Author's Note:
I admit I didn't expect to receive such success with a single chapter.
The appreciation I've received across different sites (Fanfiction; AO3; Wattpad, WebNovel) has far exceeded my average standards.
Except when they don't end up finding a furtan combination of fandoms.
Which I think I did this time with KPop Demon Hunters X Devil May Cry.
I clearly underestimated KPop Demon Hunters fans and Devil May Cry fans.
Before we get to the story, I have a couple of questions about possible future stories on KPop Demon Hunters.
1) I have been a fan of the video game franchises Persona and Shin Megami Tenshi for several years.
I recently watched gameplay of Shin Megami Tensei V.
And I asked myself a question: What would happen if a Nahobino ended up in the world of HUNTR/X, bringing with him a bit of the magic/horror of Shin Megami Tensei?
KPop Demon Hunters
Is anyone interested in this potential winning combination of fandoms?
2) This idea is probably something that few people will understand.
In the last few days I discovered that KPop Demon Hunters has gained its own Jumpchain, a kind of RPG for those who don't know it.
I wondered: Would anyone want to read a story about Jumper (the player) that has as his third Jump - KPop Demon Hunters?
The Jumpchain chain would be this: Jump 1 (Teen Titans), Jump 2 (Kara no Kyoukai), Jump 3 (KPop Demon Hunters).
Anyone in favor?
Anyone against?
Having nothing else to say, I wish you a happy reading.
XXX
Story Arc: A New Demon Hunter in Town
Episode 1: Punk and Goth (II)
Chapter 2: Conversations
Plot: Nero, V, Rumi, Mira and Zoey, chat with each other, getting to know each other better.
XXX
POV Narrator
Three pretty girls and two attractive boys are walking on a quiet, quiet street in Seoul.
The five of them are eating ice cream, while exchanging travel stories and trivial facts.
"Are you telling me that in Romania, your van was stuck on the road for two hours because of a herd of cows?" Rumi asks, clutching a purple berry-flavored ice cream.
"Instead of facing vampires, I had to fight cows, a raging bull, and a drunken shepherd with a stick." Nero replies, holding a vanilla ice cream for himself and a peach ice cream for Nico.
"I'm jealous, the three of us have never been stuck in traffic because of adorable animals, only because of cars or engine breakdowns," Zoey said, taking a bite of her double-sided mint and stracciatella ice cream with whipped cream on top.
"Cows aren't adorable, much less colorblind bulls who confuse blue with red," Nero said, not having any pleasant memories with cattle.
"I would have bet on the bull, but Nero is like a cockroach. You can step on him, but he won't die." V said, referring to the times his half-brother was supposed to die, but didn't out of pure luck/stubbornness.
"Are you speaking, V?" Nero said, remembering that V should have literally shattered into a thousand pieces, but didn't because of his willpower.
The boy with the tattoos ignored Nero's comment, preferring to enjoy the ice cream... which was starting to melt.
"Hey, guys, from what I understand, you left London, went to Rome, then traveled across Europe and much of Asia to get to Seoul, all in a van," Rumi said, drawing this conclusion from Nero's short stories.
"Yes, we've traveled a bit everywhere and seen a bit of everything," said Nero, unable to recount the most interesting things about his journey across two continents.
"Why didn't you take a plane and take a thirteen-hour flight instead of driving ten days to get here?" Rumi asks, certain that it would have been easier and less expensive to use a plane than a van.
"It was actually 31 days, we had some stops here and there, some delays, some van breakdowns, various logistical issues, etc." V said, confirming that his journey was long and with many unforeseen events.
"People say women can't drive." Mira comments, having no idea that Nico, the crazy driver Nero mentioned, is a woman.
"We're not on a pleasure vacation, nor did we plan to end up in Seoul, we're on a big treasure hunt," Nero said, exaggerating certain aspects of his trip with V and Nico.
"You two are Treasure Hunters like: Indiana Jones, Nathan Drake, Lara Croft, Sydney Fox," Zoey said in a voice full of enthusiasm, referring to famous men and women who are adventurous archaeologists.
Zoey approaches V, her gaze full of bright stars.
"You, V, are the genius who solves all the puzzles and knows everything there is to know about myths and historical facts, you probably have an ancient manor in England and a tragic past," Zoey said, letting her imagination take over.
"You, Nero, are the strong, brave, and bold boy. The one who saves the day with a punch and a quip at the end of the scene." Zoey said, turning to Nero, her eyes shining even brighter than before.
Receiving this excessive attention from Zoey, Virgil's children began to get embarrassed.
"Zoey, you can't have ice cream with whipped cream anymore. Too much sugar isn't good for you." Mira said in a stern voice, taking Zoey's ice cream.
"I feel sorry for Zoey, she's a good girl and a wonderful friend, but sometimes she gets caught up in the moment," Rumi said, apologizing for Zoey's outburst.
The youngest girl of HUNTR/X sulks, she doesn't appreciate being treated like an overly energetic child, which is not far from the truth.
"He didn't do anything wrong, he even got a few things right about us," Nero said, not wanting to cause trouble for Zoey, who is a nice girl.
"Was I right? Really?" Zoey asks with a puzzled expression; she's not often right, especially when she's consuming sugar.
"Especially the part where I'm the brains of the team, Nero would be lost without me." V said, with a small smile towards the Half-brother.
"I believe you do, you look like a smart and cunning black warlock." Zoey said, blushing slightly, finding the boy with the tattoos endearing.
V didn't say anything, instead smiling faintly, appreciating the praise and Zoey's strange intuition.
Nero rolls his eyes, accustomed to this game in which V makes use of his intelligence and knowledge in numerous fields, especially the arcane and occult.
"As the muscle of this trio, V, I tell you not to go overboard with your boast about knowing dead languages, or I'll leave you to worry about lifting the heavy weights, we both know you can't do that," Nero said, having lost count of how many times he's had to beat up the big, bad demon while V gets busy with other things.
"So, are you really Treasure Hunters?" Rumi asks, trying to learn more about the two foreign boys.
"Not exactly, but we are looking for treasure, just not the one you're imagining." V replies, sounding enigmatic.
"Instead of a chest full of gold coins, you two were looking for a crystal skull or Francis Drake's journal?" Zoey said, with a joking tone.
"I'd love to, but we're looking for something much more boring—books." Nero said, in a bored voice, revealing the reason for their arrival in Seoul.
"Books?" the three girls say at the same time, each surprised and confused by Nero's words.
"Long story short, I'm a bit of a handyman, helping V find some old, musty books," Nero explains, providing the lowdown to the three girls, without mentioning the many paranormal aspects of this task.
"They're not just books, they're handwritten manuscripts from the 15th century, only a few dozen copies left in the world," V said, with an energy that belied his frail appearance.
The black-haired boy loves books, one of the things he has in common with his father.
"So you two are hunting down ancient books all over the world? That's a pretty unique pastime, may I ask why?" Zoey asks, still interested in Nero and V's treasure hunt.
"Pure love of knowledge and a small interest in collecting, even my mother collected rare books for her private library." V said, a hint of nostalgia for when he was little and his mother was still alive.
"For me it's just a long-term job, travel expenses and other things are nothing to V." Nero said, not having a great love for reading.
In many ways, Nero is more like his uncle than his father.
"I like books too," Zoey exclaims.
"Since I've never seen you hold a book," Mira said, unable to imagine Zoey as a quiet girl reading library books.
"When I lived in America, I used to go to the library a lot. But then I moved to Korea, and you know how hectic my life got," Zoey said, unable to discuss the hidden side of their lives with the boys around.
"I don't have time to visit a library anymore, I just download digital books, but it's getting hard to find the right time to read them," Zoey said, omitting that part of her reading list consists of nerdy stuff.
"I understand your problem, Zoey. Being with Nero and riding in a van makes it hard to get into the right frame of mind for a good book," V said, partially understanding Zoey's feelings.
The group chat lasted so long that the five of them didn't realize they'd reached their destination. The group of three girls and two boys arrived near a mostly empty parking lot, where a large van that looked like a camper was parked.
"Guys, is this your van?" Rumi asks, gesturing toward the customized van.
"Yes, my home away from home." Nero said, walking towards his four-wheeled home.
"More like a mobile mental hospital driven by someone who learned to drive from roller coasters," V said, looking less than fond of the van.
The group of five people approached the van, and among them Mira noticed something.
"Devil May Cry?" Mira said, reading aloud from the neon sign/installation on the sides of the van.
A small alarm bell has gone off in Mira's mind, perhaps it's a professional flaw, but just mentioning the word demon makes Mira slightly more tense than usual.
The red-haired girl walks more slowly so that she is at the back of the group, so she doesn't show her back to the two foreign boys.
'If this is all a plan by the demons to trap us, I'm ready for anything, but at least I have to say they've improved their acting skills.' Mira thinks, ready to summon her weapon and strike one of the boys, probably V first, who is covered in tattoos and seems the smartest.
Rumi, possessing a particularly sharp sixth sense, intuits what Mira is thinking.
The purple-haired girl approaches her red-haired friend and whispers, "Mira, don't do anything crazy, boys aren't threatening."
"Nico, come out, I brought you a surprise!" Nero exclaims loudly, not wanting to enter the van without announcing his presence.
Nico is a tough woman and there are a lot of weapons in the van, if she enters suddenly she can cause accidents of all kinds.
For example, during the first few weeks of traveling in the van across Europe, Nero entered the van when Nico was changing his clothes.
The end result was that Nico reflexively grabbed a gun and shot Nero between the eyes.
'Wait a second, if I remember correctly, Lady who is Dante's best friend, didn't she shoot him between the eyes? Is this a coincidence or a strange requirement to become best friends with a descendant of Sparda.' Nero thinks, not wanting to imagine the requirements to become a girlfriend, maybe stabbing him in the heart with a sword?
"I'm going right out!" exclaims a female voice with a Southern accent.
The van door opens and Nico steps out.
Nico has an attractive figure and light-tan skin. She has black, wavy, shoulder-length hair which she keeps pushed back with a plaited hairband. She wears red-framed glasses. Nico has several tattoos on her body.
Her outfit consists of a white tank top showing her midriff covered with a dark-yellow sleeveless jacket that resembles welding cape sleeves. She wears blue denim shorts with a brown worker belt which she tucks a pair of heavy red heatproof gloves into one side of, with a pocketed toolbelt slung on the other side, stabilized with a thigh strap. She also wears a pair of brown leather cowgirl boots with embossed patterning and tongue straps which appear to be decorated with pistol cartridges.
"Nico is a woman," Zoey mutters, surprised to find that Neron's mutual friend is a beautiful woman.
Rumi cannot wear clothes that show so much skin without revealing the marks of her demonic heritage.
Even on hot summer days, Rumi must wear long sleeves, avoid beaches and swimming pools, be careful, etc.
Mira was speechless at the sight of Nico. Mira's gaze began from the beautiful girl's legs, rose to her chest, and finally settled on her face.
'She's sexy, very sexy.' Mira thinks, forgetting her suspicions about the two boys.
"Nero, I'm sending you to get some spare parts to fix the engine, but instead you're bringing me three beautiful girls. Is it my birthday, by any chance?" the girl with glasses said jokingly, approaching her white-haired friend.
"I just got you an ice cream, the girls are just friendly people who helped us find our way," Nero said, handing the ice cream to Nico.
"I'm getting a lot of sweets today." Nico said, bringing the ice cream to his mouth, his eyes looking at the three girls, especially Mira.
"Ladies, this is Nicoletta Goldstein." V said, turning to the three girls on his left.
"Nicoletta, this is Rumi, Mira, and Zoey. They're some girls we met on the way home." V said, finishing the introductions.
"Call me, Nico. I thank you three for looking after my friends. They're troublemakers." Nico said, his voice friendly.
"It was our pleasure." Rumi replies politely, not lying at all, she sincerely enjoyed Nero and V's company. Rumi doesn't know why, but there's something about the two boys that... makes her feel good... safe?
"I'm going to put the box in the van." Nero said, wanting to stop cuddling the box; superhuman strength or not, it's still an object that takes up space.
"Don't touch my stuff, I'm working on something important." Nico said, rather protective of her little workshop and the tools she uses.
"I know." Nero replies, getting into the van.
With Nero out of the way, Nico decided to do his friend a little favor.
"Nero's a good guy, a little hotheaded and a little rough around the edges, but he's a really good guy. I'm surprised he's never found a girlfriend," Nico said, deliberately hinting at Nero's singleness.
'Is he single?' Rumi thinks, not realizing she's smiling.
"So what do we do now? Do we break up or stay together for a while?" Zoey asks, her voice awkward, playing with her hands.
"I wouldn't mind sticking around for a bit, I'm curious to see how this beast works." Mira said, giving the van a light slap.
It's pretty obvious that the interest in the custom van is just a cover for the red-haired girl's real interest.
"Mira, aren't you the only one who likes motorcycles?" Zoey said, offering her friend her own medicine.
"Motorcycles are elegant and fast, my favorite, but I also appreciate cars with powerful engines and a screaming engine. I got a driver's license for both vehicles," Mira said, taking out her wallet and showing her driving licenses.
"I forgot that fact." Zoey said, slightly embarrassed at having forgotten that Mira can drive a two-wheeled vehicle, as well as a four-wheeled one.
"I like motorcycles too." Nico said, smiling at Mira.
The girl with glasses often has a lot of time with Nero and V, so wasting time with another girl seems inviting.
"Girls, we can't invite ourselves into their trailer." Rumi said, needing to be the voice of reason for her group.
"Sir, your presence is welcome, but all three of us have responsibilities to attend to. An engine to repair, research to do, errands to run." V said, knowing his group's schedule by heart.
"Always ruining the party," Nico mutters, slamming his foot into the parking lot.
"Could we plan a group outing tomorrow?" Nero suggests, stepping out of the van, carrying three ice-cold cans of soda in his arms.
"Nero, we have a schedule to keep." V said, focused on finding the occult books that contain important information.
"V, if we take a break every now and then, nothing bad will happen, we're not in a race against time," Nero said, wanting to have fun, not just travel and defeat demons.
V remains silent, thinking about Nero's proposal.
The boy with the tattoos, however, makes a mistake when he shifts his gaze to Zoey and notices her puppy dog eyes.
"Every now and then it's good to take a break from our pursuit of happiness and just be happy," V responds, through a poem.
Nero throws each of the Latinas to the three girls he just met.
Rumi, Mira, and Zoey catch it with ease, having excellent reflexes due to their jobs as idols and Demon Slayers.
"Good reflexes." Nico said, appreciating what he saw.
"We're just keeping fit," Mira said, trying to maintain a dignified demeanor.
"I wrote the number for the handyman agency, Devil May Cry, on each of the soda cans," Nero said, pointing to one side of the drinks on offer.
Rumi looks down and notices that there's a number written on the soda can in marker.
"See you tomorrow afternoon?" Rumi suggests, trying not to blush.
"A six-way date in Seoul, I like that idea," Nico exclaims out loud, having longed for some good company.
Within minutes, the HUNTR/X Girl Band are gone, going to enjoy their vacation, not knowing they will have a restless night.
Meanwhile, Nico, V, and Nero are having a small meeting to plan their nightly activities. A certain area of Seoul is about to benefit from the services of the Devil May Cry agency.
Continues ...
XXX
Author's Note:
I'm sure my KPop Demon Hunters phase/obsession has lasted longer than my (Wednesday) phase and will probably last for a long time to come.
I'm far from saying that KPop Demon Hunters has become one of the pillars of my nerd identity like Type-Moon or MiHoYo, The Owl House, Marvel/DC or Kamen Rider.
But KPop Demon Hunters left an imprint on me. Just like Devil May Cry, Ben 10, Generator Rex, Amphibia, Gravity Falls, Date A Live, A Certain Magical Index, BlazBlue, Arcane.
What does this mean? I'm not sure.
Maybe I'll use the HUNTR/X Band Girl as minor characters for my other stories, for when it comes to idol/music/celebrity or concert that can't be avoided.
Maybe I'll make some slight changes to Rumi, Mira, and Zoey, and use these gorgeous girls to replace useless characters from My Hero Academia's Class 1-A?