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[Lady]

It was strange. That such beauty should exist in a world filled with so much chaos and destruction and yet here it was; untainted, untouched and as calming as ever. Or so she always thought, the sea always had a way of relaxing and temporarily relieving her of her worries for a short while, no matter the situation.


Lady sat comfortably on the sand by the waters edge, her bare feet just close enough to catch the waves as they met the shore; the night air mixed with the ocean breeze nearly lulling her to sleep. Despite the late hour, and the fact that she was completely alone and unarmed, which was very unlike her, but honestly, what was going to attack her all the way out here, she allowed herself to close her eyes and drift off for a few minutes; the sounds of the crashing waves and the ocean night life the only thing keeping her company. It was a pleasant and much needed change from the bustling city life.

[Deleted]

It wasn't a long walk out to the coastline, but it did give Dante some time to think. Things had been crazy everywhere, but there were some things that would always be the same. Seeing the blue green water of the surf, a familiar outline was slowly growing more visible. It had been too long since he'd seen Lady, far too long for his taste.

As he walked further out to the sea, he could see the Huntress lay back onto the sand. She looked miles away, but Dante advanced further still, wanting to see her again. Stepping over her, he gave a playful laugh.

"Well, didn't think I'd see you here. Something wrong with my shop, or did I just get too boring for you?"

[Lady]

A grimace found it's way onto what had been serene features not too long ago as an all too familiar voice stirred her from her slumber. Dante.... With a heavy sigh and her eyes still closed Lady spoke, not needing to take a peek to know that he was looming over her like a vulture. "There's no escaping you is there? Not even here it seems... Let me guess, you were in the neighborhood?" It was no coincidence that he had just happened to be at the same place at the same time a million miles from his shop as she, he had clearly following her, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

"The last word in the dictionary I would use to describe you is 'boring', you're a handful." The Huntress admitted, "And you smell like pizza.." She mused with a small smile, that familiar scent of pizza mixed with gun powder and cologne somehow always making her feel right at home; as odd as it was. Even this close to sea life and the salty smells that accompanied it she could pick out his scent without a problem. Years of fighting along side him making it rather easy for her to recognize everything there was to know about him.

[Deleted]

Raising his hands in mock confusion, Dante gave a shrug of his shoulders as she spoke, lowering himself next to Lady as he stared up at the sky. It was though he could see on forever up there, like nothing else mattered.

"Followed you here? Please, I wouldn't have checked a place unless I heard gunfire and screaming. You leave one hell of a wake, Lady."

Easing himself into the sand, the hunter felt the slow rise of the water as the tide ebbed ever closer, the smell of the sea water overpowering this close. But it was a nice change from the city, not the kind of environment he was used to being around. It'd be a nice place to visit every so often, maybe even with Patty.

"Then I guess we're in agreement. So if that's not the reason you're ducking the shop, then what is it? Normally you'd be in there, begging for your money. Finally hit it big? No more need for my spare change?"

[Lady]

"You must have been following some other brunette with big guns because in case you hadn't noticed, I'm currently unarmed and there are no demons in this area, which is why I'm here taking a break in the first place." Lady responded somewhat annoyed, stretching out a little and attempting to regain that comfort she had before she had been rudely interrupted. It was a difficult task but she somehow managed for a short while, the soothing sounds of the ocean waves unable to be silenced even by Dante.


"So then I assume you came to find me because you do[/i], in fact, have my money?"[/color] Lady teased with a sly smile, "I honestly don't understand why you're complaining right now, haven't you enjoyed the silence? the solitude? Besides, If anyone has the right to complain it's me. Not only have you been gone for an unnecessarily long time but you also left without saying a word....again." He knew how much she hated when he did that and yet he still continued to do it despite her constant complaints. It wasn't so much that she couldn't handle the amount of jobs thrown her way without him but more that she worried about him while he was away; and with good reason.


Half demon or not, his tendency to always get himself into shit tons of trouble by running his big mouth was never reassuring."Trust me, even if I hit it big I would still be harassing you for money..." She yawned. It didn't take long for her to realize this was a battle she was not going win at the moment, Dante wasn't going to leave anytime soon and the more she ignored him the louder his voice got.


Sighing heavily Lady reluctantly sat up and shot him a very unamused look as she shoved him away. A silent protest against his intrusion. " And I haven't been avoiding the shop.." She lied, hoping he hadn't picked up on the way she blinked twice without meaning to while she was lying.

[Deleted]

"What other woman is worth following when you always leave the biggest fireworks? I thought you knew me better then that, I only follow pretty girls."

Relaxing back into the sand, Dante gave a light sigh as he felt the derision in her voice. She wasn't happy to see him for any other reason then his debts, but the feeling wasn't mutual.

"With how you've been avoiding me, I didn't think you'd even notice if I was gone. Besides, I made sure Patty was okay. You know even as reckless as I am, I take care of people. And I do have something for you."

Reaching into his pocket, the Hunter pulled out a wadded mash of bills, a fraction of his total bill, laying it next to Lady on the surf, still not making eye contact with her as he stared out into the endless blue of the ocean.

"Glad to know it's hard to shake you. I think I'd be kinda disappointed if it was that easy to get rid of you. But from how much I owe, I guess I should expect a few more visits."

Rising to his feet, he glanced down at Lady before giving her a farewell smirk, dusting off the sand that had accumulated on his outfit. It was clear she didn't want him here, so why ruin her little vacation?

"Well tell the ocean I said hi. And I should have some more for you by the end of the week, if this whole new job I have works out. Hopefully I'll have scavenged some junk I can get Morrison to fence for me. Have fun, Lady."

[Lady]

With an eye roll the woman shook her head in disbelief. He could tell himself whatever he wanted to but she knew he had followed her here."Mmmhmm...I'm sure."

Lady's jaw nearly dropped to the ground, if that were possible, as she glanced down to take a peek at what he had given her. Alright, now she was certain something was wrong. "Who are you and what have you done with my Dante?!" exclaimed Lady. Dante....the man whom she always had to fight with until she turned blue just to get him to throw his garbage in the trash can, had come to her to turn in the money he owed like a responsible adult, rather than the other way around? The Hell!? "Seriously....Are you feeling alright?" Lady questioned. And since when did he notice when she wasn't around? Or better yet, feel the need to find her after noticing. What with all the lady friends he had one would think she was at the bottom of the list, something that always sent her spiraling into madness no matter how hard she tried to keep a level head. He just..had a way of getting under her skin and into her head, whether he meant to or not. At the same time, he had the natural, and quite frankly irksome, ability to make her completely forget why she was upset with him in the first place with that smile alone; he drove her crazy and Lady hated him for that.


"Hey, Genius.. I haven't been avoiding you..." As always, she had to spell everything out for him. "I missed you okay, a lot actually." Lady admitted against her better judgement, "it's just hard to be around you sometimes...." The huntress sighed once more, this time out of frustration, her voice losing it's usual spunk which only further emphasized the seriousness of this conversation. This wasn't really something she wanted to get into at the present time, having been more than keen on ignoring the subject for as long as humanly possibly but even then, she knew she couldn't avoid the topic forever.

"Will you just...come here... You can't just act like a stranger and then walk away."

[Deleted]

"Whatever, Lady."

Hearing her disbelief, he gave a soft grin, his back already to her as a smile formed across his face. With what he had planned, it wasn't really fair to leave a debt he'd never be able to pay back, so even making an effort seemed worthwhile. "Oh, your Dante has a little trip to make, so he sent me instead. Name's Fred, and I like fishing, slow jazz, and dancing in the rain." His voice still held it's normal levity, knowing that worrying her wasn't going to make things better. Instead, he could at least try and pay her back for nearly supporting his broke ass since they met. "I'm fine, I just don't want you coming to the shop with that crazy look in your eye asking about your money. Bad for business if people know their devil hunter's in debt."

As he started leaving, he heard her calling back to him, almost tempted to walk away still. But if she wanted to talk, he at least owed her that. Well, that and a few grand. "Oh? I'd say I'm shocked, but I don't like lying to you." Taking his position next to her in the sand again, the Hunter placed his arms behind his back as he stretched out in the sand, staring up at the sky once more. It really was a beautiful day out..."So why have you been avoiding me?"

[Lady]

"You hate lying to me, do you? That's funny. You seem to be pretty good at it." Lady replied, fidgeting with the necklace her mother gave her and pulling her legs up and away to keep the cold water from splashing up against them as it had been earlier when it was warmer.


"Well, Fred. Can you tell my idiot friend to cut the bullshit because I'm being serious. Also tell him he needs to shave."Although her words seemed to state otherwise Lady was not annoyed in the least, quite the opposite actually, she was very amused. "Who are you kidding, everyone knows you're in debt." A laugh was all she could manage at the ridiculous thought of him truly believing he could hide something as big as his debt from anyone else.


The amusement in her voice quickly vanished however as he asked her the very question she had been avoiding."You really want to get into this right now? " Lady questioned, her eyes softening a bit. Glancing down at him she examined his face with care in search of any indication that her words were sinking in, or that he understood what she was hinting at but did not have the courage to come out and say; perhaps to admire his features while she was at it as well but that was for her to know. For someone who had a reputation for being so clever and supposedly quick witted Dante sure was hopelessly clueless.

[Deleted]

"I'm good at a lot of things, what's your point?" Shifting his position against the sand, he attempted to make his transition over closer to Lady as smooth as he could...it didn't work.

"I'll tell him but that guy is way too crazy to be dealing with things seriously. And what's wrong with my face, I think I look pretty good." Bringing a hand up to his chin, the hunter gave it a rub as he listened to Lady, still trying to hold off his amusement at her comment. "Yeah, but it's a little easier to hide when I don't have a hot chick like you in the place turning it upside down to see if there's any loose change around."

Giving a long sigh before he answered, Dante sat up as he spoke. "Well I came all the way out here to see you, didn't I? I'm pretty sure that was on my to do list of things I wanted to get done." It was obvious she didn't want to talk about it, but Dante wasn't going to leave until she did. Whatever it was though, it was okay. Things were weird, and for once, he wanted to make them okay between the two of them. Reaching over to Lady, he gave the top of her hair a soft tousle before smiling back at her. "What, are you actually afraid to talk to me?"