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You were always a little bit nervous getting out of your car after returning home late at night. Logically, you knew that if someone wished to do you harm, there was nothing that would stop them from breaking your window to get to you, but the belief persisted nonetheless. The car was safe, outside was not.
It wasn't that you lived in a particularly unsafe neighborhood. It was simply that you assumed the worst of everyone you happened to come across. And it didn't help that you'd been feeling an increasing sense of unease as of late, the source of which remained elusive.
Your own cruel mind, most likely, but you couldn't help feeling that there was something different about it this time, even if you couldn't put your finger on exactly what it was.
After sitting in your car far too long contemplating all of this, you opened the door and stepped out onto the street.
It was always a bit of a walk from your parking spot to your apartment complex due to the fact that, if you wanted to park closer, you would need to shell out for a parking pass, which you were entirely unwilling to do. You recognized that the negligible amount of money you saved was not a good tradeoff for the anxiety you felt on your nightly walks, but at this point, you continued to refuse to pay on principle alone.
Cutting through the alley was the fastest way to get to your complex, as it led directly to your back door, even if it made the journey more nerve wracking. Your standard strategy was to take it at a faster than average pace, but not at a run in case that made you a more conspicuous target for someone untoward, throwing casual glances over your shoulder every so often just to make sure no one had followed you.
On this night in particular, upon one of your glances, you noticed something in the distance that made your heart drop. It was a shadow, stretched across the brick wall behind you. At first, you tried to convince yourself that it had been there the whole time and you simply hadn't noticed it, but as you continued to stare at it, it shifted slightly.
Your mind tried to push you to run, but your body was stuck fast. Would it move again? Something compelled you to wait and see if it would.
And it did, in a way that you never would have noticed if you hadn't been watching so closely. It seemed to you that whoever, or whatever, the shadow belonged to did not wish to be seen.
This allowed you the perfect opportunity to turn around and continue to your apartment, and possibly consider picking up a parking permit after all once you'd reached it. And yet, as you turned, you found that you still couldn't force yourself to move.
Curiosity burned in your mind, egging you on to turn back around and investigate. But only a fool would do such a thing, and you were no fool.
Right?
You glanced back again and the shadow remained in your vision.
Perhaps you were a fool after all because, slowly, with one hand wrapped around the pepper spray affixed to your keychain, you started toward it. You hugged the wall to your left as you inched forward in the (likely false) impression that this would help you maintain the element of surprise. As you reached the edge, you peeked around it, only to be met with a rather peculiar sight.
There was indeed a figure there, human, you suspected, the finer details of which were all but obscured by the glare of the streetlight not far behind it. It was covered almost entirely by a black cloak, or possibly a blanket. At least, it appeared to be black in the darkness.
The confirmation of another living creature gave you the motivation you needed to finally turn around and, just when you were about to do so, the figure lifted its head and looked up at you.
Your blood ran cold and your body froze in place.
This was it. This was how you were going to die and it was all your own stupid fault for not running away like you knew you should have. Curiosity killed the cat, as you'd always been told, and today, the cat was you.
The figure stood, appearing unsteady on its feet for a moment, giving you another perfect opportunity to run away, but it was as though your feet were glued to the concrete below. As it began to walk toward you, its eyes found yours again.
It didn't appear to have a particularly threatening physique beneath the blanket it wore, but you were well aware that appearances could be deceiving. It paused about a meter away from you and you squeezed your eyes shut, bracing yourself for the impact of your untimely demise.
But, it never came.
Instead, the figure spoke.
"Excuse me."
You opened your eyes. It was just a man, you realized, a perfectly ordinary man. The images you'd begun to formulate of a horrifying monster hiding beneath the sheet evaporated.
"I don't want to impose," he continued. "But, I was wondering if you might be able to help me."
You cocked your head to one side.
"What, do you need money, or something?" you asked. "I don't have any cash on me."
He shook his head, then reached his hand into the blanket. You took a few steps back, half expecting him to produce a weapon and begin brandishing it at you. But instead, it was a thin piece of paper, which he extended toward you.
"I was hoping you could help me find this man," he said.
As you took the paper from him and examined it, a chill ran down your spine. You did indeed know the man whose photograph was displayed there. He was a good friend of yours.
"Where did you get this?" you asked.
"That is… unimportant," he said, and alarm bells rang in your mind.
Then again, you were familiar with the sort of business your friend was involved with and he did tend to attract a rather unusual client base. So in that way, the interaction you were currently having was par for the course.
"You got a job for him?" you ask. "Something tells me you didn't find him by accident."
"Your assumption is correct," he said.
You didn't know a whole lot about the company's goings on, but you knew enough to know that anyone who sought out Devil May Cry and, by extension, its frontman, Dante, had a very specific purpose in mind.
"Alright," you said. "I'll give him your contact information next time I see him."
"I'd rather speak to him myself," he said. "It's quite urgent."
You did not drop your guard as you continued to stare down the strange man in front of you.
"How do you know him?" you asked, and he simply smiled. "Okay, then. Well, uh…" You pulled out a paper of your own, this one taking the shape of the business cards Dante had forced you to carry. "… Feel free to stop by in the morning whenever you get a chance. He hasn't been very busy lately, so I'm sure he'll be able to see you right away."
You handed him the card and turned to walk away for what you hoped would be the last time.
"Actually," he said, and, for some reason unknown to you, you again paused in place. "I was hoping you could offer further assistance."
Everything within you was telling you that continuing to listen to this possibly insane man was a very bad idea, but you stood your ground.
"What?" you asked, your voice cold.
"You see, I have nowhere to stay for the night."
Your eyes narrowed.
"There's a motel down the street," you said, pointing off in the vague direction of it. "I'm sorry, I can't help you there."
"Please." His face suddenly took on a rather urgent expression. "I'm in a bit of a difficult situation here. I only need one night."
The thought crossed your mind that this was possibly one of Dante's weird friends playing a trick on you, but you dismissed it as quickly as it appeared.
"A difficult situation, huh?" you asked, your voice dripping with disbelief.
"I don't have anything," he said. "They won't let me stay without identification. Please."
No identification? As sketched out as you were by the situation, your curiosity was piqued once again.
"Are you from out of town?" you asked.
"In a way," he replied.
This only intrigued you further.
He did seem harmless enough as you took a better look at him. In fact, he looked rather pathetic with the blanket draped over his thin frame. You realized upon closer inspection that the blanket was the only thing he had draped over him at all. His bare legs and feet were poking out the bottom and you could only infer that the rest of him was in a similar state.
So, you'd encountered a naked stranger in an alleyway, one who just so happened to be seeking a close personal friend of yours, with no identification on him whatsoever, and you were about to invite him into your home.
You wanted to make sure that you had properly established your ludicrous plan before you carried it out.
"I don't know who the hell you are," you said. "But you seem harmless enough. Come on."
You motioned for him to follow you.
"Thank you," he said, and he sounded genuinely relieved as he said it.
Even if you did end up dead and dumped in a sewer somewhere come morning, you were sure that Dante would stop at nothing to avenge your death, at the very least, so you had that going for you, if nothing else.
Against your logical judgement, you led this strange, naked man back to your apartment and allowed him inside.
"So, what do they call you?" you asked.
You flicked on the light and grimaced as your messy living room became illuminated.
"V," he replied.
"What, like the letter?"
"Yeah."
Yet another unusual thing about him.
"Well, V, make yourself comfortable," you said. You cleared off the couch a bit, tossing its contents wherever there was enough space, and motioned for him to sit down. "Would you like anything? Tea, or coffee, maybe?"
"No, thank you," he replied.
He sat down on your couch and was visibly shivering beneath the thin blanket he wore.
Oh, for fuck's sake.
You lifted your fleece blanket from the edge of the couch and tossed it at him.
"I'll be right back," you said.
You were going to make him some tea whether he asked for it or not. You couldn't just let him freeze on your couch all night after you'd so generously allowed him inside. And so, you grabbed the first box of teabags you saw, lemon ginger flavor, and brewed him a cup, along with one for yourself.
When you returned to the living room, he was already lying down beneath the blanket you'd given him.
"Here," you said.
You thrust the cup in his direction and he sat back upright.
"You didn't have to do that," he said.
"Well, I did, so take it."
He took the cup from your hands and you leaned back against the wall across from him, taking a sip from your own cup as you did.
"So, what's your story?" you asked. "How did you end up out here with no ID and no clothes?"
He stared at the floor.
"I have a bit of inside information that may be of use to your friend," he said, avoiding your question entirely.
"Inside information, huh? So, are you from the Underworld, then?"
He didn't respond.
"I'll take that as a yes," you continued. "Well, you don't look much like a demon, if that's any consolation, but I know that looks can be deceiving."
He still said nothing.
"Look, I'm not trying to pry, here. I just wanna know a little more about the weird naked guy I let into my house."
"If you think I'm crazy now, you'll only think me more crazy if I tell my story," he finally said.
You scoffed.
"Believe me," you said. "I've worked around Dante long enough to hear some seriously crazy shit."
It was clear to you that he wasn't going to relent no matter how many questions you threw at him, so you gave up asking and went back to your tea.
"I truly am sorry," he said. "Believe me when I say that I would not ask you to do this if I had any other option."
You shrugged.
"Whatever," you said.
You would have to have a chat with Dante regarding his clients and your privacy at some point in the future.
"I'll be sure to find a way to make it up to you when the case is settled," he said.
You weren't going to hold him to this, but you had to admit, you appreciated the sentiment somewhat.
"Well, I'm going to bed," you said, setting your still partially full cup on the coffee table. "Don't touch any of my shit and be sure to close the door when you leave, alright?"
"You have my word."
The entire thing began to feel a bit surreal as you headed up the stairs to your room. You could tell that there was so much more to this than he was letting on but, rather than putting you off, this fact intrigued you. You wanted to know more, so badly in fact that you had every intention of heading down to Dante's office the following day to ask him what the hell was going on.
Regardless of what it was, somehow, you got the distinct impression that you were already in way over your head.