"So, are we there yet?"

"No, now stop asking."

Cecelia couldn't help but sigh for the umpteenth time. She had been traveling with Dante for a while now, time out of her grasp as all she can tell it was close to noon. The sun shining down on the area was really the only indication of time, but Cecelia didn't truly care for time. She could tell they were getting close to the town, much faster than she had expected. Perhaps it was from her trying to compete in a race with Dante?

Speaking of that, Cecelia could feel her feet and legs getting sore. Competing against a half demon by using her own abilities wasn't the brightest thing she's ever done. Even afterwards did Dante seem tired, but of course he played it off. But he did ask Cecelia if she wanted a break for the night, but the woman encouraged them to go keep going. Though, she won't deny that she was flattered by his concern for her.

As they kept walking, Cecelia kept looking at their surroundings. They had left the city and moved away from the roads, now traveling through open woods. Cecelia knew this was a way of finding Néma, since the city itself was secluded and hidden. It wasn't impossible or even hard to find, but it would be difficult to get past the people that live there. Although she was wary about demons attacking, she was hoping she'd remember something. Maybe a weird rock or tree would tickle something funny inside of her head? After all, she used to live in Néma. The area may prove to be something familiar to her. But the only thing that would tickle her head was when she stared at Dante. She still couldn't grasp onto any memories. It was frustrating, but all she can do is wait for it to come.

"Alright, I'm getting bored." Dante declared, snapping Cecelia's attention to him as they continued strutting along. "So, let's play a bit of a game."

"A game?" Cecelia raised a brow at him. "You want to play a game when a demon could attack us at any second?"

"Precisely!" Dante exclaimed as he ignored her incredulous expression. "Don't worry, it's just a simple question game."

"A question game?" Cecelia shook her head at him as she gazed at the scenery around them. "Alright, I've got one then. Have we met before?"

Dante looked at Cecelia and wondered. Did they meet before? He stared at her face, seeing her eyes practically baring through him as she waited for an answer. Although he thought, he genuinely couldn't think of anything.

"Sorry, but we've never met until Morrison brought you to me."

"I see…" Cecelia murmured, looking forwards as her eyes flashed with multiple emotions. Dante could only guess confusion, and possibly disappointment?

"Well, I've got one for you," Dante said as he continued the game. "What's with this demon eater stuff?"

Cecelia sighed softly. "I already told you. I can't explain everything because my memories are all jumbled. I only know about it from incidents with The Charmer Sanction members. I just know that I can use powers by taking the life source of demons, or even humans. But demons are more powerful."

"If you can take the life out of anything, I don't think they should've labeled you as a "Demon Eater,"" Dante stated.

Cecelia actually laughed softly, her head nodding to his words. "I've thought the same. All that I know is that as long as I grasp a demon, I can extract their energy and use it as my own. But, the demon must be alive. As soon as they're dead there's no soul left, which means no energy for me. I can enhance my punches and kicks, I can utilize demon traits such as strength and speed, and I can summon a sword and guns. But, I can also do this…"

She reached her hand out to Dante, her fingers touching his arm as he watched in interest. A dull glow came from her hand, only for Dante to feel like he was getting cold water shot in his veins. He exclaimed in surprise and jumped back, grasping at his arm as he wondered just what she did. As soon as he did, he felt his arm feeling normal again, making him look back at Cecelia in confusion.

"Feeling refreshed?" Cecelia asked, an amused smirk on her lips from Dante's reaction.

"I… I actually do." Dante flexed his arm, only to realize that he did feel a bit more vigerized than before. "What exactly did you do?"

"I told you that I can heal," Cecelia said as she crossed her arms. "Think of it as me transferring energy into you. It allows me to increase your vitality. In other words, I can heal myself along with others as long as I have energy."

"That's… surprisingly useful," Dante admitted as he eyed the woman beside her. "Never thought I could be healed by demon juice."

"Okay, no, that's gross," Cecelia shook her head at him, her face showing a glimpse of disgust. "If it helps you understand, then you do you, I guess."

"Alright, new question," Dante said as he flashed Cecelia another grin. "What other "witchy" powers do you know?"

"Uh, well…" Cecelia trailed off as she tried to think hard about the answer. "Again, my memories are fuzzy. I can't remember them all. I just know that I've encountered other Demon Eaters, along with "Summoners.""

"And what are those?" Dante asked as he kicked a random pebble.

"Well, their title is rather explanatory," Cecelia said as she began to pick at her nails. "Summoners can summon demons, or even angels. It's why so many demons are being sent after me—a Summoner is behind it all. But it's not just one, sadly. Summoners are sort of like a walking gateway. The only catch is that whatever comes out of the portal will be under their control, and they can only summon rather weak beings. If they wished to summon something so bigger and powerful, it's going to require more than one."

Dante hummed out as he sent a smirk her way. "For an amnesiac, you sure know a lot."

"You forget that I've been like this for five years," Cecelia scoffed at him. "I've had plenty of encounters with these people to have learned a thing or two. Speaking of, I thought you said you've stumbled upon them before. Why is it that you seem so clueless of them?"

"They don't exactly talk much," Dante said as he hopped over a fallen log, holding his hand out to Cecelia to help her over. "After all, they try to be as secretive as possible." Cecelia grabbed his hand and easily hopped over before they continued on. "I just know that there's a bunch of people who go around, wielding magic and fighting various things. From my experiences, they're more annoying than need be. No offense."

"They're persistent, I'll say that much," Cecelia sighed as she crossed her arms. "And by the way, many of them like to go by the name "Witches," including myself. But, some do go by the name Warlock, or whatever magical label they desire. Either way, each and every one of them are dangerous, so we have to be careful."

"Ah, whatever," Dante said and waved his hand back and forth. "For someone so set on fighting them, you seem pretty defensive about them."

"Well, that's just because…" Cecelia's voice trailed off as her eyes widened at him.

She slowed to a stop, looking off into the distance as she came to a realization. Her tongue began moving before her mind could even register the fact that she hadn't recalled that information. She probably wouldn't have realized that if she hadn't been speaking with Dante, who at this point was standing in front of her with a raised brow.

"...You helped me remember it," Cecelia finished her sentence. She gazed off to the side, her index finger curled against her chin as she began murmuring to herself. "I never thought I'd remember something like that. Although it explains a bit of The Charmer Sanction, it doesn't quite explain everything…"

"Guess it's a good thing we began this game," Dante said cheekily, making Cecelia gaze at him as he began walking backwards. "So, what is it that you remembered?"

Cecelia began walking again as she answered. "Well, just what I've told you. Those a part of the Charmer Sanction's members each call themselves "Witches," or something like along the lines. Witches are then categorized by the magic that they wield, such as "Demon Eater" or "Summoner." I don't doubt that there are other categories, too. But… not everyone in the city is a witch…"

"I thought you said the city is full of 'em," Dante stated, recalling her previous words.

"I'm only just remembering it is all," Cecelia said as she briefly grasped her head. "The city is full of those with innate abilities of being able to use magic, but not everyone can, or they have a weaker power unlike others. Afterall, most magic in Néma tends to be a "craft." It's learned and taught, but most children are born with such powers. Usually those of stronger ties become part of The Charmer Sanction, which encourages our magic practices. It's how the city governs itself…"

"Well, it's good to know I won't be slicing down the entirety of a town," Dante chuckled as he flashed Cecelia another grin. "Now that I know that chatting can bring those memories back, let me try this question instead; what's your favorite food flavor?"

"My what?" Cecelia raised a brow at him. The sudden change of topic definitely threw her in a loop.

"What's your favorite food flavor?" Dante repeated himself. "Might as well try to start with something a little more simple. Personally I like strawberries, but pizza tastes pretty good, too."

Cecelia shook her head at the man, wondering if she had hired a frat college boy instead of a thirty year old demon hunter. Nonetheless she couldn't stop herself from thinking about the question. She's forgotten so much that she didn't even know something as simple as that. Dante watched her as she was quiet for a while, knowing by now to give her a moment before replying. Then her blue eyes seemed to brighten, a soft smile coming to her face as she stared at nothing in particular.

"Mint," she replied. "I like the taste of mint."

Dante hummed out, a quirk of his lips showing a smile. There was something satisfying seeing her smile like that, seeming content on knowing something about herself. As he was about to say something else, a loud noise broke the almost peaceful atmosphere.

Snapping their attention forwards, both Cecelia and Dante jumped back, just barely missing strange glowing red arrows flying from the depths of the woods. They heard trees crashing and breaking before familiar red demons appeared, each of them screeching as if signalling "target acquired." They heard loud stomping as a tree was harshly knocked over, in turn revealing two people upon a rather large demon who ran on four legs.

This demon was four times the size of the other demons, and seemed to be a different species in itself. It had two large horns pointed their way, many parts of its body seeming adorned with cuffs all over with a saddle on it's back, being mounted by two unfamiliar people. The demon was in shades of black and red, baring sharp teeth as it seemed stained with blood. It even had black claws and even a skinny little tail. In other words, it reminded Dante of a gigantic, steroid filled bull that went into an emo phase.

"Traitorous Demon Eater, this is the last step that you will ever take," Spoke a feminine voice as they were wielding a bow, reminding Dante of Cecelia's ethereal sword while it glowed red.

"It's time for a feast," spoke the other, clearly a man who climbed off of the back of the demon mount. "One that I'm dying to have…"

"More demons," Cecelia rolled her eyes as she placed her hands on her hips. "You'd think by now they'd stop sending the one thing that feeds me. Honestly, I'd wager that The Charmer Sanction was trying to fatten me up like some pig!"

"Well, I'd call this a two for one special," Dante grinned as his hands reached for his beloved blade on his back. "You get to have a feast while I get to severe some heads. Not a bad deal if you ask me."

"Stay out of this, Demon Hunter," Spoke the woman as she held her bow steady, eyes and arrow trained on them. "This business does not concern the likes of an outsider. Leave before I have to shoot your head off."

"Funny thing, sweetheart, but it technically is my business," Dante stated as he pulled out his sword, pointing it with both hands at the crowd before them. "After all, Cece over here had hired me to help protect her. I don't plan on failing—I still got yet to be paid!"

""Cece"?" Cecelia questioned, raised a brow at the man before summoning twin guns in her hands.

"Better than callin' you princess, right?" Dante flashed her a cheeky grin.

"Touché," shrugged Cecelia as she smirked at the enemies before them. "I think it's time we take out these pesky bloodhounds. They're getting on my nerves."

"Agreed," Dante said before flashing another grin, "I'm a fan of dogs, but these guys are just too ugly to be sent to the pound."

"I cannot wait to rip out your tongues and feed your corpses to our armies," Spoke the hooded man as glowing yellow claws appeared from his wrists and over his hands. "Your blood and flesh will do nicely in keeping our pets well fed for months."

"Sorry, pal, but I ain't interested in getting ripped to shreds," Dante said as he swung his sword in the air, trying to seem intimidating. "I just got these new clothes, afterall. It'd be a waste of money!"

"Enough!" Shouted the archer as she fired her bow.

Dante simply leaned his head to the left, the glowing arrow flying past with ease with the only thing brushing by Dante's face was the wind it carried.

Immediately, everyone jumped into battle.

Cecelia began firing her guns, the pistols looked rather real unlike the strange sword she can summon. But the bullets she fired spoke otherwise, showing the magical effect of the weapons she had. She fired at demons as the man began advancing towards her.

His attire shared the same strangeness as Cecelia's, being that of black and having a certain white trim on them. The one thing he and the woman with the bow had in common was the black and white patterns on their clothes, along with matching hoods that were kept over their heads. To Cecelia it only enforced the fact that members of The Charmer Sanction were being sent after her.

While Cecelia prepared to face the man, Dante had to deal with the archer. He swung his sword, slicing down the smaller red demons as they tried to attack him. He even skewered a demon on his sword and heaved the blade upwards, sending the dead demon into another, sending it skidding to the floor. Just as he began bringing his blade up, a red arrow smacked against it, being sent off to the side as it effectively startled Dante. He gazed in the direction it came from to witness the woman on top of her demon mount preparing for another arrow, the beast stomping right towards him.

Dante jumped to the side, followed by a roll as he dodged out of the way. Landing right on his feet Dante stood up, immediately turning the flat of his blade forwards as it blocked another arrow. The archer was circling him, firing her bow as the beast would turn at times and try to knock Dante over with it's horns. But the man had plenty of battle experience, causing him to constantly jump back and block any attacks fired at him.

Cecelia on the other hand was going against a close combat enemy, constantly blocking and weaving her upper body out of his range of attacks. The man swung his arms similarly to the demons around him, trying to slash and attack the woman they were after. The weapon he used was like three gigantic claws that extended over his hands, the blades being a yellow coloration unlike Cecelia's blade. The man constantly swung his arms at Cecelia, sometimes even bringing his foot up to kick her. But Cecelia would easily block and counter his attacks, constantly pushing his blades back by hitting his wrists and locking their legs against each other every time he kicked. They kicked the other back, each of them skidding away from the other from the force of it.

Cecelia kept her eyes on the man before her, but she kept firing her gun at demons who got too close. The man clicked his tongue at her and grabbed the head of one of the demons beside him, a familiar bluish glow coming off of the demon and into the man's arm. The demon let out a pained hissed, it's body tensing from the effect of having it's life source being drained. None of the demons seemed to care that the man controlling them had just drained one of their own, leaving the demon to begin to disintegrate. Cecelia couldn't help but click her tongue at the sight.

"I see how it is," spoke the woman as she fired her gun again. "Using your own demons as a power source to let you keep fighting, right? Well, two can play that game!"

Cecelia thrusted her hand behind her, grasping onto the chest of the nearest demon behind her. It seemed to grunt before letting out a pained screech, it's life source being absorbed into Cecelia. Once it fell to the ground she couldn't help but smirk.

"That was very filling," She said and spun her guns in her hands, only to point it to either side of her and fire at the heads of two other demons. "I can't help but thank you enough. Mind putting the meal on my tab?"

"Sorry, but my boss will be mad if I do," Spoke the man as he lifted his hands up, getting ready for another attack. "You'll just have to pay for it with your life…!"

The man began running forwards, jumping up in the air as he pulled his right arm back. His yellow claw glistened in the sun, his shadow falling on Cecelia as the man was being launched right towards her.

"That's no fun," Cecelia scoffed while her lips held a confident smirk just as steady as her gun. "And I didn't even get to have my drink yet."

She fired after she finished her sentence, watching the blue bullet flying at the man. He swung his arm and blocked the bullet, having it rickashay right off of his claws. As he was about to practically land on top of Cecelia, the woman lifted her leg up as a faint magic circle appeared in front of the man. Before he could react Cecelia kicked her foot forwards, watching a gigantic heel and leg coming out from the circle and smacking right into the man. He let out a pained cry as he flew back in the air, the leg launching him back a good distance to the point where Cecelia lost sight of him thanks to the trees.

Just as she retracted her leg and stood on both feet, she looked to her left to see a red flash heading her way. Before she could even react, a familiar blur of silver came in the way, effectively blocking the magic red arrow, letting her watch it splinter off into pieces. She stepped back and realized that Dante jumped in the way, and was now standing right in front of her.

"Nice kick you got there. Maybe you should compete in the olympic soccer matches," Dante suggested in jest as he pulled out his gun. " 'Cause frankly, I'm getting sick of watching these damn archery matches."

A loud roar cut through the air, making Cecelia gaze past Dante and witness the large demon mount have it's red eyes locked on them. The woman on top of it seemed to be gritting her teeth as well, arrow hooked and at the ready.

"This is for all my brothers and sisters that you've killed, you traitor…!" Shouted the woman as she pulled her arm back.

As she pulled her arm back, the arrows in her bow multiplied, magically appearing just from her red bow. She fired, the red arrows each moving in their own direction, even crossing paths with each other as if they had minds of their own. Cecelia began running off to the side, firing both guns at whatever arrows came her way.

Although most of her bullets hit their target, some of the arrows flew past her bullets and came straight for her. Cecelia jumped and dodged, even springing back from handstands to dodge these arrows that seemed to give off mild explosions as they hit the ground. While the archer focused her sights on Cecelia, the mount she was riding was stomping straight for Dante.

The demon hunter did his best to keep dodging it's advances, jumping to the side at the last minute so it couldn't hit him. With how fast and reckless the monster was Dante was sure it's rider would get sent right off, but she held on just fine, even attacking her target with almost ease as she hardly focused on what her mount was doing. Dante watched the monster carefully as it kept storming after him, clearly wanting to skewer him with its horns or run him over. Either way, the emo steroid bull wants him dead.

Just as Dante was standing across from it, he couldn't help but smirk as he saw it charging for him again. Instead of standing and waiting, Dante began running at it head on. As soon as it seemed like the monster would be able to pierce him with its horns, Dante used the momentum he created and fell to the ground, skidding right under the beast entirely.

The monster, picking up that he didn't hit anything, skidded to a halt as he turned around, looking to see Dante jumping to his feet with a cocky grin. Just as the man was about to give a taunt, he sensed something coming at him fast. Turning to his right with his blade held up, a blur rushed at him and clashed against his blade. Dante held his ground, holding his blade tightly with both hands as he was fending off against the man from before. Both of his clawed weapons were pushing against Dante's, both being close and personal for the first time. Although he had a hood on, Dante could only see the bottom half of his face, seeing him baring his teeth at him with a growl as they pushed against the other's weapons.

As this was a perfect distraction, the archer got her arrow ready and pointed at Dante. Just as she was about to fire, Cecelia whistled at her. The high pitched noise grabbed the woman's attention, only to come face to a flying Cecelia overhead with a familiar blue circle around her wrist. Before she could even react a gigantic fist formed midair, punching the woman right off of her mount.

The impact made her cry out in pain, making her fly back and even lose her grip on her bow. Her back hit the ground, making her body bounce and begin rolling. She grunted with every impact, hitting the ground another three times before finally having a chance to even try and stop another impact. She corrected herself in the air and skidded across the ground, panting from the pain she felt and the startling experience.

As soon as the archer was thrown off Cecelia landed on the demon mount instead. As soon as she was on she slapped the back of the mount, making it release a roar as it began charging. As it charged Cecelia saw that Dante and the other witch was in the way, each of them in a lock. As she was about to warn Dante the man looked, his eyes going wide as he saw the big bull coming right at him.

Acting fast, Dante shoved the man off of him and quickly made a dive for the ground. As soon as the bull plowed through, the other man also hitting the ground, Cecelia slapped her hand against the neck of the bull and a familiar blue energy seeped off of the demon. The demon released a howl of pain and immediately began bucking it's body. Cecelia began laughing, holding onto the mount as the beast was trying so hard to throw her off. Seeing as it was getting difficult to even concentrate on taking its energy, she decided to jump off before the demon succeeded in throwing her off. Somehow she even landed next to Dante, just in time to see the man get to his feet. A sharp whistle was heard in the air, causing the bull demon to skid around and began running in the other direction.

The two watched as the bull ran past them, allowing the man with the yellow claws to easily grasp onto it's saddle and maneuver his way on top. The demon kept going until it got to the other witch, the man helping her on as the demon didn't seem to stop. Another sharp whistle blew, and all the other demons began to follow. Still grasping her gun Cecelia began firing at their retreating forms, hoping to cause some type of damage before they escaped. All she did hit, however, was just the smaller meger demons.

"What, leaving before the party gets too hot?" Dante laughed as Cecelia ceased fire. "And I thought these guys were supposed to be—Argh!"

Cecelia whipped her head around in surprise, seeing a red arrow piercing right through Dante's shoulder.

Quickly gazing back at their enemy their distant forms being too far away for her to try and attack. Hearing another pained grunt from Dante, Cecelia turned to him and grabbed onto the arrow in his shoulder. She proceeded to yank it out as quick as she could, knowing it was hurting him quite a lot. Dante grunted as she pulled it out, the man began to clutch his shoulder as he took a step back.

"Are you alright?" Cecelia asked calmly, watching him clutch his shoulder tightly.

"Yeah—yeah, I'm good," Dante grunted as he released a hiss of pain. "God, did she laced it with poison or something? Urg, haven't felt a sting this bad in a long time…"

Cecelia gazed at him silently before looking at the arrow in her hand, feeling an abnormal heat radiating from it.

Something in the back of her head was telling her to break it, as if this was something she's done before. The more she focused on it the more she realized that the bow held its own source of energy. Upon realizing that she clutched it tightly, hearing it break as the red energy became absorbed into her. She flexed her fingers a bit as she gazed at her palm, recognizing the demonic power it gave her.

"She didn't put anything on her arrows," Cecelia said as she gazed back at Dante. "The type of arrows she possesses specifically harms demons. It causes them a lot of pain, and the more arrows that hit, the harder it is to move. It's clever that they sent her, since I'm a Demon Eater…"

"So, her attacks hurt me especially," Dante deduced as he grunted again. "Kinda wished I knew that beforehand."

"I'm sorry that my memories return at your inconvenience," Cecelia murmured as she crossed her arms at him. "At least it isn't as annoying for you as it is for me."

"That's debatable," Dante sucked in a breath of air through his teeth as he looked at his shoulder. "Gah, fuck me…! That damn arrow did more than I expected…"

Cecelia's face softened, feeling bad that he got hurt from this. She exhaled softly and stepped closer to him, gently moving his hand away as she replaced it with her hand.

She looked up at his face as she spoke softly. "Just hold still, okay?"

Dante became quiet as he watched her hand glow again. Cecelia focused on her task, feeling her finger tips become slightly chilled as she could feel the high from the energy take slowly leaving her. After all, she consumed a large dosage, which will definitely help in the long run.

As the white haired man stared down at her, he felt that familiar chill go into him. He tried not to flinch back, but the feeling of it made it hard for him not to. It felt like water was being poured into his body, the chill of it making it almost feel like his veins were being flushed with water. It was very weird, making Dante practically feel every strand of nerves that he held in that one place. But the feeling didn't last too long as it suddenly didn't feel as uncomfortable as before. Just as Dante exhaled Cecelia stepped back, the feeling stopping all of a sudden as he felt oddly refreshed. The dark haired woman gave him a nod to his shoulder.

"There. You can hardly tell anything happened," Cecelia stated as she crossed her arms in content.

Dante's gaze went from her to his shoulder, seeing the hole in his jacket as it showed his white skin. He poked his finger through the hole and poked at where the injury had been. He didn't feel pain. After he pulled his hand away he couldn't even see a scar.

"Thanks," he said to Cecelia. "Guess your healing really does help, and quick, too."

"Actually I think it's you that helped with the healing," Cecelia stated, confusing Dante for a moment until she explained. "Usually my healing takes longer. I wonder if your demon side helped in the healing."

"Maybe," Dante shrugged as he felt better than before, even rotating his shoulders to test it out. "After a while my body does usually heal itself, so maybe you did accelerate the process. Either way, you have my thanks."

"Can't have my extra arms be limping around," Cecelia said as a soft smirk graced her lips. "After all, you have yet to be paid."

"Right, almost forgot about that," Dante said as he began moving past her. "I'll tell you the payment deal once this is all over. Right now I think we should find a place to rest a bit."

"You sure?" Cecelia asked as her expression turned to one of worry. "Do you not feel well from the arrow?"

"It's more like we've been walking for so long that I think we should catch our breaths," Dante said as he waved his hand to her so she'd walk with him. "Come on. If your abilities require energy, then it's best that you rest up."

Cecelia was quiet for a moment, seeming surprised to hear such things from him. She followed after him, unsure of what to really say.

They walked in silence for a while more, enough so that they could see the sunset in the sky. It took a while, but they found a shallow cave, which would be enough for just the night. Dante suggested they make a fire, but Cecelia convinced him otherwise. If they made a fire she feared that it would attract demons, knowing for a fact that they have the monsters roam the forest at nights as a guaranteed security guard. It was also how they enforce the town, if that wasn't obvious.

So they two just sat under the cave, gazing around the forest for a bit as it was lit up with the orange and reds of the sunset. Dante was in a reclining position with his hands behind his head, looking almost exactly like how Cecelia met him in his office. Cecelia, on the other hand, was sitting up with her knees up, both her arms folded on top of them. Although they both were feeling sore, neither of them could really fall asleep. Cecelia was too anxious of another encounter. She even argued with Dante about her being up for the first watch, which she won, but only on the condition that Dante would still stay up a bit before then. And what seemed to become the usual for the two, they decided to pass the time by talking.

"So why do you think that they both just left?" Dante asked, referring to their earlier fight.

"Don't know," Cecelia said with a shrug. "Maybe they thought they were in over their heads. Maybe they just wanted to see what we can do. Maybe the witch wanted to protect her little pet from being eaten by me. Either way, they left, and I'm glad. Took their spawns, too. But I don't doubt that they'll be back tomorrow…"

"EIther way they left with a rather stingy parting gift," the man grumbled as he looked at his left shoulder. "I like this jacket, damnit…!"

A soft chuckle escaped from Cecelia's lips as she gazed back at Dante. "Well at least it was one hole instead of a billion."

"Tell me about it," Dante scoffed as he shook his head.

Cecelia stared at him for a moment before her smile fell, her mind racing with thoughts. "Dante… Do you still have family?"

Dante's ears perked at that, causing him to turn his head and gaze at Cecelia. His face was slightly hard to read as she felt like she was a reckless teen stepping on private grounds.

"Well, I got plenty of friends who I think of as family," Dante said as he stared off at the sunset. "As for my blood family, I'm pretty sure they're all dead."

"I'm sorry," Cecelia said softly, her eyes soften at him.

"Why'd you ask?" Dante questioned, ignoring her quiet words.

Cecelia looked at the ground as she almost felt like a child under his eyes. "I was just… wondering if you had any. What you said last time made me a bit confused, back at Red Grave City. After I lost my memories, I can't help but wonder if I even have one…"

"Why're you unsure?" Dante asked, wondering what her brain was thinking.

"I can only guess that I came from Néma, and the entire place wants me dead," Cecelia sighed quietly. "I can't help but wonder if I had a family or not. Do I have any parents still living? Any siblings? What do they look like, and would they be happy to see me? Hell, I've wondered if I have a husband and maybe some kids. I mean, I can only guess my age, but I'm clearly old enough to have possibly had a child. Are any of them sad that I'm gone, or glad that I'm labeled a traitor? I just… I just don't know."

Dante stared at her for a while before he spoke again. "Let's make a deal, Cece."

"A deal…?" Cecelia raised a brow at him, her voice showing disdain for the nickname.

"If I tell you about my family, once you've regained your memory back you tell me about yours," Dante said as he held eyes with her. "Deal?"

Cecelia stared at him as she cocked her head to the side in thought. She was very curious about it, but she was unsure if the deal was really worth it. But, that itch for wanting to know was very, very itchy.

"Alright, deal." Cecelia said quietly.

"I hope you don't mind sad stories, because you already get the idea," Dante said with a smile, but Cecelia could see the melancholy expression in his eyes. "I was born into a family with a demon father and a human mother, along with a twin. My father just so happened to be one of the most powerful demons yet, and my mother was just your average, pretty human. My father died some time ago when I was young and for reasons that I've forgotten. So I was mostly raised by my mother. The only thing my father has ever done was gifted me and my brother with swords, but I guess I shouldn't be asking for much from a demon father. Now my older brother and I fought a lot—and I do mean a lot—and it just so happened that we fought a lot with our swords. He was always the biggest stick in the mud. He always wanted to be inside, but all I ever wanted to do was be outside and sword fight. Which led to countless arguments and fighting."

"I can imagine…" Cecelia commented with a slight smirk in her voice.

"Well, my mother didn't like that so much," Dante continued with his story. "One day my brother and I got into a pretty bad argument when we were kids, which ended up with him storming out of the house. It just so happened on that same day a demon attack was sent upon my home town, and my house was the main target. So, my mother tried to hide me and ran out trying to find my brother. In the end, she died."

"A demon attack…?" Cecelia whispered. "Why did demons target your house?"

"That's another story for another time," Dante said before he went back into his story telling. "Now, I thought my brother had died in the accident too after I couldn't find him. Skip so many years later and it turns out my brother is alive. Whoopie! Great right? Well it turns out the bastard wanted my half of a gift our mother gave us, which so happens to be able to open up the gate to hell. So at least once a year we'd always find each other and fight. He believed that we should be prideful of our demon history, but I didn't want any part of it. At the time I didn't want anything to do with demons. So, one year we fight, my brother almost succeeding in opening the gates, but after a bit of complications and more fighting what happens is that he ends up falling into hell. I thought he died."

"Buuut…?" Cecelia dragged her words out with a raised brow.

"But it turns out my brother lived," Dante continued. "Years later we fought, again, but this time my brother wasn't himself or whatever. In the end I won and my brother is never to be seen again. I figured he might've died, but it's hard to tell with him anymore. Keeps coming back to be a pain in my ass. All I know is that if I ever do see him again, I'm probably going to have to kick his ass again, because he's always doing something dumb with the underworld."

"That's… quite the family," Cecelia murmured.

"Well, when you live in a family with demon blood, it's not all that hard to understand the dysfunction," Dante said with a shrug, as if the whole thing didn't bother him.

Cecelia shrugged her shoulders back at him, also tilting her head with a nod of understanding. "Well, living in a city full of witches, who can make pacts with demons and angles, can't exactly be the most ideal place to be functional."

Dante smirked a bit, seeing that she was trying to be comforting. A thought suddenly came to his head. "So, earlier, why'd you ask if we've ever met before?"

The black haired woman was quiet for a moment, trying to fathom a proper response. With a sigh she turned her head and looked back at him. "...I don't know what it is, but whenever I look at you I feel like I've seen you before. It's like an itch in the back of my head. Usually that tells me there's a memory involved, but I can't place my finger on it… Not yet, at any rate."

"Familiar, huh…?" Dante murmured as he paused, trying to rack through his own brain for any memories. "…I'm sorry, but I can't remember us ever meeting before."

"No need for sorry," Cecelia said softly as she smiled. "I appreciate the honesty that you've given me thus far. Not many people do that nowadays…"

"Yeah well," Dante shrugged, "I'd rather have honesty with the person that I'm going into battle with. Plus, it's been fun so far."

"You think it's been "fun"? Getting chased by demons?" Cecelia questioned, her brow raised at him.

"It's what I do for a living," Dante said as he readjusted his legs, crossing his ankle over the other. "Gotta have some sort of joy with your job."

"So, you're an adrenaline junkie, huh?" Cecelia said in a rather teasing manner.

"Guess you can say that," Dante said. He then yawned loudly before shaking his head. "I think I'll put my head down for the night. Wake me for second shift."

"Will do…" Cecelia said quietly as she watched the man close his eyes.

She gazed out before her, staring at the scenery they had. It was calming to watch the sunset fall, but she really was anxious. Even though she had suggested this whole thing, even offering to pay Dante in any way that he wanted, even after getting so far, she was anxious and worried. She had no idea if it would even give her any semblance of memories of her past. To give her an idea of what made her even lose her memories. But, she needed to try. It's all that she really had left.

So, she sat in silence, waiting for the day to become anew.