shit the in the world. You act enthused. You owe her an apology."
"I owe her an apology?"
"Yes!" She smacks him again. "You owe her a big one!" She grumbles walking away from Nero. "Bigger dunce than Dante. And that's saying something."
Upstairs Mona turns the water on to nearly scalding before she turns from the bath and takes her hair down. She untwists it from the bun on top of her head, sighing when it's finally free and falls down her back. Maybe she'll even put a hair mask on tonight. Her head spins for a moment and she reaches out to catch herself on the counter. Hungry. She has to just be hungry.
Slowly, she begins to undress in the steam filled bathroom. Her muscles ache more than they usually do after a practice. She's only ever been this sore when she was first dancing. When she looks down at her feet she grimaces: she'll need to cut her nails soon or there'll be hell to pay later. She's down to her underwear when the door flies open.
"Oh! Sor– What the hell is that?" Dante asks over Mona's scream.
She tries to cover herself, shouting at him to beat it, but he comes in and shuts the door.
"Dante! I'm in my underwear!" She shouts and backs away from him.
"Stop moving!" he snaps harshly.
She jerks to a stop at his tone and stops all her movements. Dante finishes crossing the tiny room and grabs her arm. With a swallow, she lets him move them from across her body. She can feel the heat rising on her cheeks the more he looks at her. The only thing she sees on his face is confusion and worry. Gently, he reaches his hand out and traces lightly over her stomach.
"Dante, I…" she whispers.
"I'm not going to hurt you. Or sleep with you," he assures her. "You'll know when I'm trying to do either." He looks back up into her face. "When did you start getting these?"
"Getting what?" she asks, looking down to where his hand is.
Fear takes root as soon as she sees dark patterns starting to poke through her skin. They start on her left him, coil around her back and her right hip, it circles her belly button, then wraps under her breasts, back around her back, comes up over her right shoulder, and then travels down to her wrist where it stops.
"What… Dante, what is this?"
"I don't know, babe. Turn around for him," he answers gently.
Mona turns and places a hand over her mouth. The markings are almost black and look strangely like snakeskin. Panic is rising in her throat, making her sick. Dante's hands are warm on her back while he pushes firmly against her, pulling her skin this way and that, trying to figure the marks out. It's almost too much. His fingers are suddenly too cold on her flesh, too rough, they hurt.
Before Dante can react, Mona spins on him and slams her closed fist against the mirror on the wall. It shatters, pieces falling to the floor and on the sink. Swifter than he could have imagined, Mona raises her hands and shoves him. He grunts and goes flying through the door and into the hall. Nero and Trish yell out to him downstairs. Slowly, keeping an eye on the girl in front of him, he raises up. Her hand is dripping blood on to the floor and her body is crouched over in a non-human way. Her breathing is raspy and heavy, something not natural.
"Mona?" He walks carefully back into the room. "Mona, can you hear me?"
As soon as his foot crosses the threshold of the bathroom, Mona's head snaps up violently. Dante swallows and stiffens when he sees her eyes flash from their normal honey color to pitch black.
"Don't you fucking touch me, you filthy half-breed!" she screams at him in a voice that doesn't belong to her. "I know you, Dante. You are not worthy enough to touch me! How dare you even assume your hands are fit to hold me." She smiles sadistically and twists her head to the side. "I'm going to enjoy watching you burn."
For once in his life, Dante feels like prey. The feeling pisses him off. She watches him with those black eyes a little longer before she turns away from him to look in the mirror. She smiles and trails her hands down her body. Seizing his opportunity, he throws himself at her and locks his arms around hers, pinning them to her side. The scream that comes out of her mouth is unholy in its pitch and volume. Dante wants so badly to let go and cover his ears, but he holds on, struggling to keep her in his grasp. Nero and Trish skid to a stop outside the door.
As quickly as her screaming started, it stops. Her head drops back to his shoulder and a collective feeling of relief washes over them. Dante shifts her in his arms so he can look at her. She's looking up at him with her big, normal, honey eyes. Mona smiles sweetly at him, straining up to his face.
"Sweet Dante, always saving me," she sighs and her body relaxes.
Mona wriggles one of her arms from his loose grip. She strokes the side of his face gently. She feels like fire against his skin. His eyes soften when she looks up at him. Her body starts grinding and rubbing against him and he stiffens.
"Don't heroes normally get a reward?" she drawls huskily in his ear.
Before Dante can answer, can react, she's pressing her lips against his. She trails her tongue over his lips, gliding against the seam of them. Her hand moves down his chest, her nails scratching at him. He can't help the shudder that runs through him. She turns in his arms, grinds her hips against his. Dante growls low in his throat. She bites his lips before she kisses him again.
Nero watches behind them with a clenched jaw and clenched fists. He watches her tongue slide into Dante's mouth. He watches still as Mona opens her eyes and finds him, pins him in her gaze.
Dante grips Mona's wrist in his hand. "I really wish," he says smiling, pulling her hand off of his gun, "that you would stop trying to kill me."
In seconds Mona's face goes from smiling to snarling. She screams again, threatening to break windows. Nero falls back with the force of it. He covers his ears and looks back up at Dante.
"Nero!" Dante quickly wraps his arms around her. "Get me something to tie her hands with!" he screams the order. "Nero! Now before she hurts herself!"
"Or us!" Trish yells.
Nero nods and scrambles up to run downstairs. Mona drops limply against Dante, her body stilling. The young hunter pauses briefly. Dante never relaxes his hold. Instead, he watches and waits for something to happen. Slowly, she stirs in his arms.
"Dante?" she whispers her question with a hoarse voice. "What…"
"I think we're–"
They watch in horror as blood trickles out of the corner of her mouth and she begins to seize.
"Nero, get the car!" Dante barks out sharply.
He lays Mona down on the floor on her side. Blood continues to ooze out of her mouth. Anger takes root in him: God help the next demon he comes across. After a few moments, Mona stops and lays still as stone. Wasting no time, he gently picks her up and bolts past Trish. He feels like he flies down the stairs.
Nero is already there waiting for him outside. He honks the horn repeatedly, trying to get Dante to hurry faster than he is. When the older man steps out into the night, Nero hops in the back and holds himself open for Mona. Grabbing her from Dante's outstretched arms, he feels a pang of guilt. He was an asshole tonight. He was and now he wouldn't get the chance to tell her why.
Dante jumps over the driver's side door of the convertible. There's no hesitation before he puts his foot to the pedal. It slams all the way to the floor and the tires squeal. They fly by cars and people on the street, but it's as if no one notices. Or these people are so used to catastrophe they don't bother to look up anymore.
"Where are we going?" Nero shouts, keeping a firm hold on the body stretched out on the seat.
"To see Doge." Dante turns another corner sharply.
Nero hangs on to the back of the seat to keep them careening across the car. Mona's small shudders have finally stopped. No one in the car breathes a sigh of relief. Whatever it was that just happened to Mona, took a serious toll on her. Nero takes the time to think back on the day. There had to be something he missed, some kind of warning maybe. What was it? What was it that he missed?
He wiped the blood from her face.
"Dante?" No answer. "Dante!"
"What?" he snaps back. He doesn't have time to answer pointless questions. He has to pay attention, has to get them there in one piece.
"She's not breathing."