Riddle with no Answer

      A shadow of the‘Devil May Cry’van managed to stretch. Nico stopped, tired of circling it. As luck would have it, she did not grab the cigarettes and should have listened to the waterhead. At the last moment she had hidden the prototypes of Nero’s devil breakers: excess moisture will harm her‘masterpieces’.       The sliding door of the built-in shower creaked quietly, and Nico noticed how quickly the glass fogged up from the inside. Where the e-stove was located, a thin silhouette flashed. The young gunmaster knocked on the van’s door.       “V, I’m comin' in.”       In response, the glass shook slightly from three short knocks. One of the previously agreed signals… An irritated sigh escaped by itself, but Nico preferred to wait a little longer. She could not just break into the van, finding Nero’s embarrassed partner before he had time to wrap himself in a towel.       V seemed so fragile to her that he could be afraid of his shadow and any rustles. According to Nero, V was a handsome devil hunter and knew enough about Urizen, the newly minted demon king. But the partners knew less about V: a strange name, three familiars subordinate to him, and his hometown was Redgrave City.       “I’ve only known him for a week since we accidentally ran into each other. He met Nero even earlier… He is a very shady guy, a real mystery.”       The metal door opened, letting steam off.       “You can come in,” V said and stepped into the van.       Nico followed him and rushed to the glove compartment with barely restrained joy. On the first try, her fingers felt an unopened pack, and she put it in one of her belt bag pockets. Grabbing a lighter, the girl was about to go outside, but one detail caught her interest.       “Did you get it from the cabin?”       Perplexed, V noticed where her gaze was directed, and unclenched his palm. There was a lump of ashen hair.       “I’ll give him a hard time,” Nico said in irritation, cracking her knuckles. “I told 'im to clean up after himself! How does Kyrie tolerate him?”       “Nero has nothing to do with it,” V interrupted her indignation. “It’s my hair.”       Nico’s eyes widened, and she pinched her chin with her fingers. Her serious look immediately dissipated as soon as she grinned.       “Oh, my bad: I completely forgot about your ‘pet’! One snap — and you’re an ash-haired blond.”       The guy smiled softly and nodded. As a demon summoner, he had one very curious move. Nico managed to see it only once, as his raven hair turned snow-white. The inky pattern disappeared on his body, and the Nightmare — a powerful and slimy-looking golem — fell upon the enemies.       “So it sits there like a slurry?” Nico asked as V opened the door under the sink in the makeshift kitchen nook. “If you lose a hair, does it kind of crawl back in?”       “I haven’t noticed that, although I admit you have a point.”       The lump of ash-blond hair flew into the trash can, no longer catching Nico’s eye. Only the black hair shock caught her attention. The girl walked to the driver’s seat and continued to watch V, glancing sideways. She didn’t touch the pack; the new research object stayed very close.       V grabbed a bottle from the shower shelf and poured gel into his palm. His plump lips curled when the fingers touched a small cut on his sunken right cheek. The skin glistened with gel, and Nico noticed dark, barely visible hairs on the chin. Brown eyes caught every movement (the glasses’ lenses allowed this) and studied every open part of the naked skin: a slightly hunched back, thin arms, and a taut stomach. The towel hid narrow hips, revealing only the legs above the knee. As it turned out, there were places untouched by the intricate inky patterns. On this sickly pale body, she could barely make out the sparse hair glistening in the light.       One thought crept into her mind, setting imagination running wild. Nico came up almost right next to V and asked without a trace of embarrassment, “Does your Nightmare color only your head?”       The demon summoner froze. He had to come to his senses; green eyes widened in surprise, Adam’s apple moved up and down.       “Sorry, Nico, but your question is tactless,” V’s voice sounded firmer. “You only need to look at my legs.”       “I can see your legs, but the towel covers the most secret part. And you’re interfering with my research.”       V had no time to ask what kind of research Nico was talking about. The crazy look in front of made him step back. His feet hit the leather upholstery of the couch: Nico noticed it quickly. Spreading her arms, she inexorably drove the brunette into a trap.       “This is not right, Nico.” V objected. Nico leaned over him, and the next second V prevented the girl from trying to straighten the towel. “Stop it!”       “Let me study you, ‘riddle', and I’m gonna leave you alone. Just that.”       Nico heard a heavy exhalation and was already inwardly celebrating her victory. Even if V was still resisting, he wouldn’t last long.       “I still can not undress in front of you, unless…” V nodded towards the coffee maker, intriguing. “We can consider ourselves to have had our first date — we drank coffee in the morning. If you want to ‘study’ me, we should pass through all stages of the relationship.”       The girl pulled away and narrowed her eyes. She hadn’t misheard, had she? She only seemed that the air had become stuffy, right? So hot that her top and cropped vest were squeezing her heaving breast. Nico had always been good at putting people in awkward situations, but this time she became the one who was caught off guard.       “Come on, you’re bad at jokes!”       She tried to smile to cover up her nervousness. And at such moments, as luck would have it, her voice became a little higher, and her fingers tucked in a stray strand of hair.       “Who knows.” the brunette continued calmly. “When Dante asked my name, I quoted Blake. "I have no name/ I am but two days old"*. I think that was a good joke.”       “Not a bad one,” agreed Nico, holding back a chuckle. “But you shouldn’t joke with me.”       “I did not think so. "All wholsom food is caught without a net or a trap."*"       “Where did your shame go, your ‘Prides cloke’*?”       Nico noticed how V cheered up and smiled back. He couldn’t hide; he recognized this line.       “Oops! It looks like I stole your chip. You’re not the only one here who has read Blake.”       “Impressive. It’s an honor to be your test subject. I’m ready to tell you a few secrets.”       His right hand, bent at the elbow, rose in an inviting gesture. The armorer stepped confidently, and the young summoner reached for her left hand. His slender fingers wrapped around her wrist and slid weightlessly down, squeezing her palm.       “Secret one: Griffon hears my thoughts, and I hear his voice. And he says, as now, that your skin is soft, although a couple of calluses remain.”       Nico winced. “Don’t speak about this chicken in front of me.”       “Good. I'll keep him quiet while you ‘study’ me. Don't rush: there are still relation stages ahead.”       “It would be easier to pay to see you naked,” the gunmaster chuckled.       “But that’s not fine. If intimacy bothers you, we can throw it away.”       Freeing himself from the girl’s palm, V put his hand on her thigh and felt her body tremble. Nico didn’t push him away; she just took a deep breath and closed her eyes.       “You’re beautiful,” his voice made her head spin. “I want to kiss you. Do you mind?”       He dares me to do this, she thought. She still didn't believe in the 'riddle's' sincerity. This kiss is only to achieve the goal and test my strength.       The shabby couch creaked softly — Nico climbed onto the summoner’s hips and rested her hands on his shoulders. There was no trace of uncertainty left. She was no longer embarrassed by his attentive, studying gaze, and the gleam that appeared in his dark green eyes only provoked her. Raising herself on her bent legs, the girl pressed herself against V and weightlessly touched his lips. They were soft and pliable.       As soon as she deepened the kiss, his muffled moan spun her head. Nico unashamedly picked up V's tongue with hers and slid over his wet lips. The breath blew heat over them, Nico’s heart beat wildly against her ribs, and her chest felt so tight that she wanted to inhale the hot air. She reluctantly pulled away but found herself squeezed in a tight embrace. Grinning, V ran his palm through her wavy brown hair. With his right hand, he lifted the edge of her gray top and exposed her breast.       “Hey, V, you!..” Nico was indignant and choked on her moan.       His tongue slid over her dark skin with a sweeping motion and touched her nipple with the very tip. V slowly stretched out the pleasure and enjoyed himself. Nico had no doubt about it, seeing his gaze clouded with desire, until she closed her eyes again and felt a tingling in her fingertips. His lips moved lower, to her left side, to one particular tattoo with a modified quote that V should definitely appreciate.       “I should have done this earlier.” He broke the silence, kissing the familiar lines.       Nico chuckled. Ran her fingers through his wavy hair and pressed her whole body against him. A quiet 'oh' escaped his lips.       “Nico,” V said hoarsely, “we need to stop.”       “Considering what’s pressing against my thigh, I disagree.”       Her palms cupped the brunette’s flushed face, lips were ready for another greedy kiss, but the silhouette of a shimmering blue bird ruined the atmosphere.       “Nero is coming! Get your asses up.” Griffon bellowed right next to her ear. Nico mechanically waved the demon away but then came to her senses and carefully looked out the window.       “What a bad time…” She hissed through her teeth.       Jumping up and straightening her clothes, she reached for the opposite closet and opened the top door. A blanket immediately flew towards V. Now Nico darted to the e-stove and grabbed the first cup she had found.       “Hey, V, Nico!” The voice was heard from the street, and Griffon dissolved into thin air, settling as 'ink' on the summoner’s chest. A few seconds later, Nero entered the van and found his partner wrapped in a blanket. “What’s wrong?”       “He sneezed after the shower,” Nico rattled off and handed over a cup: it was still steaming.       V no longer heard what she began to say to the hunter in an attempt to come up with some kind of nonsense. He managed to sneeze convincingly enough a couple of times for Nero to wish him well and get back to clearing the city. Nodding gratefully, V took a sip of warm water and couldn’t resist the grin…