Isaac’s point of view
A demon! A DEMON! It snarled loudly at me, brandishing its scythe at me. I screamed, forcing myself up from the road and ran as fast as my hurt foot could carry me, completely forgetting to use the crutch. I had to get away from that thing! It was going to kill me!
“What the hell is that?!”
I exclaimed before panting, looking around for somewhere to hide in pure panic. I grinned seeing a kind of coffin then rushed over to it, opening it wide, throwing the crutch in there and climbed in after. I shut the lid down, being enveloped in pure darkness. I opened it just a tiny crack to see the demon walking down the alleyway, that’s when I noticed Dante standing right to the side of me. No Masumi in sight so far, Dante had to get away from that thing! He’d be murdered!
“Nice timing there you dickhead. Seems like lately I’ve had nothing to fight but a bunch of weaklings. I’ve been wanting to go up against somebody to give me a little more of a workout!”
Dante drew a large sword from his back; the design was creepy with a screaming skull on the handle of it before jumping up and slicing it down through the demon. Blood poured from it, the silvernette just smirked as he stood properly and sheathed the sword again.
“All bark and no bite.”
“Dante!”
I glanced to the side again to see Masumi rushing through an alleyway, holding a pair of twin guns, one purple and the other a sky blue. She was panting and covered in blood. She had a happy grin on her face however before she looked up at the really tall man before wiping her face.
“I just took out five demons! They were basic demons but still five demons!”
“That’s great. You’re getting better, maybe one day you can go out and hunt by yourself… You’ve got demon blood in your hair. Damn, it’s a pain to get out. I’ll help you get it out.”
“Thanks… Wait, you just want to see me in the shower!”
She slid the guns away, laughing before he gave her a charming smile then patted her on the head, walking away with her back to the office as far as I was aware. No way was I going back to my apartment tonight. No way in hell… How much was it for a motel room around here? Hopefully I would have enough money.
--
Masumi’s point of view
Back at work with only a couple of days until my birthday, I couldn’t wait! Today on the way home from work I was going to buy the necklace that I had my eyes on. Hopefully it wasn’t gone or I’d be really disappointed. I hummed the tune to ‘Future in my Hands’ by Elena Houston as I cleaned up the bar area, I’d be finishing soon so I could get some sleep for tonight, I was pretty sure that Isaac would be in here soon talking to Cyndi about seeing Dante kill a demon last night which meant that this episode was nearly over. And I was right; Isaac came in and instantly started talking to Cyndi. But I could see that she was seriously getting pissed off at him, she’d been telling me that he’d been acting a bit like a stalker because of the comment she made about Dante.
“It’s true! You gotta believe me Cyndi!”
She sighed in despair before her eyes widened as Isaac grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face him with a desperate look in his eyes. I frowned before getting some bratty kid his sundae.
“I saw that dude hack a demon in two last night with his big sword that he carries, listen! He’s a demon! It’s true! That guys a demon himself! A demon I tell you! That’s the only explanation for all of this! And to make matters worse he dragged Masumi into it as well!”
My eyes widened at his comment, he saw me. He… He saw me covered in blood last night and talking about the five demons I killed. Oh no… What else had he seen? Had he been in my room? Had he seen my belongings? I had to get rid of him; I couldn’t have him telling anyone what he had seen! The glass that I had in my hand slipped from my grasp, tumbling to the floor with a smash. I swore under my breath, going to clean it up and caught my hand on some glass, the cut pouring the crimson liquid freely.
“Masumi!”
Cyndi instantly came over to help me, another member of staff cleaning up the glass as she got a first aid kit and sat me down, beginning to dress and clean the cut.
“What’s wrong? You’re so pale!”
I was pale because of what Isaac could have seen and saw last night, I glanced up at him and he knew straight away I was like this because of him. Everything he had said was confirmed to be true with my terrified expression. Cyndi bandaged up my right hand where the cut was and smiled softly.
“I’ll get you a drink… Just sit down and don’t worry about the rest of your shift, you look ill.”
She glared at Isaac and continued their conversation as she got me some water, placing it down on the table in front of me. My hand shook as I sipped it from the glass, looking out the window to see Dante walking down the path to come in for his strawberry sundae as usual.
“I cannot believe you! It’s afternoon and I swear you’re still asleep and dreaming!”
“Nonsense! I didn’t dream up any of it! How can I make you believe me?”
That’s when Dante came in, Cyndi noticed and smiled at him as he sat down with me, placing his guitar case in the booth with us both. I smiled meekly at him before he noticed my hand.
“Come in Dante, the usual?”
Of course Isaac didn’t take it well and ran out screaming in pure fear, Cyndi rolled her eyes before chasing after him, a frown on my lips as I looked at Dante. He gently took my hand and looked at the slowly staining bandage.
“What did you do?”
“Dropped a glass and cut myself while I tried to clean it up.”
“You look pale, you can stay at the office tonight, I don’t want you being in a weakened state.”
“Dante…”
I looked away as the radio started playing, a young man ringing up to request a song for his girlfriend. I looked at it then smiled slightly, I’ll Be Your Home starting to play. Of all the songs it had to be it was that one, wasn’t it. One of the sweetest songs in history, though it left me feeling like I was suddenly in some soppy romance novel? Aren’t songs great for making you feel like that?
Can you play I’ll Be Your Home for my girlfriend Amy? It’s her birthday today!
Of course! Coming right up!
I laughed at the sudden awkwardness between us, he chuckled before shaking his head, taking my hand back in his.
“Seriously, Masumi, I don’t want you to end up getting hurt just because you feel like you have to help me because I can take care of myself.”
“But I like helping you, like I said, you’re stuck with me… Nothing is going to stop me from being your partner.”
Why did I feel like I was crying? Dante pulled a strange face before wiping my cheeks then shook his head with a smile.
“You idiot, you’re crying. Do I seriously mean that much to you?”
“Oh god! I-I don’t even know why I’m crying. Jeez… What’s wrong with me?”
I did know. I was crying because I was scared he would find out about me not being from here and would hate me for it. I could see it now. I could see his reaction clearly in my head; he’d hate me completely and leave me to fend for myself in the middle of the night or even worse… He might even kill me for lying to him. I shook my head before smiling at him, wiping away my tears.
“Sorry… I’m a crybaby at times… I know.”
“Don’t worry about it, we all have those moments.”
“You cry? Really?”
He glanced around before whispering to me with a smirk on his lips.
“Devils never cry.”
Devils never cry. You cried over Vergil even though you said it was just the rain, you cried over Nelo Angelo, didn’t you? He was your brother, you cry over your mother as well, don’t you? Would you cry over me? Would I be worthy of your tears? No. I wouldn’t ever be worthy of tears from Dante Sparda. How could I be stupid enough to even think that sort of thing. Cyndi came back and Dante withdrew his hand from mine, she broke the moment we had together as he looked up at her.
“Whose that? Your little boyfriend?”
“No but I actually thought about maybe dating him. Though he’s been acting like a stalking psychopath lately. Maybe he kinda misunderstood that comment I made the other day… I mean the only thing I meant was that I wish he was a little more like you are Dante… It looks like he took what I was saying totally out of context and now he’s saying I should stay away from you ‘cause you’re a demon!”
“Well he’s got things about half right.”
“Huh? And get a load of this Dante! He swears he saw you kill a demon last night and that Masumi here helped you! Isn’t that crazy?”
Dante glanced to see Isaac outside, the blonde man getting scared and running off in pure fear. I licked my suddenly dry lips and took some chap stick from my pocket, putting some on. My lips had been a little chapped recently; I had no idea why though.
“It’s so stupid, it’s just that I wanted to be the one to chase him… Oh I’m sorry! I’ll be right with you!”
Cyndi skated off, leaving Dante and I alone again, not as awkward as it was before though. As soon as he finished his sundae, we left, passing by the jewellery shop; my heart sank as I saw the necklace was gone. I shook my head then turned back to Dante.
“Never mind… It’s gone.”
He could see the disappointment on my face as we headed back to the office; I changed into my regular hunting outfit and headed out with him to a bar with Patty.
“Are you excited for your birthday, Sumi?”
She’d given me the nickname Sumi after we went out and had ice cream together; she was like a little sister to me now so it was safe to say that we were pretty damn close. I nodded then frowned as I saw Eva standing across the road. She was watching over me again then vanished. Patty raised an eyebrow before poking me.
“Sumi?”
“Sorry… I got distracted… Yeah, I’m excited… I guess…”
I was more distracted than anything, I had to stay calm, and at least this episode was nearly up. I wouldn’t have to worry about Isaac after this, he never shows up again after this episode, does he? We headed in the bar; getting some drinks then sat down with Lady, the huntress taking Dante’s money and took it to pay off his debt. I quickly finished my drink then went to get another. I just wanted to sleep to be honest, I was too nervous to even be calm.
Lady’s point of view
“Is Masumi ok?”
I asked curiously as I slid the money away in my shirt, Dante just drank his beer before glancing over at her.
“She had an accident at work, cut her hand on some glass. I don’t think she’s completely well either but she insisted on coming with me and Patty.”
“Watch over her, Dante. I don’t want her to get hurt.”
“She won’t. She’ll be fine.”
I smiled then slid over a small wrapped box to Dante, he smirked and slid it into his pocket, placing his finger on his lips to Patty. Masumi’s birthday present, the rose necklace that she wanted for ages. I glanced to her then bit my lip; do I tell Dante about what I saw in her room? The letter, the bag and the plush toy? Who was she really deep down? I didn’t know what to do, she trusted me a lot from what she had told me in the past about her life back at home along with the whole bullying situation and it seemed as if she didn’t want anyone to know her secret of why she had them… If she had then she would have told us all, wouldn’t she?
“Dante… I… Think—“
I cut myself off as Masumi sat down again with a slight smile; Patty raised an eyebrow before I continued to speak.
“There was some strange man at your office when I came to visit.”
“Really? That’s so strange, there was some stranger sneaking around the office but I took care of them!”
Patty held her fists up with a grin, Masumi giggled then licked her lips again, she looked worried, and I could see it in her eyes. Worried that someone would know about her secret, like I did.
“For your birthday Masumi, do you want to stay at mine, we could have a sleepover?”
Masumi blinked then nodded with a smile at my idea, I’d ask her while she was at mine. It was the only other time I could think of asking her about it while we weren’t with someone else. Though I’m pretty sure she won’t want Dante to find out whatever she’s keeping from us.
Masumi’s point of view
My hand was a little tender when we dropped Patty off at the orphanage, Dante instantly pulling me towards Isaac’s apartment to have a word with him. He knew it was him that had been snooping especially with his outburst today at Fredi’s restaurant. I knew what he was going to do but I wondered how on earth he’d get from the middle of town to the middle of nowhere in less than a few seconds. Unless he… Triggered. We headed up in the lift, the small box taking us up to the top floor where his apartment was, I sighed before rubbing my hand through my glove.
“Is your hand in pain?”
“A little…”
“Just use one gun, don’t try risking it. Alright?”
“I will…”
I looked up as the lift dinged to say we had reached our destination, the doors opening to show Isaac with a suitcase though as soon as he saw us, he was screaming and running through his apartment to take the emergency fire exit. I blinked before following Dante as he walked through the apartment. Isaac’s place was so dingy and dirty; it felt unclean just to be walking through it. Though I’m sure Dante wasn’t helping Isaac by playing the broody, quiet stalker right now. I frowned as I picked up a photo of Isaac and Cyndi. Dante picked up a skull bell when he noticed it ringing slightly, slipping it in his pocket with the bell once I gave the photo to him. Once Isaac had escaped using the fire exit, Dante climbed out the window and jumped down, I hurried down after him, taking the metal stairs, each one clanging as I went down them then rushed after Dante. Isaac screamed again as he drove by us in his breaking car as fast as possible to get away from us.
“Do you trust me, Masumi?”
“What?”
I suddenly looked up at Dante as he handed me Rebellion in its guitar case, I slung it on my back, and it was… Lighter than I thought it would be to be honest. Either that or I’d gotten stronger in the time I’d been here so far.
“Do you trust me?”
“…I trust you.”
My eyes widened as I stepped back, clasping my hands over my mouth as Dante triggered. So that’s how he got there so fast. He triggered and flew there. His form had changed to a dark red-scaled creature with claws on both his hands and feet. Black wings had formed from his back and his face had turned into something of that from a nightmare. A part of me wanted to scream, wanted to run away from him and pretend never to have seen his true demon form but in truth? I thought… That… He was… Beautiful. His razor sharp teeth showed as he looked at me, his eyes piercingly cold like crystal. I shook my head before stepping forward, getting onto his back and wrapped my arms around his neck as he pushed up, using his wings to glide towards the blonde man we were chasing.
“Dante…”
I whispered so softly, looking around at my surroundings from above. I… I was flying! I was actually flying! Sure I was on Dante’s back but that didn’t matter. We were in the air! And by god, did it look beautiful up further in the air especially the stars. They were like little diamonds. The wind swept through my hair as he went faster to shock the blonde before landing in the middle of what was like a desert, I got off his back once we were on the ground and handed him his guitar case back once he reverted back to his human self. Back to that handsome face of his… Wait. Did I just call Dante… Handsome? I had… In my head but still… He was… Very handsome indeed. I shook my head before focusing on the problem in front of us, that was getting Isaac back to town or at least stopping him from attempting to leave. I smiled when he pulled up in front of us, Dante taking the bell out from his pocket and rung it. A purple rift hole opening up, three of them in face with demons crawling out of them with a scythe in their hands.
“W-watch out behind you!”
DANTE! DANTE!
“You called?”
I drew Atalanta, using it to shoot at the demons, using only one gun in my left hand. Dante pulled Rebellion from its case and sliced the first demon into chunks, the blobs landing on Isaac’s car creating some lovely splatters of blood and demon flesh. Yum yum in my tum. The other two came out, Isaac hiding in fear as Dante drew Ivory, working on helping me dispatch the other two extremely fast demons. It didn’t take too long, thank god for that; I looked up at Dante as he rang the bell again.
“You ready? Cause it looks like now… This party’s just getting started.”
“No! Stop!”
“Bring it on!”
My eyes widened at an even bigger purple rift hole growing in front of us. This one would be a nasty little bugger; I knew it was going to be. I swore under my breath before going for Nereid, Dante snarled at me, my right hand dropping to my side away from the gun. I gulped when the demon formed it was fucking HUGE! I stepped back slightly, Dante winking at me to calm me down. Not that it helped, I breathed in and jumped away with each purple blast of energy it released from its mouth, Dante got close enough then slammed Rebellion into the demon’s throat, blood pouring out in streams like a fountain, he balanced the handle on his knee, shooting with both his guns as I helped out as much as I could with one gun. The sun rose when the demon fell, I breathed in, looking at Dante with a smile before stepping away slightly to clear my head. I looked at Isaac, glaring as if to say ‘you tell anyone about what you saw and you’re dead!’ Eva was standing away from me as she spoke; I glanced to her and shook my head.
“You need to leave Masumi. Believe me, you must not go home with Dante.”
“I’m staying, Eva, you can’t stop me. I want to stay here, I belong here.”
“Two people know about your secret, Masumi. About your belongings hidden in your room, they saw them. Just be aware of that…”
Two people? I thought only… No. Lady! My eyes widened as I turned, Eva was gone and Lady knew my secret. She’d hate me. She… She would turn me in to Dante… Tell him that I was a demon. I wiped my eyes then shook my head, turning to look at Dante. I’d have to say goodbye to him tonight. There was no other way.
Dante’s point of view
The car collapsed into pieces as Masumi walked away to think, I sighed and turned to look at Isaac as he tried to crawl away and skip town.
“Just a second, you forgot something. If you’re gonna skip town, you should at least let her know about it cause if you don’t, she can’t chase you if she wanted too.”
“W-what do you mean by that?”
I threw the photo to him; he caught it awkwardly then looked at it for a small period of time before sighing, looking back at me.
“You came to me… Just to tell me that?”
I smirked, holding up the bell. He already had the suspicions. Might as well just tell him the whole truth, that I was indeed a demon or at least a half demon. Maybe just say I’m a demon.
“I’m just a demon, man. I just haven’t had my fill of fun yet.”
I threw the bell into the air then shot it, the bell breaking into tiny pieces as I began to walk over to where Masumi was so we could head back to town. I didn’t want to stay out here any longer than we had too.
“Dante, who are you really?”
“Who knows? Maybe you should try asking god or someone.”
“But what about Masumi? You dragged her into this didn’t you?”
“She came into the world of hunting of her own choice, I had nothing to do with it. She’s just my apprentice for now. When the time is right she’ll either stop hunting or she’ll go off into the world by herself like my last partner did. I don’t know what she’ll do.”
“…Is she human?”
“She’s human alright.”
“She has a toy that looks like you, only younger.”
“What?”
I turned to look at Isaac but he stopped speaking as Masumi walked over, what the fuck did he mean, she has a toy that looks like me but only younger? I glanced at my partner before shaking my head, walking back to town with her. We didn’t speak the entire way, it was awkward but… I’d have a look for that toy. I did wonder what he meant by it.
Masumi’s point of view
I didn’t say much on the way back, I was just thinking about what Eva had said to me about two people knowing, I knew one of them was Isaac and the other just had to be Lady. Once we were back at the office, it was pretty much dark. We’d taken the whole day just walking at a steady pace, stopping off for some food after we got into town. I breathed in once he closed the door, locking it behind him. He didn’t want anyone else to come in unwelcomed then. I turned to face him, the two of us speaking at the same time.
“I need to talk to you”
“I need to talk to you”
I laughed awkwardly before he nodded, allowing me to go first. I breathed in, closing my eyes before almost whispering.
“I don’t think I should stay here anymore. It’s not right, I need to get my own place while I’m here…”
“Masumi…”
“And I don’t want to intrude on you or anything! I mean, you have Patty coming round everyday, you don’t need me to wake up too.”
“Masumi.”
“In fact I’ll get my stuff and go now, save you the trouble of—“
“MASUMI!”
He yelled at me, making me stop and just stare at him in pure shock. He had never yelled at me before, he licked his lips slightly before shaking his head and placed his hands onto my shoulders.
“You don’t have to go, I like having you here. I don’t have any problem with you staying, understand?”
I nodded before smiling slightly, looking away. I turned back to him, my eyes suddenly noticing how slim and soft his lips actually looked. I wonder… What would it be like to kiss them? Would he taste like strawberries like in the Fanfiction I’d read back at home? That’s what everyone seemed to think he would taste like. His eyes were beautiful as well, crystalline blue. Like Swarovski Crystal… I felt a blush rising on my cheeks and his warm breath on my face. I couldn’t help it; I reached forward and pressed my lips against his. They were so soft like silk, my eyelids fluttered to a close. I slid my arms around his neck, keeping me close to him. It felt… So right to just do this with him. I’d had one boyfriend in the past that had taken my first kiss, nothing more. But my heart had never beaten this wild before… It felt… So good and right. I wanted to do this all the time with him, with Dante… With… With a man who didn’t exist. He kissed me back and that’s when I pulled back, my eyes widen in fear as I opened them. I instantly broke away from his arms, shaking my head.
“I-I’m so sorry!”
I rushed upstairs like the coward that I was, slamming the door to my room shut and locked it, and I was shaking as I slumped against the door. I still felt his lips upon mine, his warm breath on my face. I had to leave. I just had to get out; I forced myself onto my bed when I noticed something. My plush toy of Dante… It was gone.