DantexNero- The Reunion Ch.1

Story Summary After their last meeting upon the defeat of Sanctus, months had pass by and Nero comes upon finding Dante again, but his reasons for coming don't stem from just curiosity, but a desire.
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Passing By

It had been a while since they had last spoken, had last met; their previous goodbye ending from a battle to save the world once again from the hordes of demons and imbeciles that claim to be gods. Even though it was just a gift, Dante had given Yamato to Nero, the one and only beloved weapon of his brother Vergil. He had given it away, but for a much deeper reason, a reason he would reveal in time. Despite this reason however, it was like it he was giving his sword back to his brother Vergil. It was like Dante had a brother once again, a chance to set things differently than what had happened over 20 years ago. For Nero, the sword constantly reminded him of that man, a man named Dante, the devil hunter and son of Sparda. Nero loved Kyrie, but he wanted to see him again, the man who looked so much like himself, acted like himself, and even had the same cocky attitude.

It took a lot of time of searching, but with determination and patience Nero came upon a shop. It wasn't like any ordinary shop. It had a title to it, glowing a reddish color that beheld the name Devil May Cry. Normally Nero would ignore such a simple sign, but not this time. Something intrigued him about it, something he couldn't put his finger on.

"Heh, not a bad name…for a shop."

It was then he remembered words he had uttered to Dante once after one of their fights as a flashback sputtered through his mind.

"Dante huh? Not a bad name," He stated to the man. "Neither is yours," the devil hunter responded in subtlety.

The memory he felt was so strange and at such weird timing and it was then he couldn't shake the feeling that this was where he was supposed to be. This was where the devil's lair stood. In his usual cocky attitude he strutted down the street, carrying his sword, Red Queen, and his gun, Blue Rose; both weapons being of formidable power, but not enough to handle Dante's level. However, they could still put up a good fight. The sun was already setting in the sky, leaving the building's sign glowing with intense luminosity. Nero finally approached the door, hesitating to open it at first, but then with one prideful push, he pressed against the door as he slowly walked inside. He was hoping to see ever familiar red, but instead he was greeted with the dark dusty browns of the shop, no one appearing to be around. Despite his gut feeling, he still wasn't sure if this was truly Dante's home.

"Is anyone here?" he asked audibly, but there was no answer.

Closing the door behind him he walked around gazing at the numerous Devil Arms hanging on the wall, the cheaply sitting desk with a simple picture resting on the corner of it. Curious, Nero went over to the desk to look at the picture. It was of a beautiful woman with blonde hair adorned with a black dress and red shawl that clung gently around the woman's neck. Surprisingly, Nero found himself a bit envious. The envy was out of place and rather random he felt as he still doubted the legitimacy of his hunch. Where was the man in red? Where was this famous devil hunter they called Dante?

"Heh, guess it's a girlfriend," he stated with slight irritation as he placed the picture frame back down.

"Actually that's my mother you're looking at."

A chill went up the boy's spine to the sudden sound of a familiar voice. He quickly looked towards the stairway to find a man in crimson red standing at the bottom of it. It took a moment for his mind to register who the man was as he spoke out his name, "Dante."

The devil hunter chuckled as he sarcastically replied, "Heh, you know, didn't anyone ever tell you to knock, kid?"

Nero cocked an eyebrow, a little turned off being called a kid again as it seemed to be the devil hunter's favorite pet name for him. He was not amused.

"Teh, you're never going to stop calling me that are you?" he asked rhetorically.

"Not in your life time kid," Dante replied with a smirk.

"Then I guess it would only be fitting to call you  old man," Nero retorted with a cocky chuckle.

"Heh, would rather have me call you rookie?" Dante asked in sarcasm as he ventured to the kitchen for a slice of cold pizza left over from the night before.

"If nature happens to call, it's in the back. I'd tell you to make yourself at home, but looks like you've already done that."

Dante took a bite of his pizza as he easily scarfed it down like it was water. He practically lived off of the greasy substance. Dante plopped himself on the couch putting his legs up and folding his arms back behind his head as he gazed up at the ceiling and yawned.

"So what brings you here? Missed me already?" he asked the kid playfully.

Nero suddenly blushed at the statement. He knew Dante was being sarcastic, but ironically he did miss Dante since they last talked.

"Heh, sure, whatever you say. Nice place. It's got an interesting name no doubt," Nero stated as he went about the room looking at its other contents.

"Thanks," Dante replied with another yawn.

It had been a long day already since he had recently came back from a fight with another local demon running amuck.

"How'd you come up with the name?"

Dante cocked an eyebrow throwing a glance at the kid as he watched him walk about the room.

"Let's just say a lady inspired the name, and thus it stuck."

Nero chuckled, "Heh, okay if you call that an answer."

"Well speaking of answers, you didn't answer my question. Why did you come here kid?"

Nero then looked at Dante and locked onto hunter's gaze. Although both of them nearly had the same eye color, it's quite hard to gaze into Dante's eyes and not get lost in them. Nero quickly averted his gaze randomly around the room, not wanting to keep eye contact as he chuckled a little, not knowing what to say.

"Heh, now that you mention it, I'm not really sure why I came."

"Well you must have had some reason. I mean…" suddenly Dante got off the couch as he stood but a couple of feet away from Nero, raising his arms and hands in response "…I'm the only one here. Which means you did come here to see me. I'm touched." He spoke sarcastically, placing a hand over his heart to match the sarcasm, but at the same time he said it with a hint of sincerity. "Missed ol' Dante huh?"

Nero smiled a little as he replied with the same tone of sarcasm, "Don't waste your breathe."

Dante chuckled as he retorted, "A punk as usual. Reminds me of someone I know."

He was speaking of himself of course as he cupped his chin with his thumb and index finger in an L shape as he darted his eyes slightly to the side, giving off a nice profile.

"Yeah I bet," Nero agreed.

"Didn't take you very long to find me," Dante said.

"Depending on how badly I want to find something, I can usually find it within a relative period of time."  

"Do you now?" Dante asked in rhetorical intrigue. He then sat at his desk as he propped his feet up on it, picking up a magazine and started reading it. "If you're looking for a job you can forget it. I tend to work alone."

Nero turned his head and looked at Dante for a moment as he asked, "What about those girls I've seen you with?"

Dante turned a page of his magazine as he replied, "Ha, ha, who, Trish and Lady? Nah, they tend to go about their own business."

"I see. We'll I'm not looking for a job. Just in the area I guess," Nero replied, letting out a deep exhale.

"In the area? Fortuna is a tad bit far away for it to be just in the area. You sure you didn't have a reason for coming?"

Before Nero answered he caught Dante's gaze once more, Dante's eyes just barely peeking over the top of the magazine he was reading. And once again Nero blushed as he averted his eyes away again, scratching the tip of his nose gently in nervousness.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were blushing. I didn't think you were the blushing kind, kid."

Nero turned his back to Dante and went over to sit on the couch, crossing his legs and resting his right arm on the couch's arm and resting his other one on the back of the couch keeping his head turned to the right, gazing upon the entrance. He wondered if maybe he should leave, but Dante already knew Nero's reason for coming. It was plainly obvious from Nero's nervous gestures to the plain blushing on Nero's face. He just smirked warmly and placed the magazine on the desk as he got up and walked over to the front of his desk and leaned against it with his arms folded while gazing upon Nero. He was quite the looker, so young and brash, like Dante was looking at a younger version of himself. He smiled warmly, cocking an eyebrow as Nero was still keeping his gaze away.

"So how long have you actually been here?"

"Kind of funny you ask that. I'm not too sure myself honestly. I don't usually care to keep track of the time, but I could imagine it's been 10 something odd years."

Nero was a bit surprised. 10 years? He thought a devil hunter like Dante wouldn't settle down for so long and all by himself. He couldn't help but wonder if loneliness ever bothered Dante, or maybe the devil hunter wasn't as alone as he imagined him to be. Nero sighed slightly, trying to pinpoint where his feelings truly lied. He wasn't sure what he wanted or if he really came just to see Dante at all.

"Looks like you've got something on your mind. Care to share it?" He asked playfully.

Nero looked at him briefly and then away as he replied, "I…uh…ah forget it. It's getting late. I should probably head back."

Nero slowly got up as he adjusted his jacket a little. It was bothering him since he had worn it all day, but Dante wasn't convinced.

"Wo, what's the hurry? You didn't come all this way just for a brief chat?"

Still adjusting his coat, Nero looked at Dante once more, but this time he couldn't take his gaze away from Dante's as their eyes locked, blushing again.