Brothers In Arms   von Khaosprinz
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                                   Chapter 1
                                   ---------


When Nero stepped out of the car, his surroundings did not provide the picture
he had anticipated. He looked around, slightly awed at the advanced looking
technology and modern buildings. And were those robots at the pizza stand...?
 
Dante let out a low whistle. Seemed like he was a bit surprised as well. But
well, neither of them had ever heard of this place called Yokohama City in the
middle of nowhere before, especially since it wasn't in Japan as the name
suggested. That seemed to be a regional thing, though, considering they had
passed signposts pointing towards places called Kyoto City and even London
City on their way here. The people living here didn't seem very creative, at
least when it came to naming their towns. These robot-machines, however, proved
their technical capabilities. And their firepower, Nero added mentally, warily
eyeing a robot with a gun as thick as his body stomping past.
 
"Done staring, kid? I know this looks impressive, but we're here for a job.
Although I guess these things make one wonder why they'd need any outside help
at all. I doubt most demons could withstand being shot in the face by one of
these."
Nero shot his partner a look but complied and grabbed his Red Queen off the
beaten and dirty car's backseat, strapping it to his back. He slammed the door
shut, shooting the vehicle a look when it shivered from the impact. He just
hoped it would live long enough to get them back home, too.
 
"Let's go look for our client. What was his name again?"
 
Joining Dante in his stride towards the city, Nero fished a small piece of paper
out of the pockets of his coat. Straightening it, he read the scraggly words
written out loud.
 
"Tōya, Headstudent's office at the Yokohama City University."
 
Stuffing the crinkled note away again, Nero took another look around. They were
approaching what looked like the town centre bustling with activity. It looked
like some sort of festival was approaching. There were already a couple food and
gaming stands praising their services to pedestrians. A big tent to his left was
still unfinished, though, and there were a lot of unoccupied spaces that looked
like there were even more booths planned.
 
The citizens looked rather normal, enjoying life just chatting away. Completely
contrasting the urgent call they had received at the Devil May Cry two days
ago, claiming something that could only be a demon was wreaking havoc near the
town, something they supposedly couldn't deal with themselves. A statement that
now started to raise suspicion within Nero- how could they not be able to
handle a demon when they had such weaponry at their disposal? Unless it was a
really big one, one of the Lords of Hell, but these needed to be summoned
manually, they couldn't just poke their heads through any random rift they might
stumble across, like lesser devils could. Something was off.
 
"Hey, Dante...", Nero muttered while shuffling a bit closer to his companion.
The elder looked completely at ease, but the young demon hunter knew better than
to disregard his relative's guarded gaze.
 
"I know. Something's fishy about this", Dante agreed in a low voice. That didn't
stop him from winking at a young woman wearing a yellow uniform, though. Nero
snorted and rolled his eyes. Dante was such a huge flirt.
 
"The same procedure as every time, then?"
 
His only answer was a nod and a grin, which Nero amusedly returned. This
wouldn't be the first time someone tried to trick them in order to catch them
off guard. Especially since he'd joined Dante in the Devil May Cry over two
years ago had the demons become even more determined and radical in their quest
to eradicate the last drops of Sparda's blood. But so far, the two of them had
proven to be quite the team. Even Dante, in a rare display of sentimental mush,
had admitted fighting demons and doing his job hadn't been that easy and felt
that safe in a long time. Words that had made Nero's chest swell with pride and
turned his insides into warm, fluttery goo (which he'd deny with his dying
breath). All he had said and shown were a cocky grin, a thumb's up and a
careful, yet no less genuine "Likewise." But he figured that was enough.
 
Nero was ripped from his musings when another low whistle, accompanied by an
appreciative noise, was heard from his right. He looked up to check which arse
Dante was ogling now, when-
 
"Wow."
 
- he saw the huge, elaborate building a couple yards away, a large sign
saying Yokohama City University for Enchanters.
They both paused their steps to take in the very impressive sight in front of
them. The building was gigantic, sporting multiple high tower-esqe structures
that looked brand new. The façades were still shiny, void of even the slightest
speck of dirt. The cleaning staff was either overly motivated or this had
something to do with this Enchanter-business advertised on the big sign. Nero
wasn't entirely sure what that actually was, but he figured it had something to
do with magic.
 
Patting himself mentally on the shoulder for his razor-sharp deduction skills,
he discreetly elbowed Dante in the side to get the other's attention. Icy blue
eyes focussed on him. Within less than a second, he knew the older hunter had
had the same thoughts plus another one. They both nodded.
 
"Why would they need our help..."
 
"... if they have a whole university teaching magic?"
 
Their initial suspicions reaffirmed, the two part-devils raised their guard
before entering the university grounds. The moment they crossed the threshold,
both felt a slight tingle washing over their bodies. Slightly alarmed, they
passed an eerily empty entrance hall bigger than their entire home before
stepping through another door and finding themselves underneath the open sky
again. A few paths were leading in a circle around and to the tower in the
middle as well as other buildings. A multitude of flowers were planted between
the paths, giving the grounds a comfortable atmosphere. This sure was different
from the universities back home, which prevailed with concrete-induced cleanness
and their impersonal air, screaming Your child isn't here to have fun, it's
here to become a useful member of society! into any visitor's face. Almost as
nice as a flower garden and open air surrounding what appeared to be the
cafeteria.
 
While Dante crouched down to inspect the greenery a little closer, Nero took a
few steps towards the tower in the centre. There were tables and chairs not only
on the outside but on the inside, too, as well as a young woman behind the
counter rummaging through a fridge of some sort. He shot a look back to his
older relative who was approaching him.
 
"These flowers and their beds are new. Can't be older than a couple months. Now,
that could be nothing, but I feel like this barrier we passed earlier is more
than just a greeting. These flowers are supposed to be here all year around."
 
Nero was about to ask how he'd figured that out just by looking at a couple
pretty petals, but he stopped himself before he could and decided to take
another look at them. There were a bunch of different flowers planted with some
grass in between. He could see freesias and amaryllis as well as cornflowers,
and were those waterlily dahlias over there? He wasn't quite familiar enough
with the other greens to name them, but he was pretty sure the few he did know
weren't supposed to be in full bloom at the same time. So yeah, here was
definitely some magic going on.
 
So Nero gave his partner merely a nod, which was returned with a small, yet
appreciative grin. The wheels in his head turned for another second to make
sense of the confusion Dante's reaction had caused. When the answer hit him, he
felt awkwardly proud of himself yet also a tiny bit annoyed because of that. He
reminded himself of a dog. But putting that aside, Nero really was glad that he
was finally able to let some of the customs the order had ingrained in his head
go. Instead of ignoring everything irrelevant to the objective and therefore not
being able to see the bigger picture as a subordinate, he was beginning to
figure things out for himself naturally again. Something Dante had been
encouraging him to do from the very beginning- probably also because he had no
desire to point everything out all the time, which Nero himself didn't
appreciate all that much, either. But still, this process was not one to
progress too quickly, and the memory of that left a bitter taste in his mouth.
His first solo job after arriving at the Devil May Cry being the biggest
offender.
 
"What's wrong?"
 
Nero forced himself back into the present upon hearing his relative's voice.
Just now realising his face must've mirrored his unpleasant thoughts, he quickly
shook all memories of this particular case off.
 
"Nothing, just remembered something. Anyways, how about we ask this girl behind
the counter where we can find this Tōya dude?"
 
Even though he could almost feel the look Dante was shooting him, Nero decided
to be stubborn and ignored the inquiring gaze sprinkled with doubt and a tiny
note of worry. These were his own demons (pun not intended) and none of Dante's
responsibility, just as some things weighing down on the older hunter weren't
meant to be carried by Nero's shoulders, not even partly.
 
After a few seconds of intense silence, Dante finally inclined, tilting his head
just the tiniest bit, and agreed.
 
"Sounds like a plan."
 
And with that, the two part-devils headed towards the glass entrance to the
cafeteria. Upon stepping inside, they were greeted with warm air heavy with the
scents of prepared lunch boxes for the students. Nero sniffed. Were there
burgers and pizza on the menu...?
 
"Man, I'm starting to wish I went to school in this place... The school I went
to only offered the regular stuff. You know, the disgusting kind."
 
"I didn't even know you actually went to school...", Nero mumbled in absent
response while walking towards the nearest counter in the centre of the circular
room. The service girl was now focussed on cleaning some cutlery but looked up
with a beautifully fake smile upon hearing him coming closer. The
professionalism was soon replaced by confusion, though. One might wonder why.
 
"Hey. We're looking for a guy named Tōya, or rather his office. Can you give us
a pointer or two?"
 
Her smile returned and she nodded before pointing towards the western exit of
the yard.
 
"Just go through there, it's the second door on the left. Mind if I ask what you
want from him? You don't look like you're from around here. We've been having a
lot more visitors lately, but I've never seen guys like you. Not even from Junk
City, and they sure got some oddballs over there."
 
Oddballs...? Before Nero could open his mouth to answer, feeling slightly
insulted, Dante interfered by leaning against the counter and putting a hand on
his shoulder.
 
"We have some business to take care of and this Tōya told us to meet him
there."
 
A charming smile accompanied this statement, causing Nero to roll his eyes. The
old man was getting flirtier every day, and Nero was wondering why. Probably
midlife-crisis or something.
 
"I see. He should be there in a couple minutes, lunch break's about to start."
 
"Thanks."
 
Before Dante had the chance to say anything else, Nero grabbed the wrist
belonging to the hand on his shoulder and steered the older hunter towards the
aforementioned exit.
 
"Hey, I wasn't done wi-"
 
"You can hit on girls half your age all you want as long as you're not doing it
on the job. Geez, what's wrong with you? You've gotten even worse."
 
That last part shut the elder's mouth up again pretty quickly. His face then
went through some interesting transitions. First, there was insult. The reason
for that one was obvious. Next was a slightly amusing mixture of embarrassment
and discomfort. Probably because Dante himself was realising what he was doing.
And in the end, there was defeat. The half-demon grimaced and dragged one gloved
hand through his hair, sighing.
 
"I know what you mean. I'm not even sure why I'm doing this, I just... Urgh, I
don't know."
 
Nero halted in front of the door that was tagged as the Headstudent's Office,
finally letting go of the other's wrist. He shot him a weird look. This was...
odd. He calculated his words carefully before responding.
 
"Look. I don't particularly care whether you're doing that or not, but keep it
to yourself while we're on the job. And around people my age, because that's
kind of creepy", not particularly fond of the idea of ending whatever this was
on this kind of note, he added teasingly: "Makes me scared I'll be your next
target."
 
Successfully distracted, Dante snorted.
 
"You wish."
 
Not believing for a second that Dante wasn't purposefully letting himself being
sidetracked, Nero obliged and they bickered back and forth for the following
minutes. One person that looked like they were working here shot them a very
strange look upon passing them, but that didn't matter.
 
A few more minutes went by until a young, dark-haired man appeared through the
door to the corridor they were waiting in. He paused his steps upon noticing
them, as did Dante and Nero their words upon realising that must be their
client. Nero scrutinised the man standing a few feet away from them. He was of
average height and had dark blue-ish, short hair. Bright eyes were hidden behind
dark-framed glasses and he was wearing what appeared to be a blue-themed
uniform. Both part-devils stood straight and went right into professional mode.
It was Dante who spoke up.
 
"You must be Tōya."
 
The stranger nodded and gazed at them calculatingly.
 
"You must be the devil hunters I contacted."
 
Nero merely nodded, his arms crossed, while Dante saluted.
 
"At your service."
 
Tōya nodded and picked up his steps. He went and opened the door to his office,
motioning them inside before entering. They followed him and Nero took a look
around. The office looked rather simple, there weren't many decorations apart
from two picture frames on the desk this Tōya was now sitting down behind.
There was, however, an ornate spear attached to the wall. It didn't quite look
like its only purpose was to improve the atmosphere. He observed Dante closing
the door behind him before taking Rebellion off his back, leaning it against the
plain, but comfortable looking chair in front of the desk. Plopping down on it,
Dante wasted no time addressing their client.
 
"So, tell us about your demon problem."
 
Nero opted to lean against the wall next to Dante, guard raised, and crossed his
arms in front of his chest. He would leave the talking to Dante. Yes, he had
gotten better at keeping his temper at bay, but he was still prone to blowing up
on clients he felt were trying to bullshit them. Which was definitely the case
this time. They weren't only familiar with magic and had advanced weapon
technology, but even melee combat. Why would they need any help?
 
"Actually, we're not sure they're demons."
 
Nero's gaze shifted to the young man sitting comfortably behind his desk. His
eyes were still calculating, regarding both of the hunters in a cool, distanced
manner. In any other situation, both part-devils could appreciate such a thing,
but alas, they didn't. Not when it looked like they were being tricked. Nero
watched silently as Dante shifted his weight and leant forward, elbow resting
heavily on the table, his right hand playing with the straps holding his twin
guns. Instead of explaining any further, though, Tōya's eyes stayed fixated on
the two of them. A heavy silence pressed down on all three of them and the alarm
bells in Nero's mind rang even louder. He shifted, ready to draw any of his
weapons instantly if necessary.
 
To their confusion and disappointment, though, Tōya neither attacked nor made
any kind of threatening movement. Quite the opposite, actually- he raised his
hands in a peaceful manner and wrung out a wry smile.
 
"I see. You thought my request wasn't genuine and my words just suggested that
to be the case."
 
Nero growled in the back of his throat. This guy was starting to get on his
nerves, for some reason he wasn't even quite sure about. He still kept his mouth
shut, though, and stubbornly stared ahead, listening to Dante voicing their both
thoughts.
 
"If you're smart enough to figure that out, why don't you use those brain cells
of yours to explain why we'd get that feeling."
 
Although his voice sounded nonchalant and uncaring, as if they were old mates
catching up, it was hard as steel and allowed neither lies nor half-truths. Nero
observed them having a short staring-contest, and even if Tōya was the first to
speak again, it didn't quite look like a loss.
 
"I see why you would feel that way. I apologise for that. I realise I should've
incorporated more details in my explanation via telephone. Allow me to
explain."
 
Tōya coughed and pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, something
which Nero found, for some reason, almost infuriating. He felt like this guy was
playing with them, subtly mocking them in their assumed paranoia. Dante gestured
for the head student to continue, shooting Nero a look that said Keep it
together.
 
"First, I must make it clear that this is the first time creatures like this
have appeared around here. As you've probably noticed, this city is actually
quite capable of protecting itself. However, we are not familiar with these
types of enemies, not at all, and our golems-"
 
"Golems?"
 
"The automatised machines you have seen outside- are not made to fight enemies
like these. Not even I know how to reprogram them to do so. They've been made to
fight other golems and humans, if ordered by the human guards, but these
creatures that have troubled us for a while now seemingly count as neither."
 
To Nero, this sounded like a major load of bull. Grinding his teeth, he kept
listening.
 
"Assuming I bought this story- you openly advertise that this is a university
that teaches magic. What keeps you from fighting those creatures with that?"
 
Dante's inquiry, however, was met with a gaze mostly filled with confusion. Nero
could feel his patience running thin.
 
"Magic? No. We're Enchanters. We manipulate Ether, which is mostly efficient
against enemies based on Ether-manipulation as well." Tōya shot Dante a weird
look, which was the first time he didn't look cool and professional. "Magic
doesn't exist anymore."
 
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
 
Before Nero could stop himself, he marched over to the desk and slammed both his
hands on the surface, causing the wood to shiver and creak due to the impact.
His blood was boiling. This was getting ridiculous, they were both being
insulted by how stupid this guy thought them to be. Magic didn't exist anymore?
Bullshit.
 
He was already opening his mouth to unleash a rage-fueled snark-feast upon their
so-called client when Dante rose from his seat and placed both of his hands on
the younger's shoulders. Carefully steering his temperamental friend a few
inches away from Tōya, who was silently watching them mostly unrattled, yet
surprisingly curious at something, Dante's grey eyes locked onto his own icy
blue ones.
 
"Don't. Let me handle this. I actually think he's saying the truth."
 
"Are you stupid? This guy-"
 
"-is genuine. Trust me on this. We don't know anything about this culture, who
says magic hasn't died out around here a long time ago? Use your head, Nero. We
both know what we felt was different from magic, albeit similar. Calling this
Enchanter-business magic was our own assumption- a false one."
 
Nero merely snorted in mock-understanding. Even if he knew Dante was right in
what he said, he still wasn't willing to back down and pretend like everything
was making sense because it didn't. But the light eyes drilling into his own
were unwavering, and even if Nero fought it a little, he could feel his anger
receding again. He whirled around, turning away, and crossed his arms in front
of his chest again. He merely shot Dante a look over his shoulder.
 
"Fine, whatever."
 
With a final pat on his shoulder, Dante turned back to Tōya, who was fondling
some folders on his desk. He still didn't look perturbed. The red-clad hunter
shot his client an easy grin.
 
"Sorry about that, but we've made some experiences in the past. We're not quite
popular in certain places, if you get my drift."
 
The young man merely nodded. His eyes, however, were still carefully regarding
Nero's form. His brows were slightly furrowed in contemplation, but after a few
seconds, his gaze shifted to the hunter sitting in front of him again.
 
"I apologise again for not providing enough information to prevent your cautious
approach. I assure you, we're not after either of you. We merely need your help
to deal with creatures that appear to fall under your expertise we've been
struggling with. A few selected students very proficient with Enchantments,
including myself, are able to keep them from entering the city, but we can't put
an end to this. That's when I thought of calling for help and your business
seemed to be most fitting. My research suggests these creatures are, in fact, of
demonic nature, but the few reports I found were old and hence only partly
credible." His eyes moved back to Nero, something which Dante noted with a
slight hint of both confusion and resurfacing apprehension. Yes, he had told his
younger partner to calm down, but that didn't mean he and this Tōya were going
to be best buds now. He followed his client's gaze, realising he was focussed
on... Nero's right arm. He must've noticed the demonic appendage during his
outburst earlier.
 
He growled on the inside because this definitely wasn't something that could
just be waved off- people were scared of this arm, yes, but not interested in it
unless they had less than desirable motives. He still didn't believe this job
was supposed to be a trap right from the start, but that didn't automatically
mean plans couldn't be adjusted. It's happened before. He was glad Nero was more
than capable of taking care of himself, but it still left a bitter taste in his
mouth and severely pissed him off whenever someone was after the kid. Blame the
childhood trauma.
 
Before Dante could say anything, however, Nero spoke up, his voice sounding
strangely strained.
 
"Dante... my arm's acting up."
 
Nero slowly turned around, eyes fixated on his tingling Devil Bringer. It
didn't feel like usual, there was no sign of the normal buzz underneath the
scales nor did it glow. Instead, it was like a slight tingle right beneath the
thick skin, itching and tickling and causing his fingers to twitch in
irritation. He could see Dante rising from his seat and shooting a glare towards
their client, who looked both confused as well as uncomfortable. Nero wasn't
sure whether the slight hint of worry was his imagination or not, but he was too
busy staring at his arm that seemed to heat up now.
 
Before anyone had the chance to say anything else, though, the door to the
office suddenly burst open, wooden door slamming hard into the wall and causing
the shelves to shake. Another young man- a student, judging by his red-themed
uniform- hastily stumbled into the room, left hand tightly gripping his right
wrist.
 
"Tōya, something's up with my arm! It's all tingly and itchy and feels way too
hot-!"
 
Nero's eyes shot up and he stared at the intruder. His Devil Bringer was
uncomfortably warm now, and the reason for that had just entered the room. The
other young man cut himself off as well upon realising his arm was drawing him
to one of the strangers in his best friend's office. For a moment, widened blue
eyes met widened green and violet ones. Then, Nero's gaze slowly shifted to the
arm the other guy was gripping tightly. Both the glowing lines and the light
washing over it in waves were most curious.



                            Chapter 1 Alt. Version
                            ----------------------


When Nero stepped out of the car, his surroundings did not provide the picture
he had anticipated. He looked around, slightly awed at the advanced looking
technology and modern buildings. And were those robots at the pizza stand...?
 
Dante let out a low whistle. Seemed like he was a bit surprised as well. But
well, neither of them had ever heard of this place called Yokohama City in the
middle of nowhere before, especially since it wasn't in Japan as the name
suggested. That seemed to be a regional thing, though, considering they had
passed signposts pointing towards places called Kyoto City and even London
City on their way here. The people living here didn't seem very creative, at
least when it came to naming their towns. These robot-machines, however, proved
their technical capabilities. And their firepower, Nero added mentally, warily
eyeing a robot with a gun as thick as his body stomping past.
 
"Done staring, kid? I know this looks impressive, but we're here for a job.
Although I guess these things make one wonder why they'd need any outside help
at all. I doubt most demons could withstand being shot in the face by one of
these."
 
Nero shot his partner a look but complied and grabbed his Red Queen off the
beaten and dirty car's backseat, strapping it to his back. He slammed the door
shut, shooting the vehicle a look when it shivered from the impact. He just
hoped it would live long enough to get them back home, too.
 
"Let's go look for our client. What was his name again?"
 
Joining Dante in his stride towards the city, Nero fished a small piece of paper
out of the pockets of his coat. Straightening it, he read the scraggly words
written out loud.
 
"Tōya, Headstudent's office at the Yokohama City University."
 
Stuffing the crinkled note away again, Nero took another look around. They were
approaching what looked like the town centre bustling with activity. It looked
like some sort of festival was approaching. There were already a couple food and
gaming stands praising their services to pedestrians. A big tent to his left was
still unfinished, though, and there were a lot of unoccupied spaces that looked
like there were even more booths planned.
 
The citizens looked rather normal, enjoying life just chatting away. Completely
contrasting the urgent call they had received at the Devil May Cry two days
ago, claiming something that could only be a demon was wreaking havoc near the
town, something they supposedly couldn't deal with themselves. A statement that
now started to raise suspicion within Nero- how could they not be able to
handle a demon when they had such weaponry at their disposal? Unless it was a
really big one, one of the Lords of Hell, but these needed to be summoned
manually, they couldn't just poke their heads through any random rift they might
stumble across, like lesser devils could. Something was off.
 
"Hey, Dante...", Nero muttered while shuffling a bit closer to his companion.
The elder looked completely at ease, but the young demon hunter knew better than
to disregard his relative's guarded gaze.
 
"I know. Something's fishy about this", Dante agreed in a low voice. That didn't
stop him from winking at a young woman wearing a yellow uniform, though. Nero
snorted and rolled his eyes. Dante was such a huge flirt.
 
"The same procedure as every time, then?"
 
His only answer was a nod and a grin, which Nero amusedly returned. This
wouldn't be the first time someone tried to trick them in order to catch them
off guard. Especially since he'd joined Dante in the Devil May Cry over two
years ago had the demons become even more determined and radical in their quest
to eradicate the last drops of Sparda's blood. But so far, the two of them had
proven to be quite the team. Even Dante, in a rare display of sentimental mush,
had admitted fighting demons and doing his job hadn't been that easy and felt
that safe in a long time. Words that had made Nero's chest swell with pride and
turned his insides into warm, fluttery goo (which he'd deny with his dying
breath). All he had said and shown were a cocky grin, a thumb's up and a
careful, yet no less genuine "Likewise." But he figured that was enough.
 
Nero was ripped from his musings when another low whistle, accompanied by an
appreciative noise, was heard from his right. He looked up to check which arse
Dante was ogling now, when-
 
"Wow."
 
- he saw the huge, elaborate building a couple yards away, a large sign
saying Yokohama City University for Enchanters.
They both paused their steps to take in the very impressive sight in front of
them. The building was gigantic, sporting multiple high tower-esqe structures
that looked brand new. The façades were still shiny, void of even the slightest
speck of dirt. The cleaning staff was either overly motivated or this had
something to do with this Enchanter-business advertised on the big sign. Nero
wasn't entirely sure what that actually was, but he figured it had something to
do with magic.
 
Patting himself mentally on the shoulder for his razor-sharp deduction skills,
he discreetly elbowed Dante in the side to get the other's attention. Icy blue
eyes focussed on him. Within less than a second, he knew the older hunter had
had the same thoughts plus another one. They both nodded.
 
"Why would they need our help..."
 
"... if they have a whole university teaching magic?"
 
Their initial suspicions reaffirmed, the two part-devils raised their guard
before entering the university grounds. The moment they crossed the threshold,
both felt a slight tingle washing over their bodies. Slightly alarmed, they
passed an eerily empty entrance hall bigger than their entire home before
stepping through another door and finding themselves underneath the open sky
again. A few paths were leading in a circle around and to the tower in the
middle as well as other buildings. A multitude of flowers were planted between
the paths, giving the grounds a comfortable atmosphere. This sure was different
from the universities back home, which prevailed with concrete-induced cleanness
and their impersonal air, screaming Your child isn't here to have fun, it's
here to become a useful member of society! into any visitor's face. Almost as
nice as a flower garden and open air surrounding what appeared to be the
cafeteria.
 
While Dante crouched down to inspect the greenery a little closer, Nero took a
few steps towards the tower in the centre. There were tables and chairs not only
on the outside but on the inside, too, as well as a young woman behind the
counter rummaging through a fridge of some sort. He shot a look back to his
older relative who was approaching him.
 
"These flowers and their beds are new. Can't be older than a couple months. Now,
that could be nothing, but I feel like this barrier we passed earlier is more
than just a greeting. These flowers are supposed to be here all year around."
 
Nero was about to ask how he'd figured that out just by looking at a couple
pretty petals, but he stopped himself before he could and decided to take
another look at them. There were a bunch of different flowers planted with some
grass in between. He could see freesias and amaryllis as well as cornflowers,
and were those waterlily dahlias over there? He wasn't quite familiar enough
with the other greens to name them, but he was pretty sure the few he did know
weren't supposed to be in full bloom at the same time. So yeah, here was
definitely some magic going on.
 
So Nero gave his partner merely a nod, which was returned with a small, yet
appreciative grin. The wheels in his head turned for another second to make
sense of the confusion Dante's reaction had caused. When the answer hit him, he
felt awkwardly proud of himself yet also a tiny bit annoyed because of that. He
reminded himself of a dog. But putting that aside, Nero really was glad that he
was finally able to let some of the customs the order had ingrained in his head
go. Instead of ignoring everything irrelevant to the objective and therefore not
being able to see the bigger picture as a subordinate, he was beginning to
figure things out for himself naturally again. Something Dante had been
encouraging him to do from the very beginning- probably also because he had no
desire to point everything out all the time, which Nero himself didn't
appreciate all that much, either. But still, this process was not one to
progress too quickly, and the memory of that left a bitter taste in his mouth.
His first solo job after arriving at the Devil May Cry being the biggest
offender.
 
"What's wrong?"
 
Nero forced himself back into the present upon hearing his relative's voice.
Just now realising his face must've mirrored his unpleasant thoughts, he quickly
shook all memories of this particular case off.
 
"Nothing, just remembered something. Anyways, how about we ask this girl behind
the counter where we can find this Tōya dude?"
 
Even though he could almost feel the look Dante was shooting him, Nero decided
to be stubborn and ignored the inquiring gaze sprinkled with doubt and a tiny
note of worry. These were his own demons (pun not intended) and none of Dante's
responsibility, just as some things weighing down on the older hunter weren't
meant to be carried by Nero's shoulders, not even partly.
 
After a few seconds of intense silence, Dante finally inclined, tilting his head
just the tiniest bit, and agreed.
"Sounds like a plan."
 
And with that, the two part-devils headed towards the glass entrance to the
cafeteria. Upon stepping inside, they were greeted with warm air heavy with the
scents of prepared lunch boxes for the students. Nero sniffed. Were there
burgers and pizza on the menu...?
 
"Man, I'm starting to wish I went to school in this place... The school I went
to only offered the regular stuff. You know, the disgusting kind."
 
"I didn't even know you actually went to school...", Nero mumbled in absent
response while walking towards the nearest counter in the centre of the circular
room. The service girl was now focussed on cleaning some cutlery but looked up
with a beautifully fake smile upon hearing him coming closer. The
professionalism was soon replaced by confusion, though. One might wonder why.
 
"Hey. We're looking for a guy named Tōya, or rather his office. Can you give us
a pointer or two?"
 
Her smile returned and she nodded before pointing towards the western exit of
the yard.
 
"Just go through there, it's the second door on the left. Mind if I ask what you
want from him? You don't look like locals. Or, well, we've had some interesting
folks popping in from time to time, ever since relations between the cities
improved, but you guys look even fancier than those weirdoes from Junk City."
 
Not even bothering to grace that statement with a reply, Nero merely snorted and
turned away when Dante took up the torch.
"Yep, we're from a place far far away. But as much as I'd love to stay and
chat- I'm sure you have most interesting things to offer- we have some
business to attend to. How about-"
 
"- you'll excuse us now since we have to get going. Bye."
 
Deciding he'd let that foolery gone on for long enough, Nero interrupted Dante's
attempts at flirting his way into a different kind of serving. Grabbing the
older hunter's elbow, he dragged him outside in the direction of the building
the girl had pointed at. Ignoring her waving after them, the young part-devil
let out another snort that was only partly exasperated and mostly amused. He
realised that his older relative did this most of the time not only because he
tried (and failed at) being a ladies' man, but to make people stop questioning
them. Nero had been told more than once that he could do that just as nicely,
but he rather left that to someone with no repercussions of leaving broken
hearts behind- or at least that's what the red-clad hunter liked to pretend
happened.
 
Dante detached himself from the younger's grip, no hard feelings evident in his
face or any of his other gestures, and they merrily made their way over to the
automated glass door leading to, according to the shiny plaque screwed onto the
wall next to it, the administrative offices. After entering, they found
themselves in a clean, white hall with more fancy looking doors left and right.
Going directly to the one that should lead the two part-demons to their client
and finding confirmation in the form of another glass plaque sporting the
words Headstudent's Office, they stopped in front of it before Dante raised his
fist and proceeded to give it two firm knocks. Mere seconds later, a voice could
be heard from within.
 
"You can enter."
 
Doing just that, Dante and Nero soon found themselves within a moderately
spacious office room. Two large windows offered view on the flowery scenery
outside.
 
"Can I help you?"
 
They turned to the source of the very same voice that had called them in and
found themselves looking at a young man in his, presumably, mid-twenties. Sharp,
bright blue eyes behind thin-framed glasses were studying the two of them. His
short, dark blue hair was complimenting his blue school uniform, oddly enough.
Nero wasn't quite sure why, but the guy had something of a strange air around
him, something that caused his insides to tingle in the weirdest ways.
 
Dante, as usual, cut straight to the point.
 
"You're Tōya?"
 
The young man inclined his head, his gaze suddenly a lot sharper and attentive
than before.
 
"That I am. You must be from the Devil May Cry, then." It wasn't a question.
 
Deciding to leave the talking to his older partner, Nero turned around to take
in some more if his imminent surroundings, even if he kept listening with one
ear.
 
"I'm Dante and that's my partner, Nero. So, tell us about your demon problem."
 
Arms crossed in front of his chest, his eyes lingered a moment on the ornate
spear leaning against the wall next to a file cabinet. His eyes flickered over
to their client, measuring briefly what the man was capable of.
 
"Can I get you something to drink first?"
 
"Nah, we're good. So, demons?"
 
This Tōya seemed perfectly calm- calculating, even. He looked right back at
Dante, not showing the slightest hint of fear or even unease at being alone in a
room with two very dangerous individuals that were also very armed. Nero would
be lying if he said that was a first, but it was certainly uncommon. Most people
were either losing their shit because of their demon problem or because of them-
or both. But not this guy.
 
"Very well. First, let me clarify that we're not even sure if these creatures
are considered demons. They appeared near the city a few weeks ago and have been
there ever since."
 
"Then why call us? I usually wouldn't complain about the drive, but two days
for a maybe sound kind of harsh, don't you think? "
 
Nero still hadn't turned around and was instead studying the expensive and
antique looking chessboard including ornate crystal pieces sitting on a shelf
next to the window. This client of theirs couldn't be more of a stereotype if he
tried. Well, except for the greatly cared for but obviously often used spear
attached to the wall.
 
"While we're not entirely certain, I have reason to believe these creatures do,
in fact, fall under your expertise. I have looked through all the history
records I could find and if I recall correctly, there was mention of beings of
similar nature dating about thirteen hundred years back. These records also show
that all known means of fighting them have been lost to us shortly after, so-"
 
"Bullshit."
 
Despite his one-worded outburst, Nero still stared intently at the spear hanging
on the wall opposite the desk. While it was faint, it caused the same tingle on
his insides as the man himself did, and now he had finally put the pieces
together of where that tingle came from. Leftover traces of executed magic,
albeit faint, and if these people here attended a freaking university for
magic next to handling real close combat weapons while also having some
pretty darn heavy armoury running around town- yeah, no. The people here were
perfectly capable of protecting themselves.
 
"You actually believe we're gonna buy this?"
 
Not bothering to explain himself any further, the young part-devil merely turned
around and stared hard at their client. And Tōya stared right back, but his
gaze wasn't filled with anger or the like, but rather with a faint hint of
surprise peeking through the metaphorical gears grinding in his head. Well. That
was a reaction Nero hadn't quite anticipated. But Dante picked up right where he
had left, elaborating on their doubts in a much calmer fashion- the look he shot
to Nero, however, was one of acknowledgement.
 
"You know, there are plenty bastards out there who'd just love to have a piece
of us. Literally. And I have to admit, your story sounds rather fishy. So why
don't you explain to us what's really going on?"
 
Tōya stayed silent for a moment, staring the both of them up and down. Noticing
the older male's gaze lingered just a tad too long on the scales on his right
arm that weren't entirely hidden, Nero turned around again with a low growl in
the back of his throat. After a few more seconds, their client apparently
arrived at a conclusion and made an 'ah' sound.
 
"I think I understand. The two of you are being hunted for being not
entirely... human, so to speak, and you believe this is some kind of elaborate
trap to acquire some sort of power or might the two of you possess. Am I
correct?"
 
"Got it in one. Now, give me one reason why I shouldn't be getting you in one."
 
Dante's voice may have sounded pleasant enough, but Nero could feel the cold and
slightly dangerous aura he emitted. He could practically see the older's hand at
the ready to get their client a little more acquainted with Rebellion and,
just to be sure, he put a hand on the hilt of his Blue Rose as well. Instead
of mad cackling or demons bursting through the walls, however, they were met
with an awkward laugh and raised hands.
 
"I assure you, I have no plans of the like you seem to think of. I apologise if
my call and behaviour made it look that way, but there's no need for this.
Neither I nor anyone else is after you."
 
Nero's eyebrows shot up and he was pretty sure Dante's did, too. Their client
actually sounded pretty sincere.
 
"Would you please explain what gave you the impression this was a ruse? I'm
afraid I have to admit I'm not quite sure as to what would make you think so.
Otherwise, I would have explained more properly from the beginning to prevent a
scene such as this from playing out."
 
Knowing Dante could be bothered to do just that, Nero occupied himself by
skimming over the titles of a variety of books neatly stacked on a large shelf.
The tingle in his arm was getting stronger, although it was still faint. And was
he imagining things or was it heating up, too? But for what reason?
 
"Fine, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now. First, while demons
aren't exactly the hit in high society, most people at least know about them.
Otherwise, I wouldn't have a job. Especially in big cities like this since
they're drawn to large masses of humans. Second, you guys here don't only know
magic, you actually teach it like other universities teach law or medicine. I've
also seen you and plenty of other people proficient with hand-to-hand combat.
And last, those guys with the big guns out there. I don't know what they are,
but judging by their firepower, you guys really shouldn't be afraid of a bunch
of ickle demons."
 
There was silence for a moment and Nero could only guess as to its reason. The
strange reaction in his arm was getting too strong to wave off or even ignore,
and he clenched his right fist tightly. The tingling had gotten too intense for
his liking. He threw an irritated look at the offending appendage and realised
with a lot of confusion and a small bit of panic that it was starting to glow.
He barely heard their client speaking up again, puzzlement colouring his own
voice as well.
 
"It's true that we learn and teach Enchantments at this university, but that's
only a small fraction of what real magic can do. That has been lost to us over a
millennium ago."
 
"What?"
 
Nero didn't even hear what else was being said. His gaze was locked on
his Devil Bringer and the blue glow it was emitting in waves similar to a
heartbeat. Despite himself, Nero felt a small surge of fear rising in his
stomach- this was not normal. Gripping his scaled wrist with his human hand
tightly, he could even feel the heat it was giving off and it was bordering on
uncomfortable. Still staring intently at his weirdly acting limb, he raised his
voice, too preoccupied with what was happening to even care about the slight
hint of panic in his tone.
 
"Dante, something's wrong with my arm."
 
Obviously not needing to specify which arm exactly he was talking about, his
older relative reacted in an instant. Less than a second later, their client was
all but forgotten and Dante stood right next to Nero, hand on his shoulder and
unusually serious eyes locked on the phenomenon.
 
"Anything else?"
 
"It feels really hot and itchy- I have no fucking clue why, it's never acted
like this-"
 
In the very same moment Dante opened his mouth to retort, the door to the office
suddenly burst open, wood slamming hard enough into the wall to leave a crack in
the concrete. Three pairs of eyes whipped to the source of the disruption, their
client even rising from his seat in shock, surprise and even worry.
 
Another young man had entered the office. Another student, judging the- for
whatever reason red- uniform he was wearing. He seemed to be around Tōya's age
and was obviously familiar with their client, but that wasn't what caught
everyone's attention. Neither was it his silver hair or the mismatched eyes. It
was the arm he was gripping tightly, his right one. Golden lines were visible on
the skin, and the pulsating light they were emitting washed over it in waves.
 
His arm feeling like it was reaching its peak of unusual sensations and
reactions, Nero couldn't help but freeze up. Mismatched eyes found his own and
icy blue locked with green and purple.



                                   Chapter 2
                                   ---------


Nero almost forgot about his own, weirdly behaving arm. What the hell is going
on.

The other guy was staring at him with an expression that looked very much like
how his own felt- dumbfounded, confused and sort of awed- yet also, there was
something else. A very strange feeling was rising up inside of him and Nero
found himself having trouble looking away from this person.

"Atsuma?"

Tōya's voice ripped through the awkward silence. It was directed at the
red-clad student who now tore his gaze away from the younger demon hunter to
regard what was presumably his friend.

"I- I'm not sure. I was going to get some lunch, but when I entered the
cafeteria- Tōya, I swear, I haven't touched anything, but my arm suddenly- it
felt all weird and started to pull me here? I have no idea what's going on, it
hasn't acted like this since back when- What's going on? Who are they?" Who's
he? was the unasked question Nero could sense. The same question was being
reflected in his own mind- no, it was more urgent than that. It was ricocheting
in his head, bouncing off all ends and corners it could find. He found himself
unable to tear his attention away from that still glowing arm.

"They're the demon hunters I mentioned. Atsuma, calm down. I'm sure nothing's
wrong, although this is most peculiar... Atsuma, would you mind showing this
young man around while I'll explain the details to his partner?"

Nero barely registered Dante interjecting, voicing his doubts concerning this
particular idea. The other guy- Atsuma?- also seemed to not be paying attention.
His heterochromic eyes were still wide and staring at his Devil Bringer.

"Okay, fine then. Nero?"

"Hm? What?"

Mentioned part-devil was forcibly ripped out of his stunned daze when Dante
appeared right in front of him. Worry was etched tightly onto his face, but
there was also a strange gleam in his eyes. Looking around, he noticed Tōya was
regarding Atsuma with the same expression. Nero shifted awkwardly, his eyes
still locked onto Atsuma.

"Why don't you guys go out for a while?", Dante asked, yet added quietly: "If
you want to. If something happens, I trust you'll take care of yourself? If I
feel like you're in trouble, I'll be there in an instant, job or no."

For a brief moment, Nero wanted to snark at Dante for acting like his patron,
but before he could open his mouth, something strange surged within him. Even
though he wasn't sure what exactly it was, he spontaneously decided to put his
faith into it and go along. So, he nodded.

"Okay."

Dante looked slightly surprised, but that gleam in his eyes shone even brighter
for just a split second. Wondering what was up with that, Nero stepped closer to
Atsuma who was still carrying a very confused expression. The weird tingle in
his demonic arm got even stronger and for some reason, Nero was starting to feel
embarrassed.

"Atsuma? Or do you not want to?"

Tōya was speaking to his friend directly, putting a hand on his shoulder. His
voice was still calm and quiet, but there was also a previously unheard warmth
to it. They were really good friends, apparently. Nero watched silently, feeling
slightly awkward, but nevertheless waited patiently. He observed Atsuma when he
blinked a few times before looking over to the blue-clad student, appearing
flustered and insecure, but also curious.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

The dark-haired male nodded, smiling.

"I know you won't do anything. Go ahead and chat a little, leave this to me."

Atsuma gave a hesitant nod. His mismatched eyes shifted back to Nero, looking
rather unsure of himself. The young hunter watched him scratching the back of
his head, before finally letting go of his glowing arm to search for the door
knob.

"If you say so, Tōya... Uhm, let's get going then?"

Nero nodded before throwing another look over his shoulder to Dante, who was
silently regarding the two of them. Not quite sure how he felt about this, Nero
followed the student out of the office and the building into the yard. There
were a lot more people there now, sitting at the tables, chatting and enjoying
their break. Nero curiously noted that while they all wore the same uniform as
Atsuma and Tōya did, theirs were dark grey instead of colourful. Deciding
against voicing this question out loud, though, Nero silently followed his
companion who was walking half a step in front of him. He was either even worse
at keeping himself in check emotionally than Nero was or this strange situation
was getting to him a lot more, judging the way he was constantly flexing his
fingers and fumbling with the hem of his shirt.

"Uhm... I kinda want to ask you some questions, but not around all these people.
Do you mind if we go somewhere a little more... secluded?"

Atsuma sounded hesitant, but he threw a nervous smile over his shoulder and
stopped his stride. Nero nodded, feeling awkward again. He sort of wanted to ask
some questions as well, which made him feel even more awkward. This was not a
situation he had ever thought to find himself in. How the fuck was he supposed
to react?

"Okay then. Uh, just follow me. It's not far."

Resuming their steps, Atsuma led them past the multitude of students enjoying
their lunch break towards the northern building. He was still flexing the
fingers of his right hand, so his arm, which was still glowing faintly, was most
likely still feeling weird, as was Nero's. They finally reached a corner of the
yard that was partly hidden by some tall greenery. While Atsuma was sitting down
on a window sill behind a small bench, Nero studied the white, star-shaped
petals with mild curiosity. These didn't look familiar. And no, he wasn't
looking at them because he didn't know what to say, not at all.

He was forced, however, to pay attention to his companion when said companion
cleared his throat.

"So, um... I don't really know how to start, but... I'm Atsuma. As you've
probably figured out earlier."

Nero only nodded. "I'm Nero."

And thus, silence resumed. Nero was beginning to think it hadn't been such a
smart idea to give in to his impulsive reaction after all. He was now avoiding
looking at his companion directly and while letting his eyes wander, he noticed
there was an ornate symbol on one of Atsuma's black gloves. The right one. That
couldn't be a coincidence, right? But before he could focus on this particular
thing, purposely ignoring the insecure yet curious eyes watching him, he was
addressed once more. And with a question he had not quite expected like that.

"So... what about your arm?"

Nero stared at the- presumably- older man. Well, that was direct. Bad thing was,
though, he wasn't quite sure how to answer that. A demon bit me and then it
grew scales and became all glow-y? Before he could find a solution to his inner
dilemma, though, his confused and hesitant thoughts were halted once again.

"No, wait, this doesn't work like that... Aaargh", Atsuma forcefully scratched
the back of his head. Then he was silent for a few seconds before finally
letting out a long sigh.

"How about we just pretend the stuff earlier didn't happen?" And with this, he
got off the window sill, walked over and held out his left hand.

"I'm Atsuma. I have a weird right arm that glows and absorbs stuff when I touch
it."

Nero needed a moment to process this very... upfront introduction. But
considering the sheer absurdity of this entire situation, he decided to just go
with it. He took the hand with his own human one.

"I'm Nero. I have a weird right arm that glows and absorbs stuff as well."

The part-devil felt a grin creeping onto his face which was returned by the
older man. Finally feeling the awkwardness subsiding at least a little, they
both plopped down on the bench.

"So, you wanna start?"

Nero shot a long look at his right hand- the only part of his demonic appendage
that was visible. After short contemplation, he let out a brief, but deep sigh
and rolled his sleeve up. He could feel Atsuma watching him and upon catching
the curiosity in the other's mismatched eyes, he started to explain, flexing his
scaled fingers. They were still tingling.

"There isn't all that much to say, actually. I was working for an order to fight
demons a couple years ago and during one mission, a demon bit me. The injury was
weird from the beginning- it hurt a lot less than it was supposed to, judging
the way it looked- but I didn't really pay attention to it. I just kept fighting
with my left hand. But after a couple days, I noticed my skin was... kinda
changing. It didn't just go poof- hey, I've got scales! My skin just...
changed, I can't really explain. I tried hiding it for a while and it worked,
even though Ky- some people were worried because I was bandaging it for such a
long time and didn't let anyone else take a look at it. That was about four
years ago."

Nero ended his short recap. He shot a brief look to his companion who was
watching him carefully. After a moment of silence, Atsuma gave him a wry smile.

"I see. That must've been hard... when it just changes like that, without having
any idea about the 'why'. What did your friends say?"

The hunter shook his head, ignoring the picture of a young woman with kind,
brown eyes and her stern, but loyal older brother that flashed before his inner
eye.

"I didn't really have a lot of friends. One died shortly after I was forced to
reveal it and the other... well", Nero let out a short laugh, "she basically
called me an idiot for hiding it from her."

Atsuma grinned back, but there were more things he wanted to know.

"And your parents?

"I'm an orphan. I never met them."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Nero shook his head, "Nah, it's fine. It's not like you can miss something that
was never there."

"Hmmm..."

Feeling like the other wasn't quite agreeing with him on that, the part-devil
was about to elaborate, but another question interrupted him before he could
open his mouth to do so.

"And the other guy that was with you? Who is he?"

Well, that was a query complicated to answer. Nero stayed silent for a moment,
trying to think of a way to explain his relationship with Dante.

"That's... actually kinda difficult to answer."

"Huh?"

"Well, you see... all we know is that we're related? Somehow?"

Atsuma's confused look wasn't exactly subsiding, so Nero decided to go for the
long explanation.

He included all relevant events that had happened in Fortuna a few years ago.
His companion was listening intently, not interrupting a single time which he
couldn't help but feel being something slightly unusual. After he was done
dumping some exposition on his newly acquired acquaintance, there was a brief
bout of silence. Nero himself just let all the events from the past flow through
his head, just reminiscing about all the things that had changed since then.
Atsuma, however, seemed to be thinking intently, judging by his creased brows
and the slightly far-away look. Then he spoke up.

"So if I got this right... You're part demon and this Dante is, too, and you
share some blood through his father, but neither of you know where exactly you
come from? Or rather... Who?"

Nero nodded once. "That's about the gist of it, yeah."

"I see... Have you ever tried to find out?"

The young part-devil took a moment before answering while shaking his head. "No.
I... We're both kind of used to being alone, family-wise, or we were. It kind of
just matters to us that we're related, the 'how' doesn't. Actually, since he
sorta could be my father, we don't even want to know. That would've made
thing awkward as hell, for both of us, so we just decided to not dig any deeper
than absolutely necessary."

Atsuma hummed, arms cross, and seemed to mull things over for a moment. Then, he
finally nodded with a small smile.

"I see. I'm just glad you found someone."

For a brief moment, Nero dreaded to end up the awkward mess he usually did when
talking about such topics, but to his immense surprise, he just found himself
nodding his thanks. And to his even bigger surprise, he was smiling. Apparently
there was something about this Atsuma that made him unexpectedly comfortable to
be around.

After a short bout of silence, Nero's gaze settled on his demonic arm. The
tingling was almost entirely gone, as were the heat and the glow. Instead, there
was some sort of... pleasant hum beneath the scales? It felt kind of good,
actually. Something he couldn't exactly declare as common or usual, but it
mentally got his personal stamp of approval nonetheless. The reason for this
feeling was only secondary, too- just knowing that his Devil Bringer was
capable of being something other than a major pain (or a weapon to punch things
really hard) was an epiphany in itself. Figure that.

His eyes were then drawn to Atsuma's arm. Unlike his own supernatural appendage,
it looked perfectly human without the glowing lines. I guess his is back to
normal, too, he mused. The student seemed to have caught his gaze, judging by
how he looked at it now himself and begun flexing his fingers.

"You want me to tell you about mine?"

"Yeah, actually."

Atsuma took a deep breath. His mismatched eyes shifted to stare into the clear,
blue summer sky above them, a slightly forlorn look on his face, accompanied by
a somewhat wistful smile. Seemed like these memories weren't exactly pleasant.
But then again, most of Nero's own weren't, either, at least not when it came to
his Devil Bringer.

"I'm not the best story-teller and I'll probably forget a thing or two, but...
Yeah. Well, it was about four years ago, when I was 20. My arm was always odd
and it didn't exactly make me the most popular guy around. You know, we learn
Enchantment at this school and that's kinda like... manipulating Ether. I'm not
sure how it works even though Tōya explained it to me, it's kind of complicated
and I'm more the practical type, but well. My arm... hm, we thought he negated
Enchantments? Made me wonder more than once why they accepted me into the
university to begin with- I wasn't allowed to go to certain places or attend
certain classes because of that. But anyway. Back then, things started to go
really downhill when my arm... sort of made me undo the seal on a devil golem
called Queen of Ice- devil golems are like, super, super strong. During the
Golem War thousand years ago, two of them fighting each other levelled entire
cities and, well... They sort of need a magicore to operate, though, but a
person with... blood of the ancients, I think?- can also become one. That's what
happened to Tōya back then... I wanted to save him and Yokohama, too, because
upon her revival, the Queen of Ice encased the entire town in ice and its
residents... I felt so bad about it, I just had to do something.
I met some other people willing to help me- Karin, Raiga-san, Yuki and even
Sayaka. We found some more devil golems, like the Emperor of Fire and
the Lord of Earth. More cities were damaged and Karin's father- the king
of London City- even died. We were searching for a way for me to control my
arm, because as it were, it just forced me to do whatever it wanted... It even
made me lose my mind during an experiment and I killed hundreds of people... But
I didn't know that until Kō-sensei, my teacher here at the university- who
admitted that he only allowed me to attend because he was interested in my arm
and my properties as a... weapon- reminded me.

Anyways, fast forward and we met the Sage. She's supposed to be really old, but
she doesn't look like it. She told me that it was her who attached this arm to
me when I was a baby. She told us she found me outside her tower, abandoned and
dying, and this was the only way she could think of to save me. She also
revealed that..."

This was the first time Atsuma interrupted his explanation. Nero had been
listening intently, feeling a certain amount of horror creeping up inside his
chest as he pictured what his new acquaintance must've gone through. At least he
hadn't killed innocents with his Devil Bringer... Observing the older male
silently, the part-demon took note of how detached Atsuma looked at this moment.
But even if he apparently needed a moment to collect himself, it didn't sound as
if his past was dragging him down all that much. How odd. After heaving a sigh,
the student continued.

"She revealed that my arm was made from another devil golem. His name
was Infinity and he was kind of the... ruler? Source? of all other devil
golems. That's why I was able to suppress them, at least to a degree. And to
revive them. Well... Nothing much happened after that. I was still dead-set on
saving Tōya, so I just pushed all those thoughts away, thanks to my friends'
help, and did what I had to do. We defeated both the Queen of
Ice and Infinity. Tōya was back. We rebuilt the towns that were destroyed as
well as the University. We just got done with that last year. My arm's been
silent ever since then until... well. Now."

Nero watched the red-clad student scratching the back of his head sheepishly, a
slightly crooked grin etched onto his face. He cast a thoughtful look at his
inhuman arm, mulling it over.

"I have no idea why, though. It's never acted like that and much less so if it
didn't involve another devil golem. I mean, you really don't feel like one, but
even then, today was... Different. Not this commanding pull like back then or
the pain, but rather-"

"- being drawn like iron to a magnet?", Nero chimed in. His own eyes were locked
on his unnatural appendage as well. He couldn't deny that today's reaction had
certainly been... unusual, to say the least. Especially since this weird stuff
wasn't happening anymore. Of course, he'd also gotten used to Dante's and
Trish's presence, otherwise he'd constantly look like a lighthouse, but that had
actually taken some time. Not to mention that he didn't even have the faintest
idea of how that even worked, either. Not that he was complaining- he rather
appreciated not being blinded by his own arm on a regular base just because
Trish decided to drop by.

He could see Atsuma nodding next to him and Nero turned his eyes towards the
clear, blue sky. The last remains of their initial awkwardness seemed to finally
fade entirely. Instead, they seemed to be replaced by... solace. This guy had
had a life eerily similar to his own, although it had been harder at certain
points. It made Nero feel... a little bit better about his own situation, he
admitted to himself. He wasn't ashamed because of that- he knew full well he was
neither the nicest nor the kindest person around. From what little glimpses he
had gotten of his new acquaintance, those features described him a lot better
than Nero himself. Which, in turn, made him growl a little for reasons he
couldn't quite name.

"Why do you hide your arm?"

The sudden question ripped the young devil hunter out of his musings and his
gaze snapped over to the student, whose mismatched eyes we locked on his Devil
Bringer. He followed their trail to his scaled, right arm.

"I mean, you'd obviously rather have the sleeve rolled up, just like me. And
this Dante really doesn't sound as if he'd be bothered by it. So why do you keep
hiding it?"

Nero clenched his jaw. Well, this conversation had taken a rather abrupt and
certainly not appreciated turn. The answer was obvious, was it not?

"Dante may be used to it, but no one else is. Even your friend Tōya seemed
pretty interested."

He tried saying this in a neutral tone, he really did. He was sure, however,
that this endeavour hadn't been all that successful, but to his surprise, Atsuma
didn't react to his slightly snapped retort at all.

"Don't mind him. He's interested in everything and their dog, to be honest. If
it weren't for Makoto and me, I'm pretty sure he'd lock himself up in the
library, never to be seen again. And... I guess part of this interest is because
of me. We've known each other forever. His parents basically took me in when I
was a child, so I guess seeing someone else in a similar situation as I... Well.
We are here now, aren't we? Because he prompted us?"

That was true. But Nero could still feel his temper flaring slightly, even if he
tried to suppress it.

"He's my best friend, you know. He would never do something to hurt me, not
after...", Atsuma trailed off. Nero felt his temper subsiding, being replaced by
curiosity. He figured it had something to do with that big adventure Atsuma had
told him about. But he'd made it sound as if Tōya had unwillingly become this
ice golem's core, whatever it was called. Before he could voice his confusion,
however, did the student next to him continue.

"Anyways. I can promise he didn't do it because he had something against you but
rather because he was thinking of me. You know... it may look as though things
are all nice and fine now, but they weren't for the longest time. And even
today, after everything that's happened, there are there still some people that
don't like me because of my arm."

Well, that was certainly something Nero could relate to. Maybe not those
lunatics in Fortuna, but plenty of their clients were still afraid of him even
after he'd just risked his hide to save them. Ungrateful arseholes... One
might've figured he was getting used to this fact- and he was, actually, but
that didn't exactly mean it was particularly pleasant.

"But that doesn't matter anymore. I know it takes some time to really get that
into your head, but... All those other people? They don't matter."

Nero's eyes narrowed as he stared at the young man next to him. Those mismatched
eyes, however, were calm.

"I know this sounds stupid and I know I'm not the smartest person around. I'm
not sure if this is good advice or not. Who knows, maybe this is incredibly dumb
and I'll burn in hell for dragging you into this. But really, it helps. It
helped me a lot. It always weighed me down when I heard people talking about me
behind my back. It was even worse when they also talked about Tōya. He's always
been really popular, you know. Good-looking, smart, nice... He even had his own
fanclub and I guess they wanted me to be gone. They didn't understand why he was
even bothering with me. Truth be told... I didn't for a long time, either. I
mean, sure, we were childhood friends, but it's not like those never break
apart. We are so different..."

He trailed off, but after a brief moment, the red-clad young man picked himself
up again, looking straight into Nero's blue eyes.

"But if there's one thing I learnt from all that, it's this: I was overthinking
things. As ridiculous as that may sound coming from me, but I did. Tōya's told
me time and time again that I shouldn't listen to what those other people were
saying. They didn't know me and those that did, stick with me. Like Raiga-san
and Yuki, and even Karin and Makoto. You have people like that, too, don't
you?"

Nero nodded, feeling strangely strained. Yeah, this was much easier said than
done. He knew how people reacted to his arm, he'd fucking lived through it. It
couldn't be good for business if he caused potential clients to run away
screaming bloody murder on sight of him.

"There you have it." Atsuma nodded as well, a small smile playing about his
lips. Sympathy- not pity- was shining lightly in his heterochromic eyes. He
carefully put a gloved hand on Nero's shoulder- causing the younger male to
tense slightly.

"Really, I know it's hard, but you'll feel much better if you do."

"That's easy for you to say. At least your arm looks human."

"That's true, I guess...", Atsuma conceded, tilting his head to carefully
observe said arm. "But yours doesn't absorb things left and right, does it?
We're surrounded by Ether and Enchantments. I could bring down the entire
university with one touch if I'm not careful. Or if I wanted to."

Nero stayed silent at that. While it may be true that he'd been wondering, once,
whether he'd suddenly find himself- or rather, his arm- eating the coffee
machine one morning, it hadn't happened. His Devil Bringer only reacted to
artefacts-or body parts- of demonic nature. And not even all of them.

"Just... Think about it. Okay? This may sound presumptuous, but... You kind of
remind me of myself, a few years ago. So just... Trust your friends and your-
Dante. When they haven't done so before, they won't leave you hanging now. And
that's all you need, really. You can't stop people from looking, but you can
keep yourself from caring. These people don't know who you are, so why even
bother? You can't make everyone like you."

"As if I wanted everyone to like me", Nero snorted,but then he continued in a
much more even voice. "I guess you're right about that. I... I'll think about
it."

And just like that, he was met with a blindingly bright grin and another,
slightly harder clap on his shoulder.

"That's a great start! I don't know about you, but all this talking made me
really hungry, I could eat a horse. How about we grab something to eat before we
join Tōya and your friend? You guys are here for those things outside town,
aren't you?"

"What are you- oh. Right. Yeah, we are."

Feeling slightly flustered about having forgotten the actual reason for their
visit, Nero scratched the side if his nose. Wow, I must've gotten even more
comfortable than I thought... shot through his head as Atsuma got to his feet,
offering a hand to help Nero off the bench. Said part-devil accepted it after a
split second of hesitation, letting himself be pulled up into a standing
position. The two of them looked at each other for a moment, a grin with a hint
of a smile gracing Atsuma's face. Nero couldn't help himself and let the same
expression overtake his own features. The older student clapped him lightly on
the back, resting his hand on his shoulder blade, and ushered him towards the
cafeteria in the centre of the yard. And this time, Nero couldn't find it in
himself to object, even if he rolled his right sleeve down again.



                                   Chapter 3
                                   ---------


After having enjoyed a delightfully unhealthy lunch at one of the tables in the
cafeteria, Nero and Atsuma made their way back to Tōya's office. The
awkwardness from earlier seemed to have dissipated entirely by now and thus,
they were engaging in joyful, light-hearted chatter when the two people they
were seeking out appeared in the doorway across.
 
Nero looked up with a grin etched onto his face when he noticed Dante
approaching them. It was replaced by a scowl, however, when he saw the slightly
smug and patronising look on his older relative's mug. He crossed his arms in
front of his chest and stopped his stride, forcing Dante to cross the last
metres between them in order to clap him heavily on the back.
"I take it things went well and you made a new friend?"
 
"Fuck you."
 
Eloquent as ever, Nero brushed the hand and words off with an additional shrug.
He couldn't, however, stop the faint blush spreading across his cheeks. It's not
like it wasn't true... He could hear Dante laughing under his breath and Nero
felt compelled to stick out his tongue, but he could stop himself from indulging
his desire to react childishly to the situation. The other hunter patted him on
the shoulder once more as Nero's eyes wandered over to Atsuma and Tōya, who
seemed to be having their own silent conversation of a similar nature.
 
"Seriously though. You okay?"
 
"I'm fine. Nothing happened." Dante nodded his approval, but unwilling to let
him inquire any further, Nero asked a question of his own in turn.
 
"So, what about those demons?"
 
Ignoring the look his older relative bestowed upon him, he stubbornly stared
back, one eyebrow raised in finality. They probably would talk about this, but
not now. Nero wanted to keep this to himself a little longer.
 
"Actually, we decided to go pick you guys up and go take care of them now. Those
things do sound like demons alright, but they appear to be a special breed.
They're a pretty curious bunch, actually. Those golems you can see around town?
They apparently look like them-"
 
"Are you ready to go? Atsuma and I will accompany you. We have some experience
fighting those creatures so I am sure we can offer valuable help", Tōya
interrupted and both their heads turned to look at the blue-clad student. Nero
shrugged and turned towards the door leading to the entrance hall and therefore,
the exit. Dante next to him nodded.
 
"Sure. Lead the way", he said amicably, words accompanied by a sweeping gesture
of his hand. The two students passed the devil hunters. Nero observed them,
catching the small smiles they were sending his way, one a little bit goofy and
the other eerily calm. When they arrived at the door, the two part-demons
started to follow.
 
Nero let himself be filled in on everything Dante and Tōya had discussed while
he had been with Atsuma. Apparently, those demons looked like some of these
golems that were running around town and the reason those defence units weren't
attacking was due to their very peculiar programming. Set to only attack hostile
golems on sight, they wouldn't turn on humans without being told to, but those
creatures were neither golem nor human, so all the dispatched golems ever did
was their best impression of decorative statues. Which was, admittedly, very
convincing but not very useful. Dante himself wasn't entirely sure how that
worked, but it sounded reasonable enough to the two of them. This wouldn't be
the first case of ancient technology posing as a book with seven seals to modern
people.
 
They passed through the town centre again, where even more stalls seemed to have
been put up during their time at the university. Atsuma, appearing very excited,
suddenly discovered his inner tourist guide and information started bubbling out
of him, accompanied by the occasional, much less hyper comment from his opposite
friend.
 
"The Yokohama festival is coming up, that's why they're putting up all those
stands! It's super awesome, there're food and games and golem exhibitions, but
the best part by far are the golem battles! You need a golem of your own to
participate, but then you can fight teams and place bets and win money! Too bad
Yuki's not here, she'd love it. Last time she participated, things kinda went
downhill really fast." His voice took a slightly more sombre tone towards the
end of his expository outburst, but his exuberant grin faltered for only a
second. Tōya shot him an amused, but kind smile before going off his own
tangent of the festival's history and other according trivia. Dante and Nero
shared a look, both entertained but also slightly confused. Not quite
remembering having ever asked for any of this information, Nero found himself
oddly curious, still. Unwilling to put a name on the reason for that, namely his
interest in things concerning his new friend, he simply opted to listen. Dante,
usually not the type to go off on town tours, apparently decided to humour him
as Tōya did with Atsuma and simply let the two locals rattle off about this
building and that tree.
 
Sooner rather than later, though, the four found themselves at the border of the
city. Passing the guards, Tōya declared that the demons' hideout was about
thirty minutes by foot from there and they started their trek through the
peaceful environment. Nero could feel even Dante being somewhat appreciative of
the sheer nature surrounding this obviously advanced town. It was a long shot
from where Dante had been living for most of his life, which was speckled with
asphalt street and concrete buildings as far as eyes reach. Nero himself was a
lot more used to this, having been born and raised in the much more rural town
of Fortuna. But the forest surrounding his own hometown was a lot... wilder.
Aggressive, even. Entirely unlike the idyllic picture of green grass adorned by
trees, bushes and the occasional summer flower sprouting from the ground,
interrupted only by a stream flowing in gentle waves and the paved path leading
to other cities.
 
The excitement from earlier waned and made space for solemn peacefulness
sprinkled with anxious anticipation. Even Nero felt unusually restless-
normally, the prospect of being about to fight a bunch of demons either excited
or angered him, but this time was different. They had very little information to
go on and the bits and pieces they did know weren't exactly reassuring, either.
 
After a lengthy trek through the knee-high grass, the two students that were
leading them while quietly talking to each other came to a halt. Tōya raised
his hand to stop the demon hunters as well and he turned his head to address
them as he was brandishing his spear.
 
"Their hideout is at the foot of the mountains over there- but some strays might
be closer. Atsuma and I took care of some daring to venture too close to the
city just yesterday so they won't be too far out now, but better safe than
sorry."
Nero shook his head as he was glancing at his silent and definitely not
glowing Devil Bringer.
 
"Nah, they aren't nearby. This thing would glow if they were. I guess they're
staying in their cave after the thrashing you two gave some of their buddies."
 
Both the students' gazes fell onto his demonic appendage and Nero fought the
urge to hide it in his coat. Taking Atsuma's words to heart, he was going to try
and stop keeping his arm's existence a secret. At least around those he knew
wouldn't burn him at the stake for it.
 
Both pairs of eyes regarding his scaled hand were curious, though one had more
of a child-like quality while the other felt calculating. After a brief moment
of silence, Tōya put his spear back onto his back and nodded.
 
"I see. That arm of yours seems to have more uses than searching out similarly
unusual limbs."
 
"Yeah, you could say that..."
 
Nero looked to the side, uncomfortably scratching the back of his head while his
new acquaintance scowled at the other student.
 
"Tōya, don't be like that", he scolded, crossing his own arms in front of his
chest.
 
To both Dante and Nero's surprise, the only dark-haired male in their little
group laughed and raised his hands in an appeasing manner.
 
"Alright, Atsuma, sorry about that. I apologise, Nero."
 
"It's fine. Not like I'm not used to it."
 
Feeling oddly like pouting, the youngest of the group motioned for them to
continue. Dante, having observed this little exchange silently, closed in on him
and nudged his shoulder.
 
"Mind filling me in later?"
 
"Yeah, sure."
 
Ignoring the contemplative look his older relative was regarding him with, Nero
picked up his pace. He wanted to fight some demons- partly also because he was
curious about the two enchanters and what they could do. He wondered if Atsuma
was going to use that arm of his and if it was in any way similar to his own.
 
After a few minutes, Nero could feel his Devil Bringer reacting to the
presence of demons. It started glowing faintly, the light steadily growing
brighter as they got closer. Informing the others of his demon detector's
status, they brandished their weapons before proceeding with caution.
 
They could hear growling and beastly shrieks soon thereafter. The first
creatures started swarming them, cautious, but definitely out for blood. The
four took out their weapons, getting ready, and Nero curiously noted that Atsuma
was doing little more than adjusting his gloves. Was he going to fight demons
with his fists? Okay, sure, he had that arm of his, same as Nero had his own
peculiar voodoo-spirit thing coming out of his to help him smash demon skulls,
but he was part devil himself. Even Dante usually preferred equipping gauntlets
before getting personal with any of them.
 
The group stepped onto a lightly clearer area where the grass wasn't as high and
therefore not as obscuring for their vision when Nero briefly faltered in his
preparations. These were the demons? They sure as hell looked nothing like the
creatures he'd ever encountered before and judging the slightly bewildered look
Dante was shooting their opponents, he hadn't, either. Some of them actually
looked more like cute dolls rather than bloodthirsty beasts, like that little
green animal thing over there... which was baring its rather impressive teeth at
them while emitting grotesquely adorable squeals. Others looked like they were
straight out of a horror story- especially this huge blob-thing with multiple,
madly flailing snake-like heads that were slobbering froth all over the place.
 
"... This is going to be interesting", Dante commented next to him. "So, Tōya,
you said they're exactly like your golems? Any useful info on them?"
 
Tōya, who was eyeing them mildly interested, gave a curt nod. "Almost all
golems have elemental properties. I assume you aren't prepared for that, but
Atsuma and I cover fire and water. These creatures lack the very telling core
material these golems normally have, but their colour-scheme usually makes it
rather obvious as well."
 
"So we're going to leave things that look fire and water to you while taking
care of the rest?"
 
"That would be the smartest approach, yes. As soon as we've picked these out, we
will join you against the others."
 
"Sounds good enough to me. Let's do this."
 
As if on cue, some of the demons dashed forward in an attempt to sink their
considerable teeth and claws into them. Nero dived to the side, eyes
automatically drawn to Atsuma who was merely stabilising his footing and pulling
his fist back. Upon landing in a crouch on the floor, Blue Rose drawn and
aimed, Atsuma's fist connected with the ground and the earth shook. The young
part-devil could barely keep himself from gaping, shooting at the incoming
demons entirely out of reflex. The creatures weren't as lucky- many of them had
lost their balance and fallen over each other.
 
Only to have huge balls of water dropped onto them, drenching the lot and even
causing some of them to simply fall apart in an instant, courtesy of Tōya, who
had some magical patterns in blue drawn in the air above him. Nero and Dante
shared a look- impressed, but also feeling more than a bit fired up. Having
capable fighters with them was a nice change, but they sure as hell weren't
going to have themselves be shown up.
 
Focussing on another part of the horde approaching them, Nero revved his Red
Queen and dashed forward right into the fray, his sword connecting with a
satisfying amount of flesh. Shrieks and screams erupted around him as a downpour
of blood covered the demons he had missed. Good. If they bled like normal
demons, they could be killed like normal demons, too.
Baring his teeth, the young hunter began to hack away at the mass surrounding
him. He could hear someone shouting something, but before he had the chance to
even attempt to sort out the meaning, he was distracted by one of those huge
blob-thingies with too many heads and even more teeth dropping a big ball of
frothing spit right where he had been standing a split second ago before roaring
directly into his face. With a grimace, Nero didn't even waste a single thought
at the fact that he looked like he just came out of a wind tunnel and instead
fired up the engine on his Red Queen, dashing around the monstrosity to try and
slash its side.
 
To his immense surprise, the skin didn't give away under his sword and he almost
lost his balance when the blade simply slipped off what turned out to be a very
hard shell. Stumbling a little to catch his balance, he did an awkward twist
that almost looked like dancing to dodge an incoming barrage of sword and axe
slashes aiming for his head before using his movement's momentum to punch one of
the demons so hard in the face, it flew straight back into its brethren,
knocking them away and giving him some air to try and deal with this
snake-snail-thing. Briefly wondering which fucking idiot even thought of
designing a golem like this, he rushed around the demon to check whether its
back seemed vulnerable- or anything that wasn't as close to its multiple fangs
as its belly. But alas, Lady Luck didn't favour him this time and Nero growled
in displeasure. This was going to be a bitch.
 
Momentarily contemplating whether he should just stall for time and wait until
one of the others could provide some backup, he idly hacked some small girls
carrying flowers with very sharp looking edges around to pieces. Looking at them
and then this other beast, the entire situation he found himself in started
feeling more and more absurd by the minute. Where the hell did these things
even come from? Thankfully, the snail-snake didn't seem to be very mobile so
Nero could almost safely take care of the other creatures nearby while evading
the teeth that were trying to rip his entire arm off. However, a shadow was
suddenly cast over him, causing him to look up. Four or five griffon-like beasts
were descending onto him, talons and claws bared to tear him a new one. Quickly
rolling to the side, he grabbed a long, thin sword a female looking knight had
dropped upon its death and hurled it at his attackers. It pierced through the
first one, the force behind the throw strong enough to slam it into the two
behind, causing them all to tumble down onto the ground in a rain of blood.
 
Feeling some drops splattering onto him, Nero quickly shook his head to keep
both his hair and the liquid out of his eyes before brandishing Red Queen,
sharp edge directed at the last griffon. Pushing off the ground, he jumped high
into the air, dragging his sword after him in an arc and felt with satisfaction
how it cleanly sliced his enemy open. With a deafening shriek, the beast died
and Nero landed back on the ground, followed by guts covering him from above.
 
"Great", he mumbled and shook himself violently to get rid of the disgusting
mess hanging off him. This briefly caused him to- not exactly forget about the
snail-snake, but it was enough to make him miss one of its heads coming close
enough to lunge at his shoulder which was covered by something that looked like
a liver. Just barely noticing the movement behind him, Nero whirled around,
sword raised to intercept the razor-sharp teeth aiming for him, but it was
not Red Queen that connected.
It was a big, knight-like demon wearing a very sturdy, but also horribly
misshapen, looking armour that suddenly came flying from the right, smashing
right into the snake-head and tearing it off before its teeth, as long and
thick as his , could touch either the metal of his sword or the flesh in his
shoulder. Not even hearing the ear-piercing scream the creature omitted, the
young hunter's head whipped to the side. Atsuma was standing there, right fist
still raised from when he had punched the knight straight into the
snake-snail-thing. Nero stared for a whole three seconds in which Atsuma winked
at him before turning around to smash his fist not into another of those
knights, but directly through its armour and ribcage, causing it to
disintegrate on the spot.
 
Tearing himself away from the unreal scenario unravelling in front of him (Does
it look like this when Dante and I are at work, too? Man, no wonder people are
scared of us...), Nero returned both his attention and the blade of his sword to
the remaining demons around him. Stabbing one of them through the chest before
revving up his Red Queen, causing the shrieking beast to burst into flames, he
lifted it into the air and threw it into a group of other creatures that were
slowly approaching him. The snake-snail-thing was beginning to calm down again,
although its violent twitching and piercing shrieks suggested it was still in a
lot of pain- understandably. It turned its remaining heads into his direction
and levelled a burning gaze at Nero that promised a very slow and equally
agonising death, foamy saliva dripping out of its mouths in long, thick strings.
He watched as it started in his direction, faster than before. Funny what anger
could do to someone- or something.
 
The young hunter eyed it, fumbling for his revolver in its holster at his side.
 
"I guess you still want a piece of me? I'm not sure that's going to be healthy,
you know. It's cost you one head already, I'd reconsider if I were you", he
informed it nonchalantly, waving one scaled finger at it.
 
Pulling his Blue Rose out of the leather- along with a squishy, brownish-green
spleen that landed on the ground with a disgustingly wet smack that caused him
to grimace- he gripped his sword tightly and carefully closed in on the
multi-headed beast. Aiming with his revolver for the soft-looking flesh at its
belly, he zigzagged around, dashing in and out of its range, evading it
dangerous teeth that were aggressively aiming for his body parts. He was trying
to get close enough to get a hit or two in, but to no avail. However, it neither
felt nor looked as though his bullets were leaving any kind of relevant impact-
if anything, they only seemed to make it even angrier, as if they were mere
flies. He growled in frustration, his blood rising, and was about to throw all
caution far into the wind when suddenly flames shot past him, hitting the
creature's shelled side. Although no marks could be seen, he could hear it
hissing out of multiple mouths, smoke rising from the spot where the fire had
connected. Nero shot a brief look behind him and saw Atsuma approaching, looking
grimly and also slightly puzzled at the monstrosity.
 
He was more than a little filthy, soot and dirt covering him from head to toe.
One of his sleeves was missing almost entirely and Nero could see an angry, red
line on his thigh, still trickling some blood into his battered trousers. Nero
was sure, though, that he didn't look any better. Worse, probably, thanks to the
shower of blood and guts he'd brought upon himself earlier. Deciding he'd had
enough, he started channelling his energy into his Blue Rose- these shots had
hurt every enemy in the past and he'd twice be damned to hell and back if this
thing shrugged those off as well. Bringing up his Devil Bringer to soften the
recoil, he pulled the trigger and noted with satisfaction that the beast was at
least flinching from those shots. Atsuma next to him nodded before readjusting
his dirtied gloves and rushing straight into the beast's range. It was most
likely only due to it still being distracted by his earlier attack that the
red-clad student got close enough to deliver a hard and flaming punch to the
beast's soft belly. It flinched back violently so that hit must have hurt, but
its heads were already snapping at Atsuma who dashed to the side to avoid them.
Figuring that playing tag would be the smartest approach in taking this
monstrosity down, Nero instantly used that new opening to rush forward,
glowing Red Queen in hand. He forcefully pushed off the ground, propelling
himself high into the air when he saw it smashing onto the ground with one of
its heads- which turned out to be a good decision when he could see the earth
shaking and Atsuma briefly losing his balance. The beast tried to go for him,
but Nero was faster.
 
With a mighty swing downward and a shout, he landed on the ground hard, his
sword cutting through three necks at once. The moment the creature started
wailing and thrashing, black blood spilt out of the severed and burnt stumps,
slicking the ground. Nero jumped back again to avoid being hit by it, but Atsuma
was there in an instant. His fists were already surrounded by intricate patterns
similar to the ones Tōya had drawn into the air at the beginning of their
battle, but this time, they were red and orange instead of white and blue. His
older friend landed a barrage of heavy punches on the demon's soft belly, flames
bursting forth every time they connected and the creature's screeches were
getting weaker, its movements slower. Fuelled by the prospect of this fight
being over soon, Nero raised his Devil Bringer for one final attack.
Propelling himself forward, he drew his scaled arm back, its spectral version
appearing above. It met its goal with a crunch that was both satisfying and
disgusting at the same time, but the beast let out one last, deafeningly
high-pitched shriek and then started to melt, leaving only greenish-black goo in
its wake. Nero took a quick step back, banishing his spectral arm with a
thought, and wrinkled his nose.
 
"This is just so gross."
 
Atsuma, who'd been closer to the dying beast, had leapt back and evaded the
worst of the still bubbling mass that was slowly forming a huge puddle on the
ground, but some drops had hit him. Pulling a face, he made a noise of
confirmation before shaking himself like a dog that just got out of the water to
get rid of the mess. Nero covered his face to protect it from friendly fire and
was about to snark at his newest friend whether he could please not do that
while standing right next to him, but the very moment he opened his mouth, an
earth-shattering roar could be heard from the base of the mountain. Both of them
snapped back to attention. They'd figured that some stragglers would still be
around, but that had sounded an awful lot like the thing they'd just killed
and really, neither of them had any particular desire to face another of those.
 
To their surprise and worry both, though, the earth started shaking soon after.
And mere seconds later, another of those snake-snail-things with too many heads
appeared. This one, however, offered two glaring differences to the one they'd
beaten seconds ago.
 
Facing an enemy with seven or eight heads and a nearly impenetrable shell that
was about 15 feet tall was hard enough. Facing an enemy with roughly twenty
heads and a nearly impenetrable shell that was about 45 feet tall was leaving
them both stunned, mouths wide open and eyes as large as saucers. Fighting a
gigantic statue was one thing, but a living creature with a body as large and
massive as a two-story house? For whatever reason, Nero briefly wondered what
the likes of Belial or Echidna might've said to this. They'd already been big,
but compared to this thing, they reminded him more of young hooligans trying to
prove something rather than the dangerous demon rulers they actually were.
Atsuma next to him seemed to agree, albeit indirectly, judging his reaction.
 
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!"



                                   Chapter 4
                                   ---------


Atsuma's scandalised shout had also gained both Dante's and Tōya's attention.
They'd teamed up to track down and kill the few demons that had gotten away from
their half of the battlefield, but upon hearing their companion, their heads
whipped around into the direction of his voice. Tōya did a double take upon
seeing the gigantic beast- even from this distance of over 400 feet, it looked
incredibly impressive. For the first time today, raw emotion- namely, surprise-
showed on his face. Even Dante looked more than just a little impressed, his
eyebrows raised so high they'd disappeared underneath his hair. It took a
moment, but after a second or two, the veteran hunter tore his icy blue eyes
away from the giant to make out both Atsuma and Nero in the distance, looking
even filthier than he and his temporary partner did, but in pretty good health.
He couldn't make out any details, of course, but their both stances looked
normal. Well, aside from Atsuma's right hand that was pointing at the creature
approaching the two young men.
 
Dante could suddenly hear a sharp cling when Tōya gripped his spear so tight
his knuckles turned white, his eyes suddenly very hard and cold. He was grinding
his teeth as he stared in the direction of their companions, leaving the demon
hunter mildly curious. It took him less than a second to figure out that Tōya
was insanely worried about the other two- well, maybe one moreso than the other,
but still.
 
„Come on, we've got to help them.“
 
Without even waiting for an answer, the blue-clad student dashed off in the
direction of their friends and the beast that was slowly getting close enough to
start attacking the two young men. Giving himself another two seconds to
observe, Dante nodded when they both fought off their petrification and dived
into opposite directions to evade the huge jaw aiming for them. As soon as he
saw the two getting back up off the floor, Dante, too, broke into a sprint,
following Tōya to aid in taking this thing down. He trusted Nero to take care
of himself, especially since he hadn't needed to trigger yet as well, and this
Atsuma didn't strike him as a weakling or newbie, either, but he was not going
to risk anyone getting hurt today.
 
And being eaten by that thing certainly qualified as 'getting hurt'.
 
                                                     
                                                    
 
Unlike Atsuma, who only slowly regained his wits, Nero was already furiously
thinking about a way to take this monster down somehow. Eyeing it warily as he
zigzagged in a mad dash to left and right, one jaw after another snapping close
in the spots he'd been a second ago, he couldn't really think of a lot they
could do at this point.
 
Yes, they had managed to get through the smaller version of this thing to end
its miserable existence, but with twice as many heads and a lot more reach,
there just weren't any openings they could abuse to get close. They needed to
create an opening themselves, but the way it looked now, that was going to be
almost impossible- neither he nor Atsuma had the time to stay in one place for
more than half a second. Not exactly the best prerequisites to try anything but
keep running at this point.
 
Feeling his blood rising and a darker power pulsing inside of him, Nero decided
to simply throw all caution into the wind and do what he could do in this
situation. Which meant facing this beast down head-on. Grinding his teeth, he
increased his speed and pulled out his trusty revolver. He doubted the shells
would even do the tiniest bit of damage, but that wasn't what he was hoping for.
He shot blindly into a cluster of multiple heads, assuming they'd hit their mark
anyway. And besides- the more heads he got, the better. His plan's success
became obvious when the frequency of the jaws closing in on him increased
rapidly- he knew he was already beyond pushing it if the teeth grazing him,
ripping his coat to shreds and even tearing his jeans in places and leaving red
gashes behind in his flesh were any indication. Figuring seven heads right on
his tail were enough if he didn't want to risk ending his life prematurely by
even the tiniest mistake, Nero braced his leg against the ground mid-dash,
turned around and used his momentum to launch himself into the direction he'd
just come from- right into a few snake's heads with dozens of thin teeth almost
as long as he was tall.
 
He crashed right into them, the impact causing his bones to rattle and less than
a second later, a sharp pain shot through his leg, a distracted look revealing a
razor-sharp tooth going straight through his thigh, almost taking it off
entirely. Biting his lip, he summoned the power resting within and felt it
surging forth, pulsating through his entire body before being unleashed in a
powerful explosion of blue light.
 
Nero almost fell to his knees as his vision flashed white due to the burning in
his leg and a pained scream tore out of his throat. It was drowned out by the
agonising screeches the humongous demon was letting out of its remaining heads,
however, so not even he could hear its echo. The shockwave had forcefully pushed
the heads around him away- as he'd expected and counted on-, but that also meant
the tooth lodged in his leg had been pushed out, tearing more flesh and bones
apart that were now knitting themselves back together, the infernal pain
subsiding and making place for a dull ache that would fade soon as well.
 
Forcing himself to open his red-glowing eyes, he pushed himself back into a
standing position again, the material of his right pant leg hanging down in
tatters, soaked in his own blood. He looked at the beast that was thrashing
around, long necks twisting and turning as it continued to scream. His stunt had
blown two heads clean off and fried another two, leaving them almost entirely
harmless- well, not as much as he'd hoped for, but that was at least something.
Maybe it would give him just a little more room to breathe and try figuring
something out.
 
Unlike its smaller counterpart, this giant recovered from this blow a lot
faster. The decapitated and charred stumps were curled close to its body and
oozing blood in thick drips onto the ground, but new ones were already searching
for his presence again. It moved its huge body into his direction, deceptively
quick despite its mass and raised almost half of its heads high into the air
before arching over him- and a brown, mud-like substance swelled forth from its
maws, aiming for an area of which he was the centre. In the same moment Nero
kicked himself off the ground to get out of the danger zone, he inwardly cursed
that he couldn't use his Devil Bringer in the same way he normally would. But
utilising the spectral arm on something as big as this needed concentration and
also a moment of stillness, and even though the scales had proven to be equally
impenetrable as this creature's shell, that didn't account for all that much if
it could just eat him along with his arm.
 
The muddy mass was descending onto him quickly, accelerated by the pressure of
which the beast expelled it while simultaneously turning its heads to keep
following him. Although he was pushing himself and his limits to go faster, it
was coming ever the closer and just when he knew that he couldn't get away and
was bracing himself for the impact and any possible results of coming in touch
with this substance, did a white and blue pattern above him materialise, lines
weaving intricate designs to form a cocoon around him. Slightly surprised, Nero
kept moving, the glowing shell following him as the brown liquid harmlessly slid
off, not a drop touching him directly. He wasn't quite sure what was happening
next, but he could hear the sound of waves coming rapidly closer and mere
seconds later, water was washing the mud away. He stopped, watching as a large
wave, three times as tall as he was and just as wide cleared all the
snake-snail-vomit away before forcefully crashing into its producer itself. The
protective shield around him was fading as the young hunter saw the beast being
pushed back by the pressure ever so slightly, jaws snapping at thin air but
unable to reach him. He felt another person standing next to him and glanced to
his right.
 
Tōya was standing there, looking decidedly more ragged than earlier today with
sweat dripping down his temples. He was breathing heavily, his face both pale
and red at the same time from exhaustion. He was gripping his spear tightly and
spared Nero only a quick look along with a short nod and the customary You okay?
Good. before his blue eyes focussed on another spot in the distance, slightly to
the left of the giant beast. His mouth was pressed into a thin line as he
watched grimly and Nero followed his trail of sight.
 
He was just in time to watch Atsuma fending off an attacking head with burning
fists when another was closing in on him. Before it could get too close,
however, Rebellion suddenly came flying from the side, going straight through
its neck, the impact knocking it down and pinning it to the ground. Less than a
second later, Dante leapt in and simply threw a surprised Atsuma over his
shoulder before heading in their direction with a series of long jumps. As soon
as they reached Tōya and him, Dante put the other man back onto the ground, who
then proceeded to scratch the back of his head with a sheepish expression before
offering his thanks for the save. Giving his older relative a brief look, he
noted how beaten-up he, too, looked, although he'd managed to stay unscathed as
of yet. His attention was back on Atsuma again, however, when the red-clad
student put his hands together and momentarily closed his eyes, followed by a
small, white light surrounding him and finally settling in his chest. Nero
watched with mild amazement as his scratches closed again, leaving unharmed,
albeit scarred, flesh behind.
 
“Huh. That's useful”, Dante voiced both their thoughts as Atsuma opened his
eyes again and let out a small laugh.
 
“Haha, yeah. It takes a moment, though, so it's not really useful directly in
battle. It's great to keep me going during short breathers like this, though.
But Tōya, you look more than spent, you should fall back and-”
 
“Don't worry about me, Atsuma, I still have a trick or two up my sleeve.”
 
Atsuma looked doubtful, but instead of voicing his disagreement, he shrugged his
shoulders and brought his hands together once more. This time, it took a moment
longer, but then his entire body started glowing along with some sparks. It
disappeared after a moment, but when he opened his heterochromic eyes once more,
they were flashing with an entirely new strength and fighting spirit. He slammed
his right fist into the palm of his hand and offered them all a grin. As he was
about to open his mouth, his gaze settled on Nero and instead of speaking, he
let out a surprised noise.
 
“Whoa! What's that?”
 
Nero stared at his new friend blandly for a moment before he remembered that he
had triggered earlier. Funny how this seemed to shock him while his own,
wondrous abilities didn't. Instead of answering- not that he was entirely sure
how to explain the spirit made out of blue light hovering behind him, but oh
well- he decided to be the voice of reason for once.
 
“I'd say we save the chit-chat for after we've dealt with our big bud behind
us.”
 
Atsuma did another double-take upon hearing his echoing voice, but Nero paid
that no mind. Instead, he awaited confirmation from the three of them, which
Dante and Tōya immediately gave in form of a nod. A short moment later, the
red-clad student agreed as well. All four of them turned to face the giant
creature again that was straining against the water pushing it back. It had been
trying to reach them, but the wave pressing against it proved to be powerful
enough to lock them both into place. Nero assumed that was one of the reasons
why Tōya was looking so spent- not that he knew all that much about this
Enchantment-business, but from what little he'd seen and gathered, this must've
taken a lot of effort.
 
The very moment the blue-clad student lifted the Enchantment, the water slowly
disappearing, his shoulders sagged and he took multiple deep breaths, looking
exhausted, but also a lot less tense. The same second that the huge demon was
able to overpower the force of the water was also their starting signal, and all
three of them rushed forward. Out of the corner of his eye, Nero could see Dante
flicking his wrist, causing Rebellion to return to its owner who caught it
easily with his other hand. Nero called Yamato forth, figuring that he might as
well give it a shot- this sword was supposed to cut through anything, right?
Although before he could even attempt to cut through the creature's hard shell
protecting its soft body, more than a dozen heads were already aiming for the
three of them again. They all scattered, jumping into different directions to
increase their chance of getting close enough to do some actual damage and Nero
could see Dante throwing his sword once again. Rebellion cut off another head
and damaged one more throat before slowing in mid-air to stop and return. Nero
growled as he rolled to the side, evading sharp teeth for the umpteenth time.
Sometimes he wanted a sword like that, too. It seemed hella useful. Not to
mention that it would speed this fight up immensely- he was getting more than
sick of being forced to constantly try and avoid being skewered. Or digested.
 
Putting one foot behind his other to strengthen his stance, Nero's eyes locked
on one of the heads descending onto him. Instead of diving to the side, however,
he stayed where he was, Yamato raised and ready. As soon as he could see through
its widely opened mouth directly into its cavity, the young hunter seemingly
disappeared in a flash, reappearing a couple feet further directly underneath
its throat. Which showed to be cut open straight in the middle seconds later,
the beast's scream dying in its damaged throat before the accompanying head
slumped down to the ground lifelessly. Not wasting any time, he rushed forward
again, ignoring the sudden burst of flames on his other side that also cut one
of the demon's shrieks short. The sickening smell of burnt flesh he was so
familiar with entered his nose and he snorted, his red-glowing eyes focussing on
another head that was about to spit the same brown substance out as it had
earlier. The moment it started leaving its mouth, he kicked himself off the
ground and jumped to the side, but upon hitting the ground with such pressure,
the gooey mass splattered in all directions. He avoided most of it, but some
sprayed onto what had remained of his coat- and burnt right through it like an
acid, sizzling and smoking. Slightly bewildered, he sent a brief prayer of
gratitude in the direction he'd last seen Tōya in- getting hit with a whole
load of this stuff would have been- uncomfortable, to say the least.
 
“Tōya!”
 
Nero's head snapped to his right, alarmed at the shout, but all he could see was
Atsuma standing still, one arm raised into the air and red light gathering in
his skyward palm. Another small ball of light, this one light blue in colour,
came flying from behind them and swirled around the other before merging with
it. And to both his surprise and amazement, another light spontaneously formed
at his Devil Bringer. It was a darker shade of blue, exactly the same as the
spirit towering behind him and it instantly floated over to Atsuma to join the
others. The ball turned orange and started spreading, first covering the
student's hand and then his arm before it began drawing more of those patterns
he'd already seen into the air. But instead of staying like that, the lines
quickly turned into fire and Nero did a double-take when he realised it was
adapting the shape of a giant bird- or rather Phoenix. As soon as it was
complete, the majestic looking bird made out of flames straightened once before
leaning down again, following the movement's of Atsuma's hand as he led it
towards their enemy. It flew right into the beast's body, engulfing it in fire
that quickly caused the creature to start screeching again in pain. Smoke was
rising from its body even before the phoenix had passed it entirely to finally
dissipate behind it, leaving scorch marks all over its shell. Another two heads
had failed to get out of the firebird's way and were now rendered use- and
lifeless, leaving only charred clumps behind that were attached to twitching
throats.
 
Even though about half of the beast's necks were incapacitated and rendered
harmless, it was not about to give in. Quite the contrary, actually, because a
mighty roar erupted out of its remaining throats, chunks of the brown acid as
well as frothy saliva raining down on the three of them. Nero brought up his
arms to cover his face and saw his two companions doing the same. Bits of the
mud-coloured substance hit each of them, smoke rising from their melting clothes
and burning skin. What they couldn't see, however, was the demon raising its
massive body high into the air, supported by short, but sturdy legs no one
realised it had hidden underneath its impenetrable shell. It lifted its corpus
about seven or eight feet up and stayed like that for a moment, swaying a little
back and forth-
 
And then, at least 40 tonnes of flesh, bones and shell came crashing down onto
the ground.
 
Nero let out a startled shout and accidentally let himself de-trigger out of
surprise as the floor beneath his feet started shaking, tears appearing in the
abused earth. He almost lost his balance and stumbled a couple steps back, the
ground rumbling and moving underneath his boots. Apparently, there were some
caves or other empty rooms underground, for he could see entire chunks of the
surface simply breaking away, leaving dark holes behind that seemed to go a lot
deeper than anyone might have guessed beforehand. The young hunter ripped his
Red Queen off his back and stabbed it into the ground in front of him, holding
tight onto its handle in order to aid his struggle against this artificial
earthquake. He could see Dante doing the same, Rebellion halfway buried in a
chunk of earth that resisted the rumbling and shaking caused by the monster. At
the same time his relative lifted his head to focus on said beast, probably
already devising a plan to take this thing down fast despite the floor breaking
apart beneath them, he heard a yelp on his other side followed by the thundering
noise of shattering earth.
 
Turning his head just in time to see the ground underneath Atsuma giving away,
causing the student to fall back into one of the deep-looking cave-ins, Nero
felt his blood run cold. Not wasting even a split second to think, he let go of
his Red Queen and rushed over, skidding to a halt on the slippery floor directly
in front of the hole he'd seen his new friend fall into. He knelt down at the
edge, ignoring the bits and pieces of stone breaking off and falling into the
darkness with small clinks. His vision was slightly blurred from the still
moving and shaking earth, but he could make Atsuma's bright red uniform out just
fine- he was just swinging onto a small platform in the face of the freshly
created cliff with some sort of grapple. His quick reaction had obviously saved
him so far, but his face was more than a little pale. Nero could see his eyes
widen when Atsuma spotted him crouching at the edge of the miniature cliff above
him.
 
“ATSUMA!”
 
Tōya was at Nero's side immediately, his face entirely void of its usual calm
and instead distorted in a grimace of raw panic as he dropped to the ground, air
leaving his lungs in ragged and faltering breaths.
 
Nero didn't pay him any mind as he lowered himself even further onto the floor,
as far as his position allowed. The ground was still rumbling, the earthquake
still causing more rifts. Lying down to increase his reach would've been too
dangerous just in case the surface right underneath him was going to give in,
too. Leaning forward to a dangerous degree, he clung to the edge of the cliff he
was crouching at, reaching down with his Devil Bringer. After a short moment of
hesitation, Atsuma lifted his right arm, stretching his body as far up as it
allowed. The ledge he was standing on was crumbling underneath him, promising
him a very deep descend if they didn't hurry.
 
Their fingertips touched and Nero felt a jolt running through his arm as if it
had been electrified. Judging the way the other man twitched violently as well,
he'd probably felt it, too, but he kept reaching up. The part-devil strained his
shoulder as much as he could without dislocating it- not that it would be a
lasting problem, but if there was something lacking right now, it was time to
let it heal again. Their fingers brushed against each other a few more times,
each contact shooting another spark through his Devil Bringer. After a few more
tries, their palms finally, finally connected and their fingers clasped
instantly, both putting all their considerable strength into this deathgrip.
Oddly enough, Nero was suddenly sure his fingers would be broken if he was
anyone else, but he quickly pushed that thought aside again. The current in his
demonic limb increased, heating it up and causing a restlessness to invade him.
Ignoring this reaction, however, Nero pushed with his human hand against the
ground as he lifted Atsuma up. The first inches were slow, but as soon as he
could use his shoulders as leverage as well, he hauled the older man over the
edge of the cliff and back into safety, the force behind this movement causing
the freshly rescued student to stumble forward a little. It didn't hide the
fact, however, that he, too, was apparently feeling something unusual. His face
was contorted in exertion and he was gripping his right wrist tightly as his
legs gave in.
 
Nero let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and dropped to his knees as
well. He was panting, mostly because of his strangely behaving arm. It was
glowing a bright blue, much brighter than he'd ever seen before. One look to
Atsuma revealed that he, too, seemed to be struggling with his own particular
appendage again. The golden lines were back, pulsating in an almost soothing
rhythm as the student was clutching his wrist. He heard a moan leaving his lips
and as Atsuma lifted his head, Nero noticed that his right eye, normally purple,
was glowing scarlet as well as a dark patch forming around it. The light from
his artificial limb shone brighter and brighter before it seemingly left the
skin, wandering up his biceps and reaching his shoulder as it turned into fine,
swirling lines that were red in colour, his entire arm turning black. And then,
just like that, outgrowths spread on his shoulder, ragged at the edges as if
they were carved from rocks.
 
His own arm was getting unbearably hot and Nero felt his vision being blinded by
a curtain of red. His blood was boiling and he suddenly felt an indescribable
thirst for power and revenge and the desire to hurt and harm and destroy and
killkillKILL, almost overtaking him. He fell to his knees, his chest heaving and
his eyes shut tight as he struggled to force those urges down. It wasn't as if
his Devil Bringer had always been entirely silent- he remembered that time very
well when it had yearned for more strength back in Agnus' lab, when he'd toed
the line between life and death. But this was different, it was much stronger
and more nuanced, but at the same time, it also felt more basic, as if it was
its purpose instead of desire.
 
He heard Atsuma moan in an inhuman voice next to him, also crouched on the floor
as he seemed to be fighting his own battle with the power residing within his
artificial arm. Through his veiled vision, he could barely make out Tōya who
was still lacking his earlier composure entirely as he was staring at the two of
them, jaw slack and eyes widened.
 
“Goddamnit... I'm your Master!”, he heard Atsuma growl, voice growing louder
at the end of his sentence. He punched the ground with his transformed arm,
which only caused it to glow even brighter, red lines flashing menacingly as the
student finished with a drawn-out shout from deep within his lungs.
 
This was the moment Nero realised that their arms seemed to not just react to,
but actually affect each other somehow, because in the same second Atsuma seemed
to inwardly arch against the demands of his own limb, was the feeling in his
Devil Bringer intensifying as well. As if through cotton, he could feel Dante's
demonic energy flickering back and forth, erratic as if its inner balance was
being disturbed by the two of them but quite frankly, Nero couldn't care less.
Dante was more than capable of watching his own butt, proven by the fact that
he'd managed to keep the gigantic beast occupied as he and Atsuma were fighting
their own, personal demons.
 
He was gritting his teeth so hard he could feel his jaw cracking when, all of a
sudden, the entire outburst of primal desires and instincts simply vanished,
leaving only a gentle hum and the familiar part of his demonic heritage behind.
He slowly opened his eyes, vision as sharp as ever, as he carefully climbed to
his feet. To his surprise, Atsuma was not only as still as a statue now, but
also deadly silent. His eyes were closed and the rapidly flashing lines on his
now obviously inhuman arm stopped blinking frantically, resuming their slow,
rhythmic pulsing Nero had almost gotten used to by now instead. Then, the black
fingers twitched and Atsuma opened his eyes again before cautiously rising to
stand. The buzz inside of Nero's Devil Bringer seemed to resonate with the older
male's movements and he unconsciously shifted his weight to shoot a
contemplative look at it. Atsuma's head whipped up and he stared at Nero as the
latter moved- okay, apparently, his Devil Bringer wasn't reacting to Atsuma's
artificial arm, they were reacting to each other. Interesting. He had no idea
why or how or what for, but it was definitely interesting.
 
Their eyes locked and after a short moment, Nero felt a smirk sneaking its way
onto his face, mirrored by the grin Atsuma's lips were curling into. It almost
seemed as if they understood each other entirely without words now and without
further ado, they both nodded and rushed towards the gigantic creature that had
been all but forgotten, having had only Dante as a playmate for the previous
minutes. Summoning forth Yamato once more, he and Atsuma could approach the
demon freely as it was much too occupied with Dante- who was jumping from head
to head, looking as if he was having the time of his life every time he caused
the heads to bite one another in their attempt to get him off. The young
part-devil snorted- figured that Dante would turn this into a game while
everyone else was struggling with inhuman body parts and supernatural beings
within those body parts.
 
As soon as he was close enough, Nero flash-stepped onto the other side of the
beast, going entirely unnoticed. At least, until the beast momentarily stilled
as cuts appeared on its shell- before it fell apart, some of the plates sliding
to the ground with heavy thuds and revealing soft, green flesh. The same second
the monster decided that Dante was the lesser threat and instead turned its
remaining heads to Nero, did Atsuma draw his black-and-red arm back as he was
still running, white light gathering around it, before throwing himself
fist-first into the demon's vulnerable, unprotected side.
 
A ripple went through its soft body and it stopped moving entirely. It wasn't
dead yet, however, so Nero vanished Yamato again, calling his spectral arm forth
instead and let it grow in size until it was almost as big as it had been when
he'd crushed the Saviour's head back in Fortuna. He leaned back, balancing on
his right leg in order to put as much force as possible into this punch and
could see Atsuma doing the same on the beast's other side. A growling shout tore
free from his vocal chords, in tune with the ever-increasing hum in his demonic
arm as he threw his body forward, his motion mirrored twenty-five feet away from
him, and felt his fist connecting hard with the green body, the much larger
phantom version above him doing the same.
 
And finally- finally did the beast let out its final wail, a cry so high-pitched
and loud Nero had to cover his ears as they ripped out of multiple throats at
the same time. The massive body started to melt, the remains sinking onto the
ground and disappearing as its initial form was distorted by the bubbles rising
to the liquid's surface. Three minutes later, the creature was gone as well as
what had been left of it, only the destroyed ground with miniature canyons and
ragged earth everywhere providing evidence of the battle that had transpired
here.
 
And two bodies of young men returned to their human form again, adrenaline
leaving their veins and making space for the exhaustion that followed, and they
sank to their knees.



                                   Chapter 5
                                   ---------


Dante, figuring that Nero and Atsuma would finish this fight any time now,
retreated to look after the fourth member of their little group who'd sunk to
the floor due to sheer overexertion. Deactivating his Devil Trigger, he strolled
to the blue-clad student as the other two were landing the finishing blows on
their gigantic friend and met the dulled eyes with a half-grin of his own.
Kneeling down next to him, he followed the younger man's line of sight. Beastie
was just ascending to a higher plane of existence in form of a huge puddle of
sticky goo and the hunter nodded to himself.
 
This fight had been interesting. More than that, actually- not only had it been
a challenge, it had also caused him to go through one roller-coaster of
emotions, all things considered. Even though nothing could've kept him from
smiling like some sort of madman when he saw both Atsuma and Nero awakening
their inner powers to finally take their opponent down, he was going to give
Nero an earful for his stunt earlier. His heart had stopped for longer than just
a second when he'd seen his last living relative throwing himself right into a
handful of gaping jaws with teeth longer and sharper than he cared for. Unlike
Nero, Dante had actually seen what this idea had done besides blowing up a
couple heads- which, admittedly, had been a good shot. Namely the long tooth not
only impaling his younger friend, but the blast knocking it back almost causing
him to tear his own leg off entirely. It couldn't have been more than an inch or
two of skin and muscle remaining to keep it attached to his body. Relief had
flooded him upon seeing his partner on his knees, but intact.
 
Only to be replaced by worry and a slight hint of panic again when almost a
dozen heads had risen to shower Nero with the acidic substance at the same time.
He hated to admit, but if it hadn't been for Tōya- who's rational and
calculating mind was still working despite the immense fright he'd obviously
felt for his childhood friend-, that might have been the end for Nero, and maybe
even himself, too. Even if he had managed to get close enough to do something,
he was still at a loss as to what he could have done to get them both to safety.
But his client had motioned to him that he'd take care of Nero while at the same
time asking him to help Atsuma, something he'd immediately agreed to. He'd
already seen enough of Tōya to figure that he had to have an idea if he was
dishing out plans like that. So while the student had taken to save his
relative's butt, he'd jumped in to get Atsuma out of the assaulting heads, the
young man thankfully fine aside from a few scratches and bruises.
 
From then on, the fight had been difficult, but not nearly as bad for his heart.
Sure, he'd startled as well when beastie had decided to cause a freaking
earthquake, especially when Atsuma had lost his footing and fallen into one of
the rips in the ground, be as soon as he saw both Nero and Tōya rushing over to
help, he had no qualms about leaving it in their capable hands, instead opting
to keep their enemy busy and their backs free. Which had been kinda fun, too,
and that was always a plus.
 
Dante had felt that strange surge in both familiar and unknown energy as well,
his demonic heritage reacting to it erratically, but he'd been too busy playing
catch with a dozen heads to actually check what was happening. Seeing the two
youngsters return, both their incredible powers unleashed and proceeding to
pound their beast-friend into the ground had been more than satisfying.
 
And here he was now, Tōya's arm slung over his shoulder and leading the both of
them to their friends who were still on all fours due to overwhelming
exhaustion, but conscious and, in Atsuma's case, mostly unhurt. His client let
go of him in order to walk the last few steps to his childhood friend on his
own, plopping down on the ground next to him, as Dante made his way over to
Nero. Crouching down, he placed a hand on the younger part-demon's shoulder,
taking in how he was staring at the ground beneath them with unfocussed eyes,
hair drenched with sweat.
 
“You okay?”, Dante asked quietly, looking for any hints of lasting damage,
as unlikely as they were. Nero's healing factor was a little weaker than his own
when in human form, but definitely not while they were triggered. He hadn't seen
anything that would have caused him any lasting injuries, so there shouldn't be
any on Nero, either, but better be safe than sorry.
 
“Nothing a good night's sleep won't fix. Damn, I'm spent”, the hunter
muttered, a wry half-smirk sneaking onto his lips. “Don't just stand there.
Help me up, man”, he ordered, his voice tired, but humorous. Dante let out a
small laugh before obliging, putting one arm around Nero's waist to assist him
in getting into an upright position. As soon as he was standing, the younger man
stretched, his spine popping back into place loudly and a groan escaped his
lips. Stepping away, slightly wobbly, but otherwise fine, he rolled his
shoulders and turned to face Dante properly.
 
“I guess we're done here, huh?”
 
Shrugging, Dante crossed his arms in front of his chest.
 
“You'd know better than me. You're the one with the D-dar.”
 
“Yeah, that one's still feeling kinda funky right now... But I don't think
there are any demons left.” He turned to the other two who were now sitting
next to each other, talking quietly.
 
“You guys ready to go back?”, he inquired, noting mildly curious how they
seemed to be both focussing on Atsuma's artificial limb. Mismatched eyes shifted
to meed his own and a sheepish grin appeared on the tanned face.
 
“I will be in a moment, but I think Tōya's going to need some help.”
 
“I'd appreciate if you didn't decide that for me. But I'm afraid he is right.
I've consumed a God's Ambrosia to heal my bruises and accelerate the rate at
which I naturally replenish Ether, but I fear I overexerted myself.” Upon
finishing, his cool demeanour slipped and he shot a look of sheer incredulity at
the two demon hunters. “I don't understand how you can be fine like that after
this. I thought Atsuma's stamina is ridiculous, but the two of you are something
else entirely.” And then something akin to miraculous curiosity entered his
eyes as if they were objects to be studied.
 
Nero merely shrugged his shoulders and looked away, uncomfortable under the
scrutiny once more, whereas Dante merely laughed.
 
“That's demon-hybrids for you. Plus we're kind of used to this, it is our job,
after all.”
 
Tōya muttered something under his breath aforementioned hybrids couldn't quite
make out, but Nero had the feeling it was nothing overly flattering- an
assumption supported by the fact that it was now Atsuma's turn to look
pole-axed, hissing “Tōya!” to reprimand his friend. He and Dante snorted in
tandem, not offended at all. They'd seen enough of the blue-clad student to know
that he didn't mean any harm and was merely worn out beyond the point of keeping
up his normally distanced and calculating behaviour, making him actually seem
like the young man he was. Nero was just about to suggest weaving through the
tears in the earth to return to Yokohama City when he suddenly felt a sharp pain
in his ear. Letting out a surprised “Ow!”, he whipped around, foreign
fingers still clamped around his helix and found himself face to face with Dante
who growled at him. Bringing up his hands to slap the abusive fingers away, he
was stopped mid-movement when his older relative poked him into the chest hard.
 
“What the hell is wrong with-”
 
“That-”, Dante began his explanation, the word empathised by twisting his
fingers sharply, tearing another yelp out of Nero, “is what you get for nearly
giving me a heart attack. I should ask what the hell is wrong with you for
throwing yourself right a bunch of beastie's heads.”
 
“But that-” His protests were cut short by another twist.

“Hush. I know why you did it and it was a good shot, but that was still beyond
dangerous and reckless, even for the likes of us. Just imagine how you would
feel if you had to watch dear old me pulling a stunt like that.”
 
Not waiting for an answer, he finally released Nero's reddened ear who
reflexively brought his hand up to gently rub the abused body part. As soon as
Dante turned away, however, Nero glared at his back, cheeks flaming, & muttered
“Good riddance...” under his breath to no one in particular. Dante's ear
twitched.
 
“What was that?”
 
“Nothing! So you going to help Tōya? You've probably got the most energy left
out of all of us”, the young hunter suggested, changing the topic as he tried
to will the blood out of his face. Tōya looking amused and Atsuma grinning like
a lunatic weren't helping that, either. Dante didn't even bother to reply and
instead just went over to their client, crouched onto the floor and offered his
shoulder. After some shuffling, Tōya's arm was securely slung around the
hunter's neck as the letter lifted them both into a standing position. Nero went
over to Atsuma and held after a brief moment of hesitation his left hand out to
help him up as well. The latter smiled wryly as he took it.
 
“Not gonna risk another strange reaction, huh? Well, it's not like I can blame
you. That was weird.”
 
Nero merely nodded as he pulled the older male to his feet, both of them turning
around to follow their friends who were already strolling ahead. Making a short
bee-line to pick up his Red Queen, which had still been lodged in the ground
where he'd left it when the pseudo-earthquake started, all four of them made
their way through the remains of the plains, carefully avoiding all the spots
that looked unstable. Their way back was mostly silent, neither being in the
mood for idle chatter, but rather mulling the things that had transpired here
today over. Some of them were most fascinating, after all.
 
The sun was beginning to set by the time they arrived back at Yokohama City,
filthy and their clothes in tatters. Especially Nero, with his jeans bearing
little resemblance to actual legwear anymore, was drawing attention to their
little group, but neither of them particularly cared. The young part-demon made
a quick stop at the car he and Dante had arrived in to dig their spare clothes
out of the trunk- they were going to stay for the night. Tōya had offered them
a room in the university’s dormitory as well as free meals this evening and
the next morning before they'd start their two-day trip back to Capulet City.
Atsuma had looked a little doubtful at that, but Tōya had waved him off,
stating with a tired but mischievous gleam in his eyes that he could pull some
strings as headstudent and resident genius. And thus, the two hunters, not
particularly in the mood to be sitting in a cramped car for the next 40 hours,
had quickly accepted.
 
Agreeing to meet in the cafeteria again in about an hour, the two half-demons
headed to their designated room. It was simple and clean, offering everything
that was necessary for a student. Two beds were situated in opposing corners,
two closets next to them and a pair of desks with some shelves were the only
furniture. A quick look revealed that the door between the beds led to a small,
but functional bathroom. Grabbing his change of clothes and throwing Dante's on
one of the beds, Nero instantly announced that he'd shower first. Getting out of
his now rather crunchy jeans that were scattering flakes of dry blood like snow
with each of his movements was his top priority. Dante merely waved him off as
he begun to peel himself out of his shabby-looking coat.
 
About 30 minutes later, both part-devils were clean again and had changed into
their spare attire. Nero had had to say adieu to his jeans, the remaining scraps
far beyond salvation. Dante, realising his younger partner wasn't up for
conversation right now, just watched him leave the room again. Although Nero
knew he was too early, he already made his way back into the now-deserted
cafeteria. The sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon now, colouring the
sky in a deep red streaked with orange. He settled on a chair next to the opened
door leading outside and put his feet on another. The part-devil could hear some
rustling behind him and then the smell of fresh food entered his nose. With his
stomach growling in response, he leaned back, putting his Devil Bringer behind
his head and fondling Blue Rose's handle with the other.
 
Roughly half an hour later, Dante entered the room, followed by Atsuma and Tōya
and all three joined him at the table. A minute later, a waitress brought over
plates with steaming food, her smile looking more than a little tight, not
particularly happy with having to serve customers- and strangers at that- at
this hour. Most of the meal went over in silence, each of them lost in their own
thoughts, aside from a few snide remarks concerning the amount of food Atsuma
wolfed down. Who merely buffed himself up in response, flexing his pretty
impressive muscles and claiming he needed it to feed these guys, not himself. It
didn't take long until they were finished, and thanks to the waitress standing
nearby, glaring at the four, both students excused themselves, prompting Dante
and Nero to return to their room for the night as well.
 
They plopped down on the beds, silence still surrounding them. Dante, leaning
against the wall, propped his elbow in his knee and regarded his younger partner
carefully before speaking up.
 
“So, you going to tell me now what happened back there?”
 
Nero plopped on his back, throwing his human arm up to cover his eyes. He felt
so strange. He knew he'd said he'd tell Dante about it and he fully intended to,
and yet... there was a part of him that didn't want him to, to keep this to
himself. Maybe it was because although his Devil Bringer looked and behaved
normally again, it still felt different. It was neither heating up nor glowing,
obviously, but the hum was also gone. But if he focussed, he could still feel
something, ever so faint, shifting along his veins as he flexed his fingers. He
had no idea what it was, either. All he did know was that it was because of that
weird reaction earlier, caused by his demonic arm touching Atsuma's artificial
one. Maybe... Hadn't Atsuma said his arm was partly sentient, the same as his,
and also liked to absorb things left and right? Perhaps that was the reason
they'd resonated with each other so strongly.
 
Trapped in his own thoughts, he felt his frustration growing bigger at the
obvious lack of answers. He knew it seemed out of character for him, but he
couldn't help but find himself wanting explanations most likely no one could
ever provide. Nero had had this arm for multiple years now and they hadn't
gotten any closer in finding information on it. Sure, he knew what he could do
with it, but what it was there for? Why he had it? What else it might be capable
of? They'd sooner hunt demons on Uranus than find any of these answers, he
pegged. And from what little he knew- again, he knew so little and it was
aggravating-, Atsuma's arm was over a thousand years old. Fat chance they were
going to find anything out about that one, too.
 
Thankfully, Dante didn't probe any further, instead just watching his young
protégé as he was struggling with his own thoughts. It wasn't as if he was any
smarter concerning this issue- he was probably even more confused by what had
transpired earlier than Nero and Atsuma were- but he wasn't directly involved.
He knew he hated it when he wasn't in full control of his body, be it
manipulation, poison or whatever, so having one of his limbs doing whatever it
wanted whenever the hell it wanted would leave him clawing at the walls, too.
Even with his vast knowledge of demons and the underworld, not even he could
hazard a guess as to what had happened.
 
The silence continued between them for a while. Time was passing slowly, lazily
ticking away without any regard for the young people struggling with themselves.
After a while, Dante had entered a light doze- he wasn't going to fall into a
deep slumber in a situation like this, but no point in counting the tiles in the
ceiling. Nero, however, felt just as restless as before. After he'd just turned
in his bed for the umpteenth time, he cursed in his head and stood up. Figuring
he shouldn't cause a ruckus at this time of night, he silently pulled his boots
on, leaving his coat and left the dormitory room, a pair of half-opened, grey
eyes following his movements.
 
After a brief moment of orientation, the part-devil headed towards the middle of
the complex. He needed some fresh air, maybe that would help him in getting rid
of these pesky, stubborn thoughts roaming in his mind, causing more questions
than they answered. Heading outside, he was greeted by a sight he had not
expected.
 
The garden in the courtyard seemed to be glowing in the moonlight. Small, white
lights were scattered around, illuminating the otherwise barely visible paths.
Nero was almost expecting them to move as if they were a peculiar kind of
fireflies. Closer inspection, however, revealed they were the star-shaped
flowers he'd seen earlier that day, buds now opened and emitting a gentle light.
His worries briefly forgotten at the marvellous display in front him, he almost
didn't hear the footsteps approaching. His Devil Bringer, however, was telling
him exactly who it was.
 
“You can't sleep, either, huh”, Atsuma stated as he came to stand next to
Nero. The latter threw him a brief glance before shrugging, his attention
returning to the display in front of him. This university was amazing. He flexed
the fingers of his demonic arm, trying to get rid of the somewhat pleasant
tingling that was appearing, however faint. Atsuma, a lot less subtle, threw a
look at his own hand, brows furrowed, as he shook it a couple times.
 
“Yours is still acting up, too?”, Nero asked, voice quiet in the silence of
the night. The older male let out a long sigh as he stopped his endeavour.
 
“Yeah, it's different again, though... But man, that was weird today.”
 
Nero laughed without a lot of humour. “You're telling me.”
 
They were silent for a moment before Atsuma turned to face the demon hunter,
face unusually thoughtful.
 
“You know... I don't think I've thanked you for saving me. So, uh... thanks a
lot.”
 
Nero merely shrugged. “Just returned the favour.” Atsuma, however, shook his
head. “Nah, you'd have been fine. Though I gotta say, I haven't met a lot of
people able to lift over 200 pounds as easily as that.”
 
Now Nero snorted, shooting a both amused and critical look at his new friend's
rather impressive figure. Sure, he and Dante were anything but lanky, but
Atsuma's arms looked like they were solely made out of pure muscle. There didn't
seem to be an ounce of fat on that guy. “Says the guy who caused a minor
earthquake by punching the ground.”
 
Atsuma laughed as he shook his head. “That wasn't all me. Ether manipulation
again.”
 
Nero kept eyeing him.
 
“When you punched through that knight's armour and ribcage, too?”
 
After a short pause, the red-clad student smiled sheepishly and scratched the
back of his head, his biceps, fully visible without the jacket, playing about at
each movement. “Okay, I guess you got me there.”
 
Feeling oddly satisfied at having won this mock-argument, a small smirk curled
the corners of Nero's lips upwards. The restlessness he had been feeling up
until now was fading away, most likely thanks to the company. He couldn't
pinpoint the exact reason, but there was something about Atsuma that just made
him feel comfortable. It wasn't unlike Dante's effect on him- even though they
usually seemed to be either trading insults back and forth or were poking fun at
everything the other did, he knew Dante was always watching his back and vice
versa. What made this situation so strange was the short time it had taken for
this feeling to come into existence, although it didn't take a genius to figure
the reason for that out.
 
“You can feel it, too, can't you?”, Atsuma asked silently, his tone calm yet
also slightly wistful, mismatched eyes shifting between his own artificial limb
and Nero's Devil Bringer, free for all to see without his coat. The older male
was studying it intently now, taking in how the scales went up to his biceps,
fading into skin around his shoulder. The soft, blue glow from his leathery palm
and the lines weaving through the hide engulfing the limb in a gentle light.
Feeling slightly put on the spot, Nero shifted a little under the attention but
forced himself to keep his arm where it was. There really was no reason at all
to try and hide it from Atsuma. He eyed the other man who brought his left hand
up to run his fingers over the smooth scales of his demonic arm. They felt cool
to the touch, making it obvious that his Devil Bringer still wasn't at its
normal temperature. Unexpectedly, Atsuma's expression didn't change. He still
looked sombre and contemplative.
 
“It's strange”, he begun, voice halting for a brief moment as he rested his
left hand on Nero's demonic arm. The fingers of his right hand twitched. “I
never thought I'd meed someone else like that. Like... me. You know, at first,
when my arm seemed to be drawn to yours- to you- I was only confused. But when
you told me your story... It probably makes me look like a shitty person, but I
was also kind of glad to have met you. I wasn't alone with this anymore. You
know what it's like, don't you? To hear voices, too feel commands, to have your
arm telling you what do to without wanting to. Tōya knows about all this, too,
but he can't understand the way I- we do.”
 
Nero could merely nod, the words reflecting some of the thoughts he'd had
without realising what they were. But now that they were given shape, spoken out
loud, he couldn't help but agree with them wholeheartedly. As much as he
appreciated Dante and their relationship, his Devil Bringer had always been a
weird subject. Partly because Nero never knew how to explain the things
surrounding it and partly because- well, Dante couldn't know and never would.
Unless he suddenly grew a demonic limb as well.
 
“You know, earlier, when our arms touched- I told you about Infinity, haven't
I? I haven't heard my arm speaking to me in years but at that moment... It was
different, though. It was... distorted, the commands were not clear, but it
still felt as if it was telling me to do something. Even though I learnt to
control it back then... I almost lost it today. Took all I had to force the
voices back, to stay myself.”
 
Nero's mouth suddenly felt dry. He had an idea where that came from- he'd felt a
slightly different urge from usual as well, after all, much more primitive and
feral than the cutting, striving demands for power his Devil Bringer had used to
whisper into his ear- still did, occasionally. He shifted, trying to pull his
arm back, but the fingers around his forearm tightened like a clamp, keeping it
where it was. Atsuma's mismatched gaze slowly rose to meet his own, making the
part-demon feel uncomfortable.
 
“That was because of you, wasn't it? The voices from your arm reawakened the
ones in mine. Even made them stronger.” It wasn't a question. Nero hesitated
for a moment before he nodded.
“Most likely.”
 
“I see.” The death-grip around his arm, however, was as tight as ever. Nero
was starting to worry about what was going to happen now- maybe this strange
feeling of comradeship in their shared circumstances didn't extend to the
possibility of one causing the other to go utterly haywire. Atsuma had still
looked pained about his memory of going out of control multiple years ago. His
uneasiness, however, dissipated in an instant when the older male suddenly
smiled at him, his grip loosening.
 
“But it was also thanks to you that I could fight it back again. It figured if
you were able to ignore the voice of your arm, I could do it, too. Gotta set an
example as your senpai, don't I?”
 
And just like that, the nearly tangible tension that had risen around them just
disappeared like a puff of air. The older male laughed as he finally let Nero's
arm go before pumping his fist and presenting the younger male his best,
blindingly bright smile.
 
“That's it. If you've got any issues with your arm, just come hit me up. I
know they're not exactly the same, but I still have some more experience with
those and who knows, maybe that might come in handy some time. I'll tell Tōya
to give you my number- I can't remember it for the life of me.”
 
Slightly flabbergasted, Nero couldn't do anything but nod, even if he also felt
a smile tearing away at his lips. He turned to face his companion fully and held
out his left hand.
 
“You guys already have our number. If you ever have any issues with demons- or
anything else- don't hesitate to call. We'll make some space in our schedule.”
Not that it was that loaded to begin with.
 
“You bet!”, Atsuma exclaimed cheerily, his grin stretching from ear to ear
as he slapped his hand into the offered palm.
 
And with that, the depressing and sombre mood had vanished entirely. The two of
them spent some more time talking and laughing beneath the stars, surrounded by
softly glowing moonflowers before the exhaustion of the day finally caught up to
them. It didn't take long until Atsuma was yawning throughout each of his
sentences and even Nero had caught himself just staring blankly ahead at times.
They finally bid each other a good night, spirits lifted, and headed for their
respective rooms, the barely recognisably hum in their arms not unsettling
anymore, but rather easing them into a peaceful sleep after a day filled with
extraordinary events.
 
The next morning came far too soon for Nero's liking. He could already hear
Dante shuffling around in their room as the younger hunter piled some more
blankets onto his head. His older relative hadn't been asleep when he'd returned
last night but at least pretended to, fully content with seeing him back safe
and in an obviously better mood than before. Nero knew he wasn't going to get
out of the needed conversation, but even that couldn't hamper his spirits as
much as they did before he'd talked with Atsuma. Screwing his eyes tightly shut,
the part-devil pressed his face into the pillows some more when the shuffling
got louder. The way he figured, Dante would amuse him for only a few more
minutes until he was going to be thrown out of bed- literally, if necessary. So
even though he felt extremely comfortable in his current position on his
stomach, sprawled over the entire bed with one hand dangling off the edge as
well as half his leg, he prepared himself mentally for having this pleasure
taken away soon enough.
 
And he proved to be right. Exactly two minutes and thirteen seconds later, he
could hear an amused snort from above before a leather-gloved hand shook his
shoulder. In a futile attempt of resistance, Nero merely swatted with his Devil
Bringer at the intruding limb, tearing a laugh out of Dante's throat.
 
“One minute before I'll make you get up, kid.”
 
“Try me.”
 
Dropping his demonic arm back onto the mattress, Nero gave a slight moan and
counted to twenty before finally forcing his eyes open. Pulling the pile of
blankets off his head, he rose to a sitting position as a long yawn escaped his
mouth and he stretched. As much as he wanted to keep the sleepiness, instincts
and habit left him wide awake sooner rather than later and after a brief trip to
the bathroom, he found himself fully clothed and ready to go. Attaching both
Blue Rose as well as Red Queen to himself again, the two part-devils soon made
their way to the cafeteria to meet up with their clients for the promised
breakfast.
 
Despite the early hours, the hall was bustling with activity. Students were
running left and right and it would have taken the two of them a moment to
locate their companions- at least it would have if Nero hadn't known exactly
where to find them and determinedly pushed his way through the masses. A small
case with what appeared to be the university's logo was sitting on the table
between the two students who were chatting among themselves. As soon as they saw
the two hunters approaching, they waved.
 
The meal didn't take long. Piling the used dishes onto each other and setting
them to the side, Tōya pushed the black case towards Dante and Nero. With a nod
and a slight smile, he clarified: “Your payment.”
 
Both demon hunters were about to object- albeit for different reasons- but as
soon as they opened their mouths, Tōya raised his hand to stop them.
 
“I figured you'd be unwilling. I took the liberty to do some research and have
gathered that you- both of you- tend to let assignments go unpaid in certain
circumstances. I'll let you know, however, that this was an official assignment
I gave to you in my function as headstudent of Yokohama University for
Enchantment in order to protect both its students and staff as well as the
civilians living in this city. So I must absolutely insist the two of you take
your rightful payment.”
 
Dante and Nero shared a long look, their tendency to consider jobs like these
personal favours rather than business battling with their client's logic.
Ultimately, they both gave in and Dante took the case while inclining his head.
 
“Much appreciated, then.”
 
The very moment the school bell rang, signalling the imminent start of the first
classes and causing students left and right to startle before jumping from their
seats to rush out of the cafeteria, also meant the end of this trip. The two
demon hunters rose to their feet, about to say goodbye, but both Tōya and
Atsuma also stood. Atsuma grinned and pointed with his thumb to his childhood
friend.
 
“Headstudent. He pulled some strings so we have the day off. We'll see you
guys out of town, at least.”
 
And with that, the four of them made their way out of the tall structure before
leaving the campus. The festival, which had been in full blast and was also
being fully ignored upon their return the previous day, was only starting to
come back to life now. Most of the stalls were still closed, only very few were
being set up again already. The journey to their car took only a few minutes.
Dante put both their weapons as well as the case on the back seat before taking
the keys out of the pocket of his coat.
 
Nero had just turned to Tōya and Atsuma for a final farewell when he heard
Dante's “Here!” before he raised his hand and caught they keys blindly.
Tōya blinked at him while Atsuma's grin only widened as he winked. Nero
returned the gesture before holding out his left hand once again, shaking theirs
one after another.
 
“You see, if you ever feel like letting me do some research-”, Tōya
started, but Atsuma quickly put a hand on his friend's mouth, muffling his
voice.
 
“Don't listen to him. And you, Tōya, behave. I swear you're getting crazier
for stuff like this by the month... Anyway. I hope we'll hear from you guys
soon, okay? Have a good trip back!” And then he leaned forward, his childhood
friend still in a headlock in order to keep him silent. “Our private numbers
are in that case, too. I told Tōya to put them in there, so don't be a
stranger, okay?”, he added quietly.
 
“Thanks.” A slightly crooked smile sneaked onto Nero's lips as he nodded
once before turning to the car and seeing Dante waving at their new friends as
well. The younger hunter opened the door and dropped into the seat, hands on the
steering wheel and key in the ignition, not even bothering to give Dante any
more seconds than necessary to get in as well. The entire vehicle shook as the
older hunter forcefully plopped into the passenger seat, causing wariness about
its condition to rise once again.
 
“Ten hours, then it's your turn.”
 
“Yes, yes, whatever you say, Mister All-I-Needed-Was-A-Friend.”
 
Nero didn't even bother to look or reply as he started the car while clonking
Dante over the head with the hilt of his Blue Rose, soon leaving their waving
friends behind on their way back home.




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