Devil May Cry: Dante's Apprentice
It was a clear night, the stars were shining and the moon was half-full, yet it still gave off radiant light. More than enough light for one silver-haired demon slayer who was busy wrapping up his work.
"I'm bored…." Dante said, stifling a yawn with one hand and lazily spinning his sword with the other. Not-so-amazingly, he cut down another three Hell-Greeds in this manner. His sword stopped spinning and he looked at it for a moment.
"You know Dante, that's all well and good, but maybe you'd like to concentrate on what we are doing now?" Said his female assistant for the night, blasting a demon out of her way as she did.
"Don't need to!" Dante said laughing, taking his hand and giving his sword another great spin. "I mean look at this! How stupid can these guys be!" Rebellion continued to slash through scores of Hell-Greeds and Sin Scissors. "I mean, they're like jumping into the path of the blade….I- I'm not even aiming!"
"DANTE!" Lady yelled at him. Dante abruptly ended the spin. "Oh, fine." Dante said, grabbing his twin guns. "Ruin my fun why dontcha." Dante proceeded to utterly decimate every remaining demon in the area.
"There, happy now?" Dante asked, annoyed. Lady shrugged. "Whatever. I have to get home. Time to give Mom a sponge-bath."
"Eeeewwwwww….." Dante said, an uninvited picture of a nude old lady springing into his head. "Oh god, I bet she's all wrinkley and ev-ery-thing…..!"
"I was talking about by gun you dolt! My mother is dead!" Lady yelled, but still remembered to raise the Kalia Ann for emphasis.
"Oh….right…." Dante said. The image was slow in draining from his mind. He gave an involuntary shudder.
"God Dante, do you pay attention to anything I say?" Dante was busy trying to clear the wrinkles out of his brain and his on-hand remedy for that was to eye the several buttons that came loose from Lady's blouse.
"Mhmn hmn. Yeah, I'm listening…."Dante mumbled in a off-handish sort of way that proved he wasn't listening at all.
Lady looked down at her open blouse and immediately re-fastened it. "Men." She muttered in disgust, walking away. "Devil-man or regular, they're all the same."
Dante caught her arm mid-stride. He swung her around and pulled her in close, looking her dead in the eye. "Lady, whenever you're around, you've got my full attention." He said, finger-walking up her lower stomach.
"Oh stop it." Lady said, protesting and batting his hand away. But giggling was giggling all the same. Dante let her go.
"I'll see you around, Demon." Lady said, smiling and walking off, and perhaps, just perhaps, throwing a little extra sauce into her retreating hips. Which Dante was perfectly willing to accept. After a moment or two of admiration, he broke off.
"So! I'll pick you up at around 8 right!" Dante called as she was about to round the street's corner.
He could hear her laugh. "Only in your dreams Dante! I'm still not desperate enough to date a Demon!" With one more laugh, she turned the corner and was gone.
'Aah…I'll get her eventually.' Dante said to himself. ' Now then, what'll it be for dinner tonight? Oh I know! Pizza!' He said, smacking his lips and rubbing his hands together.
After collecting his fee from that last job, the red-clad devil hunter could be seen ascending the few steps to his shop/apartment. Before he could enter however, he heard a loud BANG from the alleyway between his agency and the next building over.
Raising an eyebrow, he leaned over into the alleyway. "Hello!" Dante heard nothing except for his own voice echoing back to him.
Here, Dante was faced with a dilemma. One part of him was curious, and wanted to make sure it was nothing. In his world, loud noises with no source was never anything good.
On the other hand however, he desperately needed a shower. He had sand in places he didn't like to think about. And the last part of him was that part that resided in everybody, the part that didn't give a damn either way and was not helpful at all.
After another second's worth of consideration, Dante decided on the shower. But first things first. He went inside his shop and reached for the phone. If he called for his pizza now, then he wouldn't have to wait. As soon as he got out of his shower, it would be here.
But Dante's planning was in vain. Trish had walked in, carrying identical brown paper bags….groceries! "Put that phone right down bub! You order pizza every night! No more! You need a better diet Dante. Too many carbs can be just as bad for the Son of Sparda as it is for the Son of Joe down the street."
"What makes you think I'm ordering pizza?" Dante asked. He hadn't moved an inch. The phone was still half-way to his ear and was beginning to get the operator loop. "If you would like to make a call, please make sure you have the right number, and hang up and dial again." Dante hated the operator loop extremely. At times, he very much wished the operator turned out to be a demon after all.
"What makes you think I'm ordering pizza?"
"What part of 'you have pizza every night' don't you understand?" Trish repeated.
"Well then what do you suggest?" Dante asked, rebounding from the undeniable truth Trish had laid before him.
"You'll eat with me tonight."
"For a suggestion, that sounded a lot like an order. But okay. Where are we going?" Dante asked, intrigued.
"My place" Trish responded easily.
"Upstairs?" Dante asked.
"Yes Dante. Upstairs."
"What, am I picking you up there or something?"
"What, upstairs?"
"Yes Trish. Upstairs."
"Ugh, you moron. Just meet me upstairs in an hour, okay!" Trish told him, carrying her groceries….upstairs.
"Gotcha babe! An hour. Got it."
"And don't forget to shower! You're all sweaty."
Dante's leg took that opportunity to twitch and rub painful against the sand that had found its way inside his near skin-tight pants. He couldn't have forgotten to shower if he had tried.
Fifty-Five minutes pass. Dante has showered and put on his Diesel outfit for outings. A pair of old jeans, a black t-shirt with a jacket over top. Simple. Dante hears the seconds tick by on his watch as he stands at the foot of the stairs, waiting impatiently.
Four minutes go by and Dante finally begins his ascension. At exactly one hour since Trish's invitation (making it 9 o'clock right now) Dante knocks on her door upstairs. "C'mon in Dante! It's open!"
Dante walked into the room but stops a few paces in. "Wow Trish, you really shaped this place up…." Dante said with a whistle.
When Dante had first bought the property, he himself had been living on the second floor. During his stay he had kept it simple. Tv. Bedroom. Bathroom. A small table, and pizza for dinner.
When Trish had come home with him, with no place to stay, of course he couldn't turn her down. So he moved out and now slept downstairs on the first floor, with all of his previous necessities.
She needed a lot more stuff than he did it seemed. She'd added some plant life here and there, bought carpet for the floor, and the east wall had been replaced with a clear window, (shades included) presumably to see the rising sunset. Trish had even gone as far as getting one of those stainless steel sinks and a brand-new stove opposite it. Which Trish had used to cook the dinner she was setting on the mahogany table in the middle of the floor.
"You're a real Martha Stewart." Dante said, sitting down at the table. And beginning to sample Trish's food. "Don't make me have to put you under house arrest." Dante joked. Trish sat down herself smiling but still said. "Not one of your better ones Dante."
"Yeah, Martha doesn't give me much inspiration….But seriously. Do you even pay rent here? And how'd you afford all this stuff?"
"Yes Dante, I DO pay rent. And what the hell do you think I do with my share of the profits? Sit here and stare at it all day? Do you even pay attention to your bills?" Trish replied.
"There goes that 'attention' thing again…twice in two hours…wow." Dante said shrugging.
"Maybe there's something to that."
"Maybe"
"So, How's life Dante?"
"Whaddaya mean?"
"Just what I said. 'How's life'? You didn't get that?"
"In every conversation you seem to imply that I cannot grasp the concept of the English grammar and linguistics." Dante mentioned.
"Sorry that it seems that way."
"Touche. Its just that you asked 'How's life' like you hadn't seen me in years when you see me every day so…"
"Oh I get it."
"Yeah. Way to say awkward huh?"
"Sorry."
"No prob."
Silence.
"You know, this isn't too bad. What is it again?" Dante asked. After biting into his meal.
"Home-made spaghetti and meatballs." Trish said, as though it was obvious. Which it was….
"You shouldn't have Trish. Thanks."
"Anytime Dante."
"No really, you shouldn't have. Its creepy. Why did you do this?" Dante asked
"Look Dante, Pizza every day isn't a good way to live your life. Besides, it has to get boring."
"Oh don't look so sad." Dante said, noticing Trish's downhearted face. "I was only joking."
"Were you?"
"Mostly. It is sort of creepy."
"Why?"
"Because I didn't know you could cook."
"Right."
"Yep."
"Uh huh."
"Of course."
They went on like that for another thirty minutes by which time they had both finished their dinners. Soon Dante was back on the landing outside of her room.
"Now I don't want you to have Pizza too much anymore okay? Just come up here whenever you need anything." Trish told him.
"Actually, I could go for a little vanilla I-Scream right now." Dante said with a grin.
"I don't think I have any….." Trish paused. "Oh. Ha-ha very funny." She said when the meaning caught up with her. A moment's silence. "That was seriously bad Dante. Horrible."
"Yeah I know—"
"No, you should go."
"Huh?"
"Like right now. Just go to bed. I'll just chalk it up to you being tired…but that was like two bad clichés in a row. Just leave."
Dante turned on the stairs and said good-night. But before Trish had closed the door he said. "Trish!"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"Anytime Dante." She said with a smile. Then she closed the door.
'She'd make the perfect match for Vergil if he was still here.' Dante thought as he descended the stairs. 'She would know just how to keep him in check.'
Well, that was the first chapter. Hoped you enjoyed it, even though it was a little slow. The ice-breaker always is ya know? The next one should be better.
Don't forget to review. I can't do anything if you don't tell me what was good and bad in the first place.