Warning: post-DMC2 timeline, use of DMC4 novel's 'theory' of Nero's connection to Dante and Vergil, slight (as in very, very slight since it's only added to explain Vergil's reappearance) crossover with Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne, hints of DantexNero and VergilxNero (if you guys want to see it that way), Dante being a pervert, and maybe OOC-ness but I'm not entirely sure since I really have problems writing Vergil.

Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry or Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne because if I did… well… Nero would be have ended with both Dante and Vergil while Kyrie would have been more active than just a walking damsel-in-distress plot device.

Author's Notes (feel free to not read): This was seriously suppose to be a 'family' fic but I love DantexNero too much that the hints sort of just happened without me realizing it until I was rereading the entire thing. And I like the idea of Vergil being Nero's father but I find it highly impossible since Vergil had to be around 13 or something just for it to work (considering Nero was around 16 or 17 around DMC4).

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Family: "Truth and Lies"

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"Come on… Come on…" A young man with snow white hair mumbled under his breath as he scanned his surrounding, his demonic right arm glowing in a dangerous red color. His eyes narrowed as he walked slowly to his right, a cold chill passing by his neck as the grass underneath him made a soft sound.

"I got you!" He snarled as he held his double-barreled revolver with both of his hands. He fired at the dark being that appeared from the ground behind him, backing involuntarily as he felt the gun's recoil. He rolled to his right as he noticed a thin line appear where his head was, his left hand grabbing the hilt of the sword at his back. His enemy shrieked as it exploded, destroying the black cloak-like cloud surrounding it. His enemy fell on the ground, its red insect-like body appearing before him. He revved the hilt of his sword as a motor-like sound was heard.

With a growl, he rushed towards his enemy, revving his sword again and again. He slashed horizontally, the mechanism of his sword forcing him to create a circular slash embedded by flames. His enemy shrieked as the sword cut it in half, burning as it fell while it writhed like a dying insect. He wiped the sweat on his forehead with his left hand, wincing as he touched a wound by his eyebrow. It took a few seconds before the cut disappeared, causing the young man to frown as he rubbed the area where the cut was.

"It's gotten faster…" He mumbled before looking at his demonic right hand. Although he had always been able to heal faster than a normal human being, it seemed like his healing capabilities were getting faster. He can't help but wonder if it has something to do with his demonic right hand. The demonic appendage dimly glowed in a soothing manner as the young man stared at it.

Then… the glow became brighter…

"Kid, duck!" His body immediately followed the order, dropping to his stomach in time as five red claws swiped where he had been standing. He heard a loud gunshot coming from behind him and he turned around, seeing an older man with the same white hair as him and clad in red walk towards them with a shotgun at hand.

"Dante?" The young man called out as he recognized the face of the older man. The last time he saw the older man was years ago. He seemed to have shaved and his hair was a bit longer which made him look younger than how the young man had remembered him. The red-clad man simply grinned at him and continued to fire his shotgun at the demon in front of the young man. The demon looked unfazed as it floated towards the older man.

"Come on. Let's see what's underneath that ugly coat." The elder hunter teased the demon as he continued to shower the demon with his shotgun. The demon looked frightening as it raised its red claws and charged him.

"Dante!" The young man yelled, grabbing his revolver and cursing silently as he berated himself for not reacting sooner.

The red-clad son of Sparda simply smirked as he shot the demon once more while the demon's claws descended upon him. The demon's cloak erupted in flames before its claws could hurt him. The older man tilted his head slightly and sarcastically commented, "Well now. That look is definitely much better on you."

The older hunter grabbed the over sized sword on his back. He slashed the demon a couple of times before throwing it up with his sword. Taking his sword with both of his hands, he took a step forward and hit the falling demon like his sword was a baseball bat. The demon shrieked and flew, its body disintegrating in the air. The older man whistled and grinned as he asked playfully, "That was a homerun. Right, kid?"

The young man scoffed as he stood and mumbled, "Show off."

The older man laughed and looked at the young man, "Well, what about you, kid? All you did was stare at me. I know I have a sexy body but-"

The red-clad hunter tilted his head slightly as two bullets passed him, grinning as he noticed the blush on the young man's cheeks as he adjusted the aim of his revolver at the older man's head. With narrowed eyes, the young man countered, "I was actually waiting for the demon to beat the crap out of you so I can save your old wrinkly ass."

The older man laughed once more, placing his sword on his back as he smugly replied, "I can assure you, kid. My ass is not old and definitely not wrinkly. I can even give you a peek-"

This time, the bullets were fired to the older man's head. The older man fell on the grassy ground. Rather than freaking out like any normal person would have done in his place, the young man simply sighed and mumbled something about wasting bullets. After a few seconds, the red-clad man got up, rubbing the area between his eyes. He threw the two bullets on the ground and whined, "Kid, that hurts. Reminded me of Lady's PMS-ing sessions though… Is it your time of the month?"

The younger man growled once more and aimed his revolver at the older man once more. The older man raised both of his hands in a surrendering motion and said, "Okay, okay. No more teasing. Put that baby down… Nero."

Hearing his name, the younger man who was called Nero lowered his revolver and glared at the older man, "So? What are you doing here, Dante?"

The older man called Dante chuckled at the annoyed tone of the younger man and replied with a grin, "I was actually looking for you, kid."

"For me?" Nero asked, looking at Dante with disbelieving eyes. Why would someone like Dante be looking for him? The Savior incident had ended long ago and, although they had parted in good terms, Nero had not heard from the older man for years.

"How can I explain this…" Dante crossed his arms and frowned, "Ever wondered why I've not contacted you these past years?"

Nero looked away, unsure of what to say. Of course he had wondered… maybe more than he should have for someone he just met and parted all in a day. He couldn't help it. There was something in Dante that comforted Nero. Maybe it was because of how he looked so similar to Nero but he had always felt more comfortable around the older man than he ever did with anyone else… even with her. But instead of replying honestly, Nero simply shrugged as he replied, "I figured you had something else to do or you just forgot because of your old age."

Dante frowned and said as he shifted his weight to his other leg, "You should be more honest, kid. Playing hard-to-get too much is bad for you."

Nero glared as the blush returned on his face, his hand gripping his revolver tightly, "Okay. So what happened? You got so drunk you lost your memories? Or maybe your Alz-"

"I was in hell." Dante suddenly said, causing Nero to stop his insults. He noticed Nero about to say something so he cut him off, "And I mean actual 'hell', not one of those overly used phrases you keep hearing. Not only was I there, I had to participate in the big boss' crazy plan on making the most powerful demon ever to be created."

A smile appeared on his face as he remembered the incident, "But it was kinda fun."

"Please tell me you stopped it…" Nero said, closing his eyes. He did not want to hear Dante tell him he was here because he couldn't stop it and needed Nero's help. The idea of fighting the most powerful demon that Dante cannot defeat was, while exciting for his devil side, worrisome for Nero. It wasn't that he was afraid; he was just worried about what that demon could do to the normal human beings that demons seemed to enjoy tormenting.

Dante laughed sheepishly and replied, "I… sorta helped the dude…"

"You what?" Nero shouted, staring at Dante as if he grew a second head. Nero wanted to strangle the older man but his devil side seemed to find it amusing and wanted to pat Dante on the back for a job well done. This was one of the things that changed as years passed on. His devil side became much more active, letting Nero feel what it was feeling. Most of the time it was bloodlust and the desire to find worthier opponents but there were also times where it gave off a feeling of loneliness and the desire to go somewhere far from Fortuna, far from the looks of the people.

"Don't worry. Before I left, I made the big boss promise me that he won't harm this world." Dante grinned like an idiot but his words brought Nero out of his musing.

"This world?" Nero asked, raising an eyebrow at Dante's words. This was just getting confusing as it goes on.

Dante frowned and rubbed the back of his neck, "It's a bit hard to explain what the hell happened to me since it involves multiple worlds and some more head hurting topics."

"Dante… is there any reason why you're here?" Nero asked, already getting a headache from talking with the older man… who wasn't making any sense. The idea of multiple worlds? That was rubbish for Nero but, then again, there was hell. Should that be considered as a different world? Nero groaned as he could feel a headache forming because of his thoughts. Dante was never good for his health, physically and mentally. Rubbing his temple, Nero added, "Or are you just here to give me a headache?"

Dante's frown grew and he said, "Well… during my 'journey', if you can even call it that, I saved my arrogant twin's ass from all those demons dying to get a piece of him."

"I thought your twin died?" Nero asked as he holstered his revolver but did not remove his hand from the revolver's grip. Remembering their past record, Nero knew it wouldn't take long before he would like to shoot the older man again.

Dante shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal, "Beats me. I also thought he died but there he was, almost demon food but the arrogant prick still played hard-to-get, stupid pride and all that. Which by the way…"

Dante stared at Nero for a moment before smirking, "It must run in the family…"

Nero tilted his head out of curiosity as he asked, "What? You don't strike me as the prideful one. An annoying jackass, maybe… But never a prideful prick."

Dante chuckled and countered as he bowed slightly, "I prefer the term handsome jackass, kid."

Nero rolled his eyes and tried to keep the conversation back to its proper place although he did have the slight desire to laugh and shoot the guy at the same time because of that comment, "So? Is there any reason why you're telling me or are you just looking for someone to rant to?"

Dante chuckled once more and waved his hand in a dismissing manner as he replied, "Kid, if I wanted to rant to someone, I could have picked any girl in Love Planet. No need to come to this secluded island."

Nero frowned, knowing 'Love Planet' was some sort of place he did not want to go to. The name alone would suggest an establishment of… questionable purpose. Not to mention the man who had said the name. Nero asked with annoyance lacing his words as he felt his patience already at its maximum capacity, "Enough games, Dante. What do you want?"

Dante rubbed the back of his head as he asked unsurely, "Uh… yeah… how's your girl?"

The question caught Nero off-guard. With an unsure voice, Nero asked, "What?"

Dante moved his hands as if to mimic the curves as he said, "You know. That cute red haired angel that had those nice set of breas- Okay! Okay! Drop the gun, kid!"

Nero glared at Dante as the older man raised his hands in a surrendering motion. Nero continued to aim his revolver at Dante. Hearing the older man describe Kyrie in such a way stirred something inside Nero. It had caught him off-guard, which seemed to be one of Dante's main weapons against him, that he immediately crossed the first word in his mind and replaced it with the word 'irritation'. The first word he thought of was not something he should be thinking about when he was with Dante… or with any other guy. It was frustrating how he just can't seem to think rationally when he was with the older man. Putting his revolver back to its holster, Nero turned away as he said in an indifferent voice, "Kyrie's fine. She's married."

"Eh? What?" Genuine surprise appeared on Dante's face. Nero sighed and crossed his arms, refusing to look at Dante.

"You've been gone from my life for years and you're surprise that she's married to someone else?" Nero asked, unable to remove the bitterness in his voice. He turned to look back at Dante and waved his right hand by Dante's face as he sarcastically continued, "This isn't really a good relationship topic, you know."

That was a lie.

His demonic right hand was not the reason why Kyrie had broken up with him. It was…

"I don't know, kid." Nero stiffened as he felt Dante's hand over his demonic hand as the older man commented with a smirk, "I think this arm's pretty cool. Not to mention, it makes you look cute."

Nero's eyes widened at Dante's last word and he slapped Dante's hand away, holding the wrist of his demonic hand with his human left hand as he backed away from the older hunter. Nero blushed and he cursed internally as he stuttered, "W-What the hell are you talking about, Dante?"

Dante laughed and grinned at Nero, "Hey, kid."

"What?" Nero hissed, glaring at Dante but the older man's grin only grew.

Dante pointed at his own face as he said, "You're blushing."

"Shut up!" Nero shouted, looking away from Dante.

Dante chuckled some more before asking, "So why are you still here?"

Nero turned to face Dante once more, silently asking what Dante was trying to tell him. As if he noticed Nero's silent question, Dante crossed his arms and informed the younger hunter, "The people I talked to weren't… exactly happy I was asking about where you were. I mean, yeah, sure. I killed that old man in front of them and they were looking at me funny but when I asked about you… Well…"

Nero scoffed and looked away once more, not really finding it surprising that Dante could not continue. With a tired sigh, he replied in a bitter voice, "It's been years since we last met, Dante. Things… have returned to normal… I guess you can say that."

"So the reason why you're risking your ass in a den of those ugly black coat insects is because…" Dante's voice lowered as he continued, "… those useless people 'nicely' asked you?"

He noticed Nero flinch and Dante sighed. Rubbing the back of his head, Dante asked, "So… kid. If they're not really treating you well, why not just leave?"

Nero scoffed once more and looked back at Dante as his grip on the wrist of his demonic right hand tightened, "And go where? I've been in this dump since I could remember. Where the hell would I go?"

"You can live with us in Devil May Cry." Dante suddenly suggested, causing Nero to stare at him. Dante didn't give Nero a chance to say anything as he continued, "Actually, I came here to try and get you to live with us. You know… like a family…"

"Wait… a family?" Nero repeated, thinking his ears had betrayed him. Dante rubbed the back of his head.

"You see… kid… uhh…" Dante looked uncertain on how to continue but he said, "My brother… is your father."

Nero blinked. Dante began rubbing the back of his head once more. He was surprised when he heard the younger hunter laugh. Nero looked at Dante with amused eyes as he said, "Nice try, Dante. It would have been funnier if you said you were my father."

Nero stopped when he heard Dante's resigned sigh. Nero stared at Dante for a few seconds before asking, "You're serious?"

Dante solemnly nodded before rubbing his chin, a thoughtful look etched on his face. With a serious tone, Dante said, "I've been meaning to tell you before we parted ways but… I wasn't entirely convinced. I mean, my devil side kept bugging me about it but we're talking about Vergil here. He wasn't exactly… the Romeo type."

Nero rubbed his temple and said, "This is just too much, Dante. You suddenly came back to my life and start telling me I have a family?"

He hadn't meant to yell the last part but emotions whirled in Nero's heart and he couldn't stop himself from yelling at Dante, "You're way too LATE!"

Dante frowned and shouted back, "Hey! It's not like I knew about you before I went and blew up that old man's face. Hell, I couldn't even see Vergil with a woman, much more having a son!"

Both of them stopped. Nero looked away and bit his bottom lip. He knew that he shouldn't have shouted at Dante and the older man had proven a valid point. How could he have looked for Nero if he didn't know the existence of the young man in the first place?

Seeing Nero bite his bottom lip and feeling the pain emitting from the young man, Dante groaned and placed his hand on his face. He did not mean to shout at the young man but he could feel the anger and frustration Nero was emitting. Because of the blood relation between them, Dante's devil side had replied in anger, not at Nero but at Dante. When he had shouted, he was actually shouting at his devil side since it was so keen on pointing out how he should have tried to look for the young man before and even going as far as saying he turned the world upside down just to find the young man in front of him. Dante sighed and said, "I only came here to give you an invitation. Here…"

Dante grabbed Nero's right hand and placed a piece of paper on his palm. Dante used his hand to make Nero's hand form a fist, securing the piece of paper in his hand as the older man said, "This is the address of my… our home. If you ever want to leave this place or you want to be with me- I mean us. You're always welcome… Nero."

Nero's body tensed as he heard the older man say his name. Nero clutched the paper with his tightened grip as Dante began to walk away without another word. Soon, Nero was left in the grassy plains alone, the wind causing his hair to flutter slightly.

It was as if the wind was whispering words he had heard long ago.

"He's a bastard son…"

"A son of a prostitute…"

"May our god Sparda have mercy upon his soul."

Nero gritted his teeth as he walked towards the den of those demons that the people had been talking about.

Why?

Why now?

Why did Dante have to come now?

"Oh. Your white hair… how beautiful… just like our god…"

As he neared the den which was just a ruined building that may have been beautiful once, countless demons with black coat-like cloud surrounding them appeared before Nero. All of them fell upon Nero's red sword, her majestic form glistening in red as Nero revved the hilt. None of the demons even managed to get near him as they were shot by his revolver before meeting their end in the cruel blade of his sword. But the young hunter's movements lacked the same enthusiasm they held before, his mind preoccupied with the conversation he had with the older hunter a while back and the flashes of people's words he had heard ever since he was a child. Once the last demon fell, Nero finally let out a frustrated growl. He dropped on the grassy ground and sighed, closing his eyes.

"Dad's back!" A young girl's voice shouted in happiness as a man clad in a white uniform was walking towards the three small children. A young red haired girl and a young brunette boy who looked older than the two other children rushed towards the man. The man crouched and took the two to his arms. The two children laughed and returned the man's embrace. A few feet away from the joyful reunion of the three, a young boy with white hair stared at them, his large ice colored eyes showing various emotions.

Jealousy.

Longing.

Pain.

Nero opened his eyes abruptly. He groaned and caressed his white locks with his left hand. The sun had gone down, leaving the moon as his only source of light. Nero got up and sighed, remembering he had another source of light. His demonic right arm glowed as if to agree to his thoughts. With slow lazy steps, Nero made his way back to Fortuna city, wishing he would not have to meet anyone along the way.

Of course, that would never happen. As he passed the gate, he saw one of the guards sigh in disappointment. While his devil side seemed keen on ripping the guard into shreds just to vent Nero's frustrations, Nero simply opted to say something along the lines of "Yeah. I'm still alive. Try and find stronger demons if you want me to disappear!" when a red haired woman rushed towards him. For a moment, Nero was reminded of his dream and he turned his eyes away from the woman, ashamed at the feelings he had remembered. This was the woman he saved. The woman he had loved… Kyrie.

Kyrie simply smiled that refreshing kind smile of hers and said, "Thank god. I was starting to get worried when you didn't return hours ago."

Nero felt a pang of guilt at Kyrie's worried voice. Even though their relationship had return to what may be friendship and pseudo-sibling relationship, Kyrie had always cared about him. She had been the one to end it but had also been the one to keep pressing her presence in Nero's life. At first he had thought she was being cruel but her kindness made his life here in Fortuna bearable. Her existence reminded Nero that there was something worth protecting in this world.

Before he could reply, he saw that man staring intently at him, his eyes showing hostility at Nero and worry towards Kyrie. He had tried to befriend Kyrie's husband. He really did. It just never worked because his husband was part of the order and people in the order held Nero with both displeasure and jealousy. Being friendly with Nero would mean having the other knights against you. With a tired sigh, Nero turned his attention back at Kyrie and smiled apologetically at the woman as he said, "Sorry. I fell asleep."

Kyrie giggled at Nero's reply and Nero's heart ached. Kyrie had never doubted him. She had never seen passed his lies. Or if she did, she still just continued to believe him. With a concerned look, Kyrie asked, "Someone seemed to looking for you. Did you meet that person?'

"Yeah. It was Dante." Nero replied, nodding at Kyrie and his grip on the piece of paper tightened once more.

"Oh?" Kyrie turned a curious gaze towards him before she asked, "Did he want something?"

Nero nodded and said in a nonchalant manner, "Yeah. He wanted me to go to his place and live there."

"Oh." Kyrie's voice sounded as if she understood something.

"I said no." Nero immediately said although he didn't exactly said no to Dante. He smiled at Kyrie as he explained, "I mean… how can I leave this place? Fortuna is my hom-"

"You should go." Kyrie's soft understanding voice stopped the pain forming in Nero's chest as he was about to continue his lie. He stared at her and saw her smiling at him. With a cheerful smile, Kyrie said, "Isn't this what you've been looking for this entire time, Nero?"

"What do you mean?"

Kyrie placed her hands behind her back and looked at the sky, "You… You're not looking at the same direction as me. That's why things couldn't work between us."

"Kyrie…"

"Go, Nero." Kyrie urged, smiling so sweetly at him with glistening eyes. Kyrie tilted her head to the side as she said, "No one's going to stop you."

Before Nero could speak, Kyrie turned her back at him and began to walk away. Nero noticed her shoulders slightly trembling and he could hear her muffled sobs. Nero knew that now he couldn't see her, even though she had given her blessing and had meant it, she was still crying. Without a care to what others might think, Nero ran towards Kyrie and embraced her from behind. He felt Kyrie stiffened at the contact but did not reject him. Her voice trembled as she whispered his name, "Nero…"

Nero rested his head on the back of Kyrie's head as he whispered, "Thank you."

He heard her soft reply and a burden seemed to have lifted from his shoulders at her words, "Good bye, Nero."

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Author's End Rants: So... Vergil isn't in this chapter, sorry. He'll be in the next chapter, I promise! And this fic was meant to be a one shot but when I saw the pages, I decided to make cut it into two parts. Then, I realized that the first part was still long so I cut it again and that's why there is no Vergil in this chapter. So, stay tune for the next update: Nero arrives at Devil May Cry.