AN: Plain speech text such as "Greetings" is modern English. Speech in Italics like "Greetings" denotes the the Halkeginia language.

-

"So… any idea what they're saying?" Dante leaned in and whispered to his brother.

"Not a clue. I do not recognize this language. Though it sounds like a mixture between old Roman, German, and modern British English. Hmm… and a hint of Greek."

"Greek?" Nero asked, "So this is probably where his dam mistress has been hiding then."

"Hmm… mayhaps. Don't act rash for now, I'll see if I can translate their language."

"Well they're a bit too busy laughing to notice anything," Dante pointed out.

"Tch, are they laughing at us?" Nero asked.

"Maybe," Vergil answered, "Hard to tell."

Dante however, kept his eyes focused on the girl with pink hair. Her head was hung low, her bangs draping over her eyes. He saw her shake, but he placed a guess that it was not from laughter. She glared at the man in red, eyes red and slightly watery.

"Verg, if I gave you a hint as to what they might be saying, would that help you translate faster?"

Vergil widened his eyes, but nodded.

"Okay, try… 'Look at her, it looks like she's about to cry.'" he said as he pointed to one of the students. That student in turn, was pointing at Louise, mocking her sad face.

Vergil widened his eyes. "How did you-"

"Look at her," Dante cut him off, "Really look at her. She doesn't look like she's laughing at us. If anything she looks angry that we're here. If this is a summoning, she might be upset that we showed up instead of ol' Cottontail."

"So you're thinking she might be that demon's mistress?"

"Nah, if that was the case, she would've blasted us the moment she saw we weren't her pet. And take a look over there," Dante pointed with his chin. A short distance away were other creatures, some standing near other mages. "Looks like a mass summoning for familiars. My guess is that this is some kinda partner summoning ceremony, and Pinky here got us instead of an actual creature. And doesn't that guy on our right look like an instructor?"

Nero glanced over. "Yeah, he kinda does."

"So this is probably an institution of sorts then? For magicians to learn to cast magic," Vergil spoke up, "What made you realize that the other students were ridiculing her?"

"It's a school Verg, we may not have had a normal upbringing, but I can spot a bullied kid with my eyes closed. Besides, what would you think if one of your classmates summoned a person instead of a magical creature?"

"Hmph. I see your point," Vergil replied as he closed his eyes. "If that sentence is translated that way then perhaps what the others are saying are…"

Meanwhile, Louise had sauntered over to her instructor, pleading with him to let her have one more chance to summon a familiar.

"Please!"

"I'm sorry Miss Vallière, but these are the rules. I cannot go against them for any student."

She huffed, clenching her teeth and looking down on the ground.

"Please, continue with the ritual," he instructed.

Louise could hear the other students snickering behind her.

"Hah, she's gonna have to kiss those gross smelling commoners!"

"Think she'll only choose one of them? It's kinda unfair if she gets 3…"

"Hah, she's such a Zero that even if those three become her familiars, she'll still be a terrible mage!"

Off to the side, Kirche and Tabitha talked amongst themselves.

"Ara ara, I didn't expect this. Hehe~ among all the trash Louise could have summoned, she obtains three commoners that smell of garbage. How fitting." Kirche said with a bemused smile. A tanned hand came to cover her lips as she continued to chuckle.

The bespectacled young girl glanced up from her book, her face stoic.

"A travesty it would seem to be. Still, are you not going too far in your teasing, Kirche?"

"Oh, lighten up. I'm not taking it too far."

"Yo Verg, got anything yet?" Dante asked.

"Possibly, but nothing certain. I'd need to try it once first. Why?"

"Because it looks like something's going down," Dante said as he saw Louise leave the professor's side.

"Any idea what's happening next, Dante?" Nero asked.

"Uh… well if we're supposed to be her summoned familiars then… a binding contract?"

"Binding? I don't like the sound of that," Nero replied.

"Just stay on your guard," Vergil interjected, "If they try anything, push them back."

"Even if it means fighting every last one of them?" Nero asked.

"I'd rather fight my way through a school of mages then be bound to one of them for eternity."

"Fair enough," Nero replied as he turned around to see Louise approaching Dante.

The man in red got to his feet as she approached, dusting off his pants and clothes.

"Hey there little lady," he said, flashing a smile, "Look, don't know what's going on here, but sorry for the rude entrance. Didn't mean to come flying in like that."

As Louise stepped closer, her nose wrinkled at the smell that was coming off him. Try as she might, her eyes could not ignore the foul coloured droplets that cling to his skin. Her mind quickly came to a conclusion she rather not think of. Instead, she attempted to focus on his words, staring down the strange man as he spoke.

'What is he saying?' she thought to herself, 'he smells terrible… but he's smiling… is he attempting to charm me?'

A few of the others thought the same, and voiced out their shared opinions.

"Hah! Louise is being hit on by that commoner! It figures that the Zero would look appealing to the dirty peasant!"

Louise's mind quickly shifted to anger, before returning to calm.

'No… not the commoner's fault. I mustn't throw my anger at them.' she thought to herself, 'I'm not even certain they even know how to speak our language, or even interpret what we are saying for that matter. Very well…'

"What is your name?" she asked the hunter.

The man only raised an eyebrow at her words. Louise sighed, she had a feeling they might not be well educated based on their clothing, but this was an entirely new level for her.

"Dante," Louise heard the man say, her head poked right up.

"You can understand our language?" she asked in surprise.

The other students quieted down to hear this conversation.

Dante shook his head no.

"What? Then how…?"

He shrugged.

This left Louise speechless. She quickly shook the shock off however, and continued.

"Hmph, you best prepare yourself," she said as she took a step closer.

Dante tilted his head slightly in response. He watched as she took a few steps closer to him… and then immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Vergil and Nero watched with jaws dropped. Nero from the mere sight of Dante kissing a girl, and Vergil at the shock that Dante would just stand there and allow it.

"Dam, I know Dante kept bragging that he was a smooth talker when he was younger, but I didn't think he was still that good! And the guy's almost in his 60s…" Nero spoke up.

"She is underage, you imbecile! Cease this osculation at once!" Vergil yelled.

Thankfully for the three of them, Lousie ended it rather swiftly.

"Woah, little lady, I don't know what's gotten into you, but you gotta be at least twice your age before I- GAH!"

Dante collapsed to the floor, a searing pain flared throughout his body.

"What the hell?! DANTE!" Nero yelled as he ran to his uncle's side.

"I told you to keep your guard up, you fool!" Vergil called out as he joined his brother and son.

"GAH! Eughh…" Dante groaned as he fell to his knees. Above him he could see Louise, sticking her tongue out while wincing and coughing, attempting to be rid of the sour and bruising taste in her mouth. As soon as her gaze caught his, however, it shifted to a look of sympathy and sadness. She turned away a moment later.

'Heh… so this kinda thing is hard on you too, huh? Guess you got a good heart after all Pinky,' Dante thought to himself.

"The hell did you do to him?!" Nero asked as he crouched down next to his uncle.

"It's okay kid, nothing I can't handle. Doesn't hurt that much either."

"Bull dung, it doesn't hurt much, you were crying out in pain!"

"It caught me off guard is all. You should know me by now kid, something like this isn't gonna end me."

"Indeed, but I have a few questions for them," Vergil said.

"Verg…? Does that mean you- Gah! Ow!" Dante tried to speak.

"Dante!" Nero cried out.

"My hand… feels like when Lady was trying to twist my skin…"

"Your hand?" Vergil asked as he looked toward his brother.

Dante took off his red fingerless gloves, and beneath it was a swirling black ink that twisted itself along his right hand.

"Gah! Geez it feels like something's hitting right on top of my nerves, OW!"

"A form of body modification…?" Vergil pondered, "Just what in the world was that kiss…"

"I guess you were the one being played there, Dante," Nero said.

"Very funny kid… and I heard what you and Verg were saying back there."

"Then next time you would do well not to osculate with underage girls," Vergil barked back.

"Strange," the instructor said, "it shouldn't be reacting this severely."

Vergil turned with wide eyes at the sound of that.

"G-Gah-GRAH!" Dante yelled.

All eyes were fixated on the mark forming on his hand as it curled Dante's flesh, bending and squeezing his nerves.

"GAHHHH!" Dante yelled. A moment later, the sound of breaking glass echoed throughout the field. For a split second, something dark and red flashed over Dante's body. As it faded the inky darkness that twisted his hand shattered and fell to the ground, returning his hand to how it once was.

"F-frick… you do that to all the people you kiss, Pinky?" Dante asked, though he expected no answer, or at least not one he could understand.

"I-Impossible," the Instructor began, "I… I've never seen a failed binding before!"

The young Louise looked on in shock, her eyes wide. Her mind raced as to what had gone wrong.

'Was there a mistake in the process? It was a simple action, it couldn't be that. Then… is it because… I'm a failure of a mage?'

The laughter of her classmates all but confirmed her fears.

"Hahah! Oh my god, did you see that?! Louise's binding just failed!"

"So she couldn't even get a familiar if she tried! As expected of our Zero! She only gets WORSE with each passing day!" a student called out.

Off to the side, Kirche and Tabitha had their own conversation.

"That's… that's an impossibility. There's… never been such a thing that happened before…" Tabitha's book had hit the floor, her mouth agape.

"Haha! But our Zero could make it work! Hehe, this is almost too good of comedy gold to pass up!" Kirche spoke with a wide grin behind her hand.

"But this is… not possible… unless…" the bespectacled girl began.

Louise stared forward, her face still consorted in surprise.

"Miss Vallière," the instructor called out.

Yet the young girl did not hear.

"Louise!"

The girl shivered, shaking out of her stupor.

"I… I am sorry Miss Vallière, perhaps I did get something wrong after all…"

The girl nodded obediently, her mind set adrift, still attempting to rationalize what had just occurred.

"Professor," Tabitha spoke up, "Maybe… Louise did not form a contract with the correct familiar? There are three different people that were summoned, perhaps only one of them was her summoned familiar and the other two were dragged in by accident?"

Louise's head snapped back up. A glimmer of hope was in her eyes, but it was dulled greatly. Yet a part of her still clings onto that hope.

"But… does that mean I have to… kiss every single one of them?!" Louise shouted at her instructor.

"But Miss Tabitha may be correct… Miss Vallière I must apologize, but it appears that you must. You need to complete your ritual."

The young girl was taken aback, but she relented nonetheless. She approached the man in blue next, who held up a hand.

"Hold. I do not allow this break in of my space."

His words shocked the entire group.

"Y-y-you can actually speak our language?!" Louise yelled, "Then why did you wait so long to say anything?!"

"Simple, I did not know your language until now. I was listening to you talk, and I have a simple- no that's not right… I know a bit."

"W-w-what?!" the girl said in shock, "Y-y-y-you learned our language in such a short time?"

"Heh, yeah my older brother is lot of cool," Dante said as he stood up.

"Y-you know our language too?!"

"No. Just like my big brother, I know a little. I am guessing some." he replied.

Nero glanced at his older relatives, head zipping between the two.

"So, either of you two wanna tell me how you deciphered a foreign language in three minutes?"

"I guessed," Dante replied, "Really. Well, I was picking up bits and pieces here too, like Verg. Except…I ain't as good as he is. But once Vergil started talking, I could piece more together by predicting what he's gonna say, and what Pinky here would say back."

"In short, you used her reactions and my own to greatly assist yourself in deciphering the language," Vergil spoke back.

"Hey I was listening to the others too."

"Then any of you old timers feel like sharin'?" Nero cut in.

"A moment, Nero," Vergil said as he turned to the mages, "What is the definition of the kiss?"

Louise blinked. Nothing in her life could have prepared her to speak with a commoner that she had summoned as her familiar and explain the process of a binding ritual.

"Uhmm…" and apparently neither did her professor.

"I think I can make a guess Verg," Dante perked up.

"Can you now, Dante?"

"Yeah, take a look at the monsters over there," he said pointing with his chin.

The trio of devil hunters glanced back towards the monsters, who all tentatively took a half step back at their glance.

"See that black mark on their bodies? I don't think that's just some sort of a fashion statement."

Nero and Vergil gave each creature a one over, and their family member was right. Somewhere on their bodies lay a black mark, each identical.

"My guess is that that mark is what binds a monster as a familiar, and that kiss is what makes it happen. Only I managed to break it. I'm guessing that the devil inside doesn't like bein' on anyone's leash."

"Then the girl is merely trying her luck with me, seeing as the ceremony failed with you," said Vergil, "That explains why the instructor was quite shocked as well that the binding failed. As well as the discussion that perhaps you were not her intended summon, and that either the boy or I were the ones who were truly supposed to be bound to her."

"But that'd just end with both of us rejecting that dam seal anyways," Nero said as he got to his feet, "should we tell them?"

"Either way it'd freak them out," Dante said as he stood up, "any ideas Verg?"

"Standing here would do us no good either," he said as he put a hand on his chin.

"Excuse me," Louise spoke up, "I do not know who you are, but you cannot just tell me to hold and expect that I will just stare bewildered for eternity! You are my summoned familiar, and I will complete the spell!"

The trio looked at her wide eyed.

"Then are you going to kiss me too? I do not like such actions with no asking."

"Hmph," the girl said with false confidence, "It is not your decision, familiar."

"I also do not like that tone. Do not speak with such a…" the man paused for a second, "mighty voice."

"Pardon me," came the instructor, "But it is Louise's duty as a mage to obtain her familiar. The kiss is meant to bind a familiar to their mage. Now I regret to inform you that both you and the young man in grey must complete this ritual to find which one of you is her familiar."

"We have not said yes to this. Going into the distance, you have not told us why we are here," Vergil added.

"My brother has the right," Dante cut in, "and can you not summon again for a familiar?"

"It is against regulations to perform a second ritual for any student. Those that are summoned are the ones who must complete their contracts to be bound to their mage. There are rarely, if any, exceptions. Even if those summoned are to be commoners," the instructor said.

"Hmph, so be it then. However, in return, may I ask a question?"

"You may," came the instructor, "ask."

"Is there a way for us to return back to our home?"

The man blinked. "Well I assume you can find your way back to the country you belonged to. We can provide some funds if necessary."

Vergil closed his eyes, his mind in thought.

"So your old man asked if they could get us home, and they said they could spare a few bucks to get us back." Dante said as he leaned in closer to his nephew. Nero looked at him with a shocked expression. "I figured you were curious as to what they were sayin'." Nero sheepishly smiled in confirmation.

"But I must enforce that one of you stay. This kiss is meant to bind one of you to her as her partner, even if you are commoners, this is what must happen."

"Then the three of us will be staying, should that happen. The man she just kissed is my younger brother, and the boy is my son. Should either I or my son be bound to the girl, then all of us are staying. We do not leave our family."

Hushed murmurs and whispers passed along the students as the conversation continued.

"I see… perhaps that explains why there are three of you. Only one was meant to be summoned, but as you are family, your proximity to each other, most likely in your household, may have caused all three of you to be sent here instead of one. Nevertheless, the result is the same, now if you please," he gestured towards the pink haired girl.

Vergil huffed and stepped closer to the girl. He kneeled down to offer her an easier attempt. Off to the side, he can see Dante translating to Nero.

The pink haired girl caught his attention by clearing her throat. Vergil turned his attention to her. She stood on her toes and moved a little closer. She wrinkled her nose at his smell, but pushed through it, pressing her lips to the older man's. It was short, and she pulled away quickly, not wishing to savor the gross taste. For a second Vergil felt nothing, but the searing pain came soon after. He fell to his knees in pain, and grit his teeth. His family came to his side as Vergil exclaimed in agony. When it reached a boiling point, he screamed. The inky seal shattered like glass, with a shadow of something dark and blue flashing over him. Just like Dante, the seal did not take hold.

"So it seems we have our answer then," came the instructor.

"Aww, I was hoping that Louise actually failed the summoning."

"But having a disgusting smelling commoner as her familiar is pretty bad too. Haha!"

"You mean three! All of them would be staying here, remember? That means that the Zero would have to spend all her nights in a room filled with their stink!"

"Ewww, hahaha! I wouldn't want to be her today!"

"What if she does fail this time?! Then she really IS a Zero. No, less than a Zero!"

Louise grit her teeth and tried to look on the bright side. At the very least, she had her familiar now.

Dante turned to Nero as the young man put a hand to his head.

"I'm really not comfortable with this, Dante."

"I don't think they're gonna let you off the hook with that, Nero."

"I'm engaged. This ain't right," he replied.

"We could just cut our way through," Vergil said, "if you prefer."

The young Hunter stared at his father with blank eyes.

"You know what, I changed my mind. It's not the worst option available right now."

The two older hunters shared a bemused smile as Nero walked toward the shorter girl.

"So uh," he spoke as he scratched the back of his head, "I'm Nero. You're… Louise right?"

The young girl looked at him quizzically, but nodded at the mention of her name.

"Be honored, commoner. This is the only chance you have to kiss a noble," she spoke with a false air of confidence.

"Heh, guess you're asking me to pucker up, huh? Never thought I had to do something like this in my entire life. Wonder if gramps was ever in a situation like this."

The young Hunter closed his eyes and bent forward as the young mage stood on her toes. A chaste brief kiss was shared, much to Nero's comfort. Right away, the seal began to grab and take hold, and the demon within the boy fought back, hard. He winced in pain and gripped his right arm.

"Dam it, why's it always gotta be my right arm?!"

Nero took a step back, losing his footing slightly. He was caught by his uncle, who came up to his left.

"Well, let's be glad that your swinging arm's always in good condition," Dante replied.

"Unless you prefer your left being lost instead.," Vergil spoke as he came up to Nero's right, "Are you alright? Is it too painful?"

"ARGH! I can manage, BUt! GaH! Feels like there's nails being drivin' into my hand! GAH!"

"Hold, it will subside soon, one way or another."

"Cryptic much, bro?" said Dante.

The young Hunter yelped in more pain, as the black seal twisted and morphed his flesh. The students watched with bated breath, some wondering if the girl was going to fail, others if this third binding would work. Louise certainly hoped for the latter. Her mind flashed back to the two failed bindings. She was not sure if anyone else noticed, but she could swear she saw the brothers become something large and unsightly, but it was gone in a flash. She wondered if the same would happen with Nero.

Her mind snapped back to reality, when a roar of pain in front of her called her to attention. Something bright and blue coursed down the young man's arm, ensnaring the mark that was trying to form. A bright flash occurred next, with a blue figure with horns and wings overtaking the hunter's appearance. The blue energy glowed brighter, and the sound of exploding glass echoed throughout the field. All of this happened in less than a second, with those watching dismissing it as a trick to the eyes. Louise herself barely managed to see all of it. Yet, she was now sure of one thing.

She fell to her knees, her eyes glossed over. Three failed bindings to her summoning. Never before had she heard of such a thing, unless the familiar summoned escaped the binding ritual, but even that was few and far between. The only explanation…

"Is that Louise is a failed Zero!" one of the other students called out.

"Hahaha! I knew that wench couldn't pull this off. Once a Zero, always a Zero!"

Other students joined in the jeering, echoes of insults and laughter spread around the yard like wildfire. She knew Kirche was probably laughing along with them somewhere, but she could not tell among all the voices. Her eyes lazily traced over to the instructor, who talked with the three hunters. She had no doubt in her mind that they were discussing their leave back to their homes. Her mind then flashed back to her home. How could she even tell them that she could not form a contract with even a single familiar after miraculously summoning three?

She stared blankly toward like a lifeless doll. She could not move. She would not move. She no longer had the willpower to do so. This summoning was supposed to prove to them all that she was a great and powerful mage. Now she knew better. She was no mage. She was no one special. She had no magical talents at all. She had turned her mind away from that harsh reality, but now she had to embrace it.

She could vaguely hear the voices around her now. One was getting louder, but it sounded so garbled. She paid it no mind. She paid nothing any mind. Not even the figure in front of her as it hoisted her up on its shoulder. She just closed her eyes, and drifted to sleep, praying to the gods above that it was just a bad dream.

-End of Chapter 3-

AN: Hello All! Thank for reading and reviewing my work, and I hope you all looked forward to Chapter 3! I want to take a moment to respond to a few reviews I read

1) While the main canon never stated where the DMC office is located, or that it's in Red Grave city(as Dante was told to leave the city by his mom, and the office looked unscathed despite Urizen's awakening), I'm aware that the group doesn't mainly operate in Italy. However, the group traveled to Italy to deal with their new job.

2) V being here is... a mystery. One that I'll save for future chapters.

3) This story takes place quite a while after the events of DMC 5, about 20 years into the future, so expect the team to have a few new and old tricks up their sleeves.

That's all for now! Keep getting that Smokin' Sexy Style, and I'll see you all in the next chapter!