Lucy got up and decided to get himself a hot bath after everything that happened. He tripped over and was able to let out a few profanities before he managed to go to the bathroom. Slightly wondering what is happening to him. He didn't dare to use the demon eyes he usually use to see as he might experience a migraine after using them but his other senses should make up for it. 'This is so unlike me tripping over things.'
The event of what happened to him still gets into his head. Samael's back, the tattoos don't ache for now but after he woke up from fainting, he definitely could feel them being almost the half of his whole body. 'Seems like dad's gonna be back for a few weeks, huh?' he wondered while cleaning himself up. As much as the tattoos itch, he didn't dare to scratch them, if he did, it'll probably bother him for the rest of the day that he has the weird markings at his body.
After the bath and the pondering that came along with it, he walked his way to the room he's staying in and just for a short while, and decided to use his demon eyes just for one more time. He saw himself right in front of a life-sized mirror, and he can see how his hair grew after two years of not cutting them. His frontal locks definitely grew longer. He reached for his reflection, trying to put aside the headache he's slowly starting to feel now. 'Hello, and what happened to you, Lucius?'
It didn't matter now how painful the headache is turning to be. Lucy already guessed that this might happen to him now that the tattoos are getting worse and so is the horrible hunger for souls and demons boiling down through the pit of his core. He didn't know how he managed to hide this situation from Anima, but he's sure as hell he wouldn't be able to hide this from Dante, and soon Nero will find out about this, too. If Lucy can still manage to keep Nero's devil bringer from glowing whenever his presence is around, he might not be able to suppress his demonic abilities after this week, probably.
He didn't know why he kept on using these demon eyes just to see everything. He didn't know if he will be able to get back his original eyesight, or if anything will even make any sense after all of these will be over.
'Will we be even able to win against hell? What if we lose? What will happen to Dante? To Nero? To Leon? Anima… she'll definitely be served as Mundus' dinner. Oh dear fuck… I'm sorry, oh fuck, I'm sorry guys for causing all of this, I'm really so sorry…'
The thoughts are slowly eating him up, making him curl up on the floor and cover his ears as an attempt to stop them. There are definitely tears coming from his eyes, his breathing is getting pretty unstable as he shook his head to stop the thoughts from going into his head. It took him three minutes before he managed to calm himself down. "Shit." He muttered to himself. "Shouldn't let those go over my head."
Lucy got up and looked at his reflection once again, touching his front locks before he reached for a scissor that is on the nightstand and stared at himself for quite a moment.
OoOoOoO
Nero took a walk outside to take a good look of the whole city and perhaps enjoyed a little bit of what it can offer to the tourists. It was almost dawn when he went home and he saw someone with a short black hair sitting on the front porch of the house not wearing something for a top and black denim pants. Nero was curious, so he slowly approached the person in the porch.
"Hey, Nero."
That… that was something Nero didn't really expect.
Finally, it hit him that it was Lucy as he finally got a look of his tattoos in his arms and his chest.
"Lucy?" He muttered under his breath as he finally sat next to him. "What happened to your hair?"
"It just went back to its original color." He smiled. "I decided to change… all of this… It's inevitable, anyway. Just as how horrible my role will be with Mundus getting back on his feet."
"Huh…" Nero turned his head to watch the sunset. "Black hair looks nice on you."
"I thought you're going to say it was weird."
"I was surprised by the sudden change, not going to lie, but black hair really looks nice on you. Especially you're… really pale. Complements you."
It made Lucy laugh for a short moment before he turned to Nero's direction, biting his lips before he looked down. "Hey, Nero. Whatever that will happen… Believe me when I say… You guys are the best. And… Whatever that I will do, if it seems I'm siding with the demons, I'm not fully in control of my whole being. Oh, and also…"
"Hmm?"
"Don't let Anima be taken from us."
"Of course." Nero looked up for a few seconds, biting his lower lip before he looked at Lucy. "By the way, I knew you lied to her about what really happened why they couldn't remember her."
"I guess fourteen year old girls are gonna buy that story."
"Come on, who's going to believe that? I mean, Dante's probably not that stupid to believe that either!" Nero exclaimed and they both had a good laugh about it. "Seriously? Death angels?"
"I know. It's stupid." Lucy sighed. "The real truth is that, after my body got out of Anima, I sucked her soul up and made every single person who knows her forget everything about her and about me as well for those who saw me making my way out of her body. I'm on the run, and I dragged Anima with me, I can't let the ones important to her be dragged into this hellish fight as well."
"I see…" Nero patted his back. "She must be really precious to you."
"Yeah, she is…" Lucy mumbled. "She also holds something that Mundus wants."
Now, Nero was getting curious. "What do you mean?"
"She holds something that is essential for him." Lucy started explaining. "Look, before she died, she was holding a gem that she found while they went treasure-hunting one time. She didn't know it was a powerful gem, Nero. It can purify a demon or even make it stronger depending on how it will be used. It fused in her soul and I'm afraid that my father will eat her as it's the only way to use it. I was the reason why she wasn't being hunted down, kept her presence and the stone at bay for quite a long time."
Nero looked at his arm, if he will eat Anima… Then he can lose the devil bringer, and everything might turn out even better for him, and he will never have to hide it using a sling.
… Except he can't bring himself to eat the poor soul. He has grown into him, and eating him sounds so stupid just to live a normal life. He doesn't want to sacrifice the girl's life just for his own desires. Her life's already unfair, and he doesn't like the idea of the soul not being able to get a happy ending or so.
"I know what you feel."
Nero was a little bit startled. It was then Lucy smiled.
"I know you wouldn't eat her." He sighed. "As Dante stated a long time ago, 'she's our precious little girl and must be protected at all times'. Sometimes I feel like she's the only one who can make Dante feel an old guy and be happy about it."
"How come you didn't eat her early on?"
"I might be a demon, but I guess I am not that heartless especially I hosted over her body for fourteen years." Lucy got up and started tapped his seat and moving closer until he felt Nero's thigh and reached for his head, petting him. "I'll be upstairs. Be good."
Nero chuckled and watched Lucy tried not to trip over while making his way upstairs before he sighed, leaving his seat and went in to the living room before he was caught off-guard having someone jumped on his back.
"Neeerooo~" Anima giggled that made Nero smile. "I want a piggyback ride!"
Nero chuckled and sat down, pulling the soul and placed her thighs on his shoulders before he started running around the house making the girl shriek. Anima was holding onto Nero's hair tightly and her legs tighten around Nero's head.
"It's too high!" Anima pouted and started tugging Nero's hair. Nero just chuckled and carried Anima back to her feet. "I hate you!"
"Aww, don't hate me just because of that." Nero made a fake sad look before Anima giggled that made Nero smile and pet her hair.
'How come I couldn't feel the energy of the gem from her?'
"Nero?"
"Hmm?"
Anima held his hand and somehow dragged him to Leon's room, and they both watched the demon in his slumber.
"I'm worried about him." She mumbled. "He hasn't been awake; even move from his position or even… I don't know… give signs that he's still alive aside from breathing."
"Breathing is a sign of being alive."
"What if he's brain dead?"
"I don't think that will happen." Nero petted her hair. "Look, don't worry too much, he'll be fine." He took a good look at Leon, he surely looks like him a lot. "Maybe he's my twin brother." He murmured, and they both chuckled quietly at the idea.
"If he is, what would you do?" She mumbled back, Nero just shrugged and pinched the girl's cheeks.
"You better sleep." He kissed her forehead and he heard Anima mumbling 'I don't need sleep and it's only like 6 in the evening' before he went to the door of his room only to hear his name being called. He turned to Anima once again with a questioning look.
"You know, you're important to Dante." She smiled. Nero fought back his blush that is already creeping up to his cheeks.
"Fourteen year old girls should imagine things like that." He retorted and that made Anima frown. "If you don't want to sleep, why don't you… do whatever you want?"
"Believe me, Dante's not that showy but he likes you."
"Just stop imagining for now, okay?"
OoOoOoO
AN: I know, I am a horrible person for not updating this story for a year or more, but schoolworks really got into me and I ran into a lot of problems. I'm slowly trying to get back on writing and I believe I owe you guys a sexual tension between Dante and Nero.