[fic] "Group Dynamics", Dante/Naoki (Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne)
Title: Group Dynamics
Fandom: Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Author: Emerald Embers
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Non-profit fanfiction, I own nobody
Pairing: Dante/Naoki, some reference to Dante/Naoki/Vergil
Warnings: Violence, bad language, semi-explicit yaoi, possible incestuous references
For: Dante/Shu - The perks of working with demons. [for ms_duck]
Round: 3 (all games)
Loki looked at his cards one last time as if there was a way to change them without Queen Mab detecting the magic, and growled. "Fold."
"You fucking bluffed again, baby!" Dante yelled, taking his winnings before having the blue-skinned deity of mischief leap across the table and deck him.
"You cheated! Scum like you couldn't guess -"
"You look up to your left when thinking about a bluff," Naoki sighed, clueless as to what a bluff actually was but having observed enough of the goings on to notice physical traits of both players. It wasn't as if he had a choice; Loki and Dante both firmly believed in loud banter over quiet gameplay, giving one the choice of paying attention to them or developing a headache while trying to concentrate on something else.
All in all, it wasn't much worth mentioning, especially given Dante opted to ignore Naoki's rare unprompted break from silence in favour of cracking Loki across the back of the head with a handgun. At least being half human keeps them off me.
~
Getting involved in a demonic brawl is normally a bad idea, but miles from a fountain of life and limited in supplies, it wasn't as if Naoki had much of a choice. Who had started the fight was uncertain for now, but an educated guess could be made from the fact Dante was involved. Cú Chulainn was patching up a few bullet wounds with help from a very, very unimpressed Scáthach - unimpressed initially because of Dante's attempt to chat her up, unimpressed further because of Cú Chulainn leaping to defend her honour. She was not a woman who liked battles fought for her.
Dante had taken himself off to poke his intestines back into place and stitch up a nasty sword wound, and after making sure Scáthach was giving out as much help as scolding, Naoki followed after the demon hunter.
Dante was unapologetic as ever, peeling off his coat and vest with some difficulty before looking at the angry red tatters of his stomach. "Tough little shit. Haven't been cut up like that in years. Got any booze?"
Naoki figured that didn't deserve a vocal answer, pushed Dante back against the floor and pinched the edges of the worst wound together before casting Diarama. A brief moment passed and he narrowed his eyes at Dante's stunned expression, questioning, and finding himself forced to vocalise the question for an answer. "What?"
"You licked your fingers clean," Dante replied, and sure enough, Naoki noticed that his right hand was distinctly blood-free considering the gory duty it had just pulled off. "Guess Lucifer's a more persuasive guy than I'd've thought."
"I'm not a demon."
"You keep telling yourself that."
~
Naoki released Futomimi's hair from the bun holding it up and ran his fingers through the black, silken length of it before patting the manikin on the shoulder and walking off.
Predictably, Dante waited in the corridor. "Why did you bring him back? We don't need him."
Naoki ignored the question, looking at his hands briefly before finding a puddle to cleanse them in, trying to ignore the image he seemed unable to avoid, the last time he had seen Futomimi's hair dishevelled. He died. You know he died.
"You like him."
"The manikins need a leader," Naoki claimed, felt Dante slide an arm around his waist but did not struggle.
"Is it because he's pretty or because you blame yourself for his death?"
Naoki balled his fists and kept his head bowed, calming his anger. It was no use here; he had no means of profiting from Dante's pain.
"You know what's best about working with demons? They're not like angels or humans." Dante's lips brushed against Naoki's hair, teasing, testing. "Takes more than one death to put them down for good."
"And a half-human?"
"You know what they say about sinning," Dante laughed, somewhat bitterly. "In for a penny, counts for a pound."
"What about macca?"
Dante released his grip on Naoki and kept on walking down the corridor, leaving the demi-fiend briefly uncertain as to whether he wanted to sleep on his own, or keep Futomimi company overnight. Still, the full demons preferred strength and individuality in a leader; keeping his own company was likely safest.
~
Naoki licked his lips and launched himself at the last enemy, growled as bone splintered beneath his fist and his forearm was coated in gore. Too easy. They were going down too easily now, as if urging him to move on to a new area though there was nothing else left besides the final confrontation. Futomimi had taken his leave, allowed once the Collector had sworn to look after his leader, and now Naoki's party was near unrecognisable. Kali's cruel humour and distinctive cackle filled the space not taken up by the Harlot's sheer bulk, while Samael hovered high above, calm in its malevolence.
Dante remained persistent no matter how Naoki tried to demonstrate his presence was unnecessary, and so it was that the demi-fiend woke up to Ebony against his chin and Dante whispering, "We need to talk."
The ledge seemed to levitate over the abyssal depths beneath it, the height likely survivable but only at a push. "Well?"
"Sit. Only get vertigo if I've been hovering too long." Naoki nodded and obeyed, the barrel of the gun slipped between his lips as Dante continued, "I don't mind you being bratty or sulking. That's fine. What I don't like is you going around like Mr I-Fucking-Own-The-World Demon King. You're a kid." Naoki raised a hand to the gun, had the weapon cocked in warning as a result. "You've got skills, but you're a kid. And I didn't take one macca as payment because I felt like getting kicked in the balls for messing with your head once or twice. If you don't like it, fine, but tell me instead of glaring at me while using the other demons for every single battle." Dante pulled the gun away, stared at the spit-string briefly formed between the barrel and Naoki's lips, before pushing it up against Naoki's chin. "Problems?"
"If I stop pretending to be human, you'd better make up for it."
~
Naoki had to admit, traditional blood rush was nothing compared with having the top half of your body suspended over a several hundred foot plummet while the only things keeping you from falling were your hands on a half-demon's shoulders and your legs tight around his waist. Dante might be an arrogant, cocky bastard but he certainly kept his promises. Arching up and having the blood return to his skull as he came was so, so damned good it was a miracle he didn't let go and fall to his... his painful, humiliating splatter on the floor so far below them. He hadn't meant to cry. He certainly hadn't meant to start shaking helplessly, leaving Dante forced to pull out still rock hard with arousal as he manoeuvred them both into a decidedly safer position. "Jesus, kid, I knew you'd needed a good fucking but-"
Naoki punched Dante weakly in the stomach before gripping and stroking the demon-hunter's arousal, figuring he should at least return the favour. "They keep dying on me," He said, relieved when Dante came into his hand.
"People you like," Dante replied, pausing to breathe as Naoki sucked his fingers clean again, "Have a habit of doing it. Remember why a demon hunter signed up to work with demons?"
Naoki attempted "I don't know", but it died on his lips, breath stolen by his tears.
"Demons don't go down for good 'cause Hell's full. And Heaven's a lot stingier with keeping their dead."
Naoki moved to sit, drawing his knees up to his chin and closing his eyes, wished he had the time or will to sleep. "I don't want them back. I'm tired of endings."
"You could just say fuck the next world and keep this one for yourself," Dante suggested, half-assed, and Naoki tensed as he considered the possibility. Not one of the humans who survived had a Reason he could commit to. But it was selfish to leave all human life ended on a whim.
~
Naoki found he could be selfish.
Heaven and Hell sent agents after him, of course - an afterlife without fresh corpses quickly grew stale - but they weren't effective. The Great Will would not lower itself to direct battle, and the only being to ever actively threaten it had been swiftly despatched by Naoki's group. It wasn't long before Heaven tired of the pretence, and Hell gave up after an unmitigated disaster.
Disorganisation in Hell was to be expected given their leader had been sent back to wherever angels originated, but given Dante had been in Naoki’s team at the time Lucifer was defeated, one might have expected them to think twice about sending Dante's twin up against him.
Granted Dante and his twin had battled each other before, but on every previous occasion the desire to prevent humanity being wiped out had kept Dante opposing his brother. With that issue out of the way, and after a few peculiar sessions wherein the two alternated between pummelling and embracing each other, it wasn't long before Naoki found himself with silver hair against his neck and between his legs at the same time.
"Do you miss them?" Dante asked afterwards, arms slung casually around Vergil's waist and Naoki's shoulders.
"No."
Dante smirked and kissed the sensitive patch just beneath Naoki's ear. "Had you figured from the get-go."
The End
Fandom: Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Author: Emerald Embers
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Non-profit fanfiction, I own nobody
Pairing: Dante/Naoki, some reference to Dante/Naoki/Vergil
Warnings: Violence, bad language, semi-explicit yaoi, possible incestuous references
For: Dante/Shu - The perks of working with demons. [for ms_duck]
Round: 3 (all games)
Loki looked at his cards one last time as if there was a way to change them without Queen Mab detecting the magic, and growled. "Fold."
"You fucking bluffed again, baby!" Dante yelled, taking his winnings before having the blue-skinned deity of mischief leap across the table and deck him.
"You cheated! Scum like you couldn't guess -"
"You look up to your left when thinking about a bluff," Naoki sighed, clueless as to what a bluff actually was but having observed enough of the goings on to notice physical traits of both players. It wasn't as if he had a choice; Loki and Dante both firmly believed in loud banter over quiet gameplay, giving one the choice of paying attention to them or developing a headache while trying to concentrate on something else.
All in all, it wasn't much worth mentioning, especially given Dante opted to ignore Naoki's rare unprompted break from silence in favour of cracking Loki across the back of the head with a handgun. At least being half human keeps them off me.
~
Getting involved in a demonic brawl is normally a bad idea, but miles from a fountain of life and limited in supplies, it wasn't as if Naoki had much of a choice. Who had started the fight was uncertain for now, but an educated guess could be made from the fact Dante was involved. Cú Chulainn was patching up a few bullet wounds with help from a very, very unimpressed Scáthach - unimpressed initially because of Dante's attempt to chat her up, unimpressed further because of Cú Chulainn leaping to defend her honour. She was not a woman who liked battles fought for her.
Dante had taken himself off to poke his intestines back into place and stitch up a nasty sword wound, and after making sure Scáthach was giving out as much help as scolding, Naoki followed after the demon hunter.
Dante was unapologetic as ever, peeling off his coat and vest with some difficulty before looking at the angry red tatters of his stomach. "Tough little shit. Haven't been cut up like that in years. Got any booze?"
Naoki figured that didn't deserve a vocal answer, pushed Dante back against the floor and pinched the edges of the worst wound together before casting Diarama. A brief moment passed and he narrowed his eyes at Dante's stunned expression, questioning, and finding himself forced to vocalise the question for an answer. "What?"
"You licked your fingers clean," Dante replied, and sure enough, Naoki noticed that his right hand was distinctly blood-free considering the gory duty it had just pulled off. "Guess Lucifer's a more persuasive guy than I'd've thought."
"I'm not a demon."
"You keep telling yourself that."
~
Naoki released Futomimi's hair from the bun holding it up and ran his fingers through the black, silken length of it before patting the manikin on the shoulder and walking off.
Predictably, Dante waited in the corridor. "Why did you bring him back? We don't need him."
Naoki ignored the question, looking at his hands briefly before finding a puddle to cleanse them in, trying to ignore the image he seemed unable to avoid, the last time he had seen Futomimi's hair dishevelled. He died. You know he died.
"You like him."
"The manikins need a leader," Naoki claimed, felt Dante slide an arm around his waist but did not struggle.
"Is it because he's pretty or because you blame yourself for his death?"
Naoki balled his fists and kept his head bowed, calming his anger. It was no use here; he had no means of profiting from Dante's pain.
"You know what's best about working with demons? They're not like angels or humans." Dante's lips brushed against Naoki's hair, teasing, testing. "Takes more than one death to put them down for good."
"And a half-human?"
"You know what they say about sinning," Dante laughed, somewhat bitterly. "In for a penny, counts for a pound."
"What about macca?"
Dante released his grip on Naoki and kept on walking down the corridor, leaving the demi-fiend briefly uncertain as to whether he wanted to sleep on his own, or keep Futomimi company overnight. Still, the full demons preferred strength and individuality in a leader; keeping his own company was likely safest.
~
Naoki licked his lips and launched himself at the last enemy, growled as bone splintered beneath his fist and his forearm was coated in gore. Too easy. They were going down too easily now, as if urging him to move on to a new area though there was nothing else left besides the final confrontation. Futomimi had taken his leave, allowed once the Collector had sworn to look after his leader, and now Naoki's party was near unrecognisable. Kali's cruel humour and distinctive cackle filled the space not taken up by the Harlot's sheer bulk, while Samael hovered high above, calm in its malevolence.
Dante remained persistent no matter how Naoki tried to demonstrate his presence was unnecessary, and so it was that the demi-fiend woke up to Ebony against his chin and Dante whispering, "We need to talk."
The ledge seemed to levitate over the abyssal depths beneath it, the height likely survivable but only at a push. "Well?"
"Sit. Only get vertigo if I've been hovering too long." Naoki nodded and obeyed, the barrel of the gun slipped between his lips as Dante continued, "I don't mind you being bratty or sulking. That's fine. What I don't like is you going around like Mr I-Fucking-Own-The-World Demon King. You're a kid." Naoki raised a hand to the gun, had the weapon cocked in warning as a result. "You've got skills, but you're a kid. And I didn't take one macca as payment because I felt like getting kicked in the balls for messing with your head once or twice. If you don't like it, fine, but tell me instead of glaring at me while using the other demons for every single battle." Dante pulled the gun away, stared at the spit-string briefly formed between the barrel and Naoki's lips, before pushing it up against Naoki's chin. "Problems?"
"If I stop pretending to be human, you'd better make up for it."
~
Naoki had to admit, traditional blood rush was nothing compared with having the top half of your body suspended over a several hundred foot plummet while the only things keeping you from falling were your hands on a half-demon's shoulders and your legs tight around his waist. Dante might be an arrogant, cocky bastard but he certainly kept his promises. Arching up and having the blood return to his skull as he came was so, so damned good it was a miracle he didn't let go and fall to his... his painful, humiliating splatter on the floor so far below them. He hadn't meant to cry. He certainly hadn't meant to start shaking helplessly, leaving Dante forced to pull out still rock hard with arousal as he manoeuvred them both into a decidedly safer position. "Jesus, kid, I knew you'd needed a good fucking but-"
Naoki punched Dante weakly in the stomach before gripping and stroking the demon-hunter's arousal, figuring he should at least return the favour. "They keep dying on me," He said, relieved when Dante came into his hand.
"People you like," Dante replied, pausing to breathe as Naoki sucked his fingers clean again, "Have a habit of doing it. Remember why a demon hunter signed up to work with demons?"
Naoki attempted "I don't know", but it died on his lips, breath stolen by his tears.
"Demons don't go down for good 'cause Hell's full. And Heaven's a lot stingier with keeping their dead."
Naoki moved to sit, drawing his knees up to his chin and closing his eyes, wished he had the time or will to sleep. "I don't want them back. I'm tired of endings."
"You could just say fuck the next world and keep this one for yourself," Dante suggested, half-assed, and Naoki tensed as he considered the possibility. Not one of the humans who survived had a Reason he could commit to. But it was selfish to leave all human life ended on a whim.
~
Naoki found he could be selfish.
Heaven and Hell sent agents after him, of course - an afterlife without fresh corpses quickly grew stale - but they weren't effective. The Great Will would not lower itself to direct battle, and the only being to ever actively threaten it had been swiftly despatched by Naoki's group. It wasn't long before Heaven tired of the pretence, and Hell gave up after an unmitigated disaster.
Disorganisation in Hell was to be expected given their leader had been sent back to wherever angels originated, but given Dante had been in Naoki’s team at the time Lucifer was defeated, one might have expected them to think twice about sending Dante's twin up against him.
Granted Dante and his twin had battled each other before, but on every previous occasion the desire to prevent humanity being wiped out had kept Dante opposing his brother. With that issue out of the way, and after a few peculiar sessions wherein the two alternated between pummelling and embracing each other, it wasn't long before Naoki found himself with silver hair against his neck and between his legs at the same time.
"Do you miss them?" Dante asked afterwards, arms slung casually around Vergil's waist and Naoki's shoulders.
"No."
Dante smirked and kissed the sensitive patch just beneath Naoki's ear. "Had you figured from the get-go."
The End