Adult-FanFiction.org : Anime

Hellsing: Coat of Arms	By : KDKB Category: Hellsing > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 1360 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: We do not own Hellsing or any characters. We also do not make any money from this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
Chapter 6: The Realization

A violent shudder wracked Seras' body as the blood touched her tongue, and she let out a strangled gasp. Anna yanked her hand back as if she had been burned, warily watching her servant and friend as her eyes began to blink rapidly, her pupils dilating and constricting as she struggled to focus.

"Wha...what happened?" she mumbled, bringing a trembling hand to her forehead.

"You were under a spell, Police Girl," Alucard replied irritably. "Worse yet, you allowed our young Master to ally herself with a demon after Sir Integra was killed. That you would let either of these things come to pass is unacceptable; you are an idiot."

"M...master...?" Seras scrambled to right herself, nearly falling off the coffin as she hastily straightened her uniform. Big blue eyes were wide with a mixture of hope and disbelief; she found herself reaching for him, her gloved hand trembling in the shadows. "...is it really you...?"

"It seems these years of peace have made you all a little soft in the head." Though his words remained harsh and unforgiving, his tone had become somewhat kindly, and he looked upon her with fond red eyes. "I have missed you, Seras."

"Master!" Without thinking, she threw herself at him, flinging her arms around his neck and burying her face in his crimson-clad shoulder. Her slender fingers clutched at the fabric of his coat as she held him close, blinking back the tears that threatened to stain his collar an even deeper shade of red. "I was beginning to think you were never coming back," she whispered.

The vampire king made no move to return her embrace, but neither did he pull away. "It was always only a matter of time," he murmured, his cold breath rustling the tips of her golden ponytail. "Unfortunately, time is the only thing man doesn't have in his impressive menagerie."

Now the tears flowed freely. The thoughts she had been desperately avoiding for the last few days had cornered her in the back of her mind, and she let out a strangled sob. "I'm sorry, Master...I'm so sorry. I wanted to be here with her, I really did. But I was under orders..." She backed up enough to slide one arm between them, swiping the back of her glove across her eyes. "I had to get Anna out of there. Integra would never have forgiven herself if something had happened to her...and neither would I."

Alucard said nothing. His gaze slowly traversed the room and settled upon the young heiress of Hellsing, who had trained her eyes stubbornly on the floor. Golden hair tumbled across her pretty face, all but obscuring the look of guilt and self-loathing that had plastered itself across her lips.

Feeling his carefully blank and yet somehow accusing stare settle on her hunched shoulders, Anna drew in a sharp breath, attempting to muster up the courage to meet his eyes. The nagging feeling that her mother's blood was on her hands burned within her heart; if only she had been stronger...

Finding herself unable to wrench her gaze from the floor, she opened her mouth to excuse herself. When her voice could not be found, she simply spun on her heel and rushed out of the cell.

"Coward," Alucard muttered.

Seras had quickly recollected herself and turned toward the door when she heard Anna's hurried footsteps flee into the hall. She bit her lip, letting the hand that had reached for her friend fall back to her side as she shot her master a sidelong look. "Sir...please. Despite her heritage, she is only a girl."

"Does not a prince inherit a kingdom upon the death of his father?" Alucard retorted, watching the old iron door slam back into place. "No matter his age nor his skill, does he not lead his soldiers into the battles of his ancestors? Even if he fancies himself a commoner, does not the blood of a prince rush through his veins? Annabel may have lived her life expecting to escape her family's trade, but the siren call of her bloodline cannot be ignored. Somewhere in that childish heart she knew that this day would come, but she chose to let her mother's teachings fall on deaf ears." The ancient stone crunched beneath his boots as he started for the door, his crimson coattails fluttering in his wake. "She knows that she has failed her mother. Now we'll see if she fails herself."

Seras watched with a heavy heart as he melted through the wall of the cell, her hands clasped in front of her as she briefly closed her eyes. "God give her strength," she whispered. Then, with a heartfelt sigh, she headed off after her master.

Anna didn't slow down until she had found her way back to the entrance to the dungeons. Gratefully grabbing the old iron handle, she disengaged the latch and placed her shoulder against the door, pushing against it until it loosened once more. Another shower of rust rained down on her head, but she paid it no mind. Blinking back the tears that may or may not have been caused by the rust particles in her eyes, she walked through the door and shoved it shut behind her. Without giving much thought to where she was going, she found herself wandering toward the fencing hall, her arms wrapped around herself as if to ward off a chill.

"Mom, I'm so sorry," she mumbled, ducking her chin to her chest as she walked. "You knew I wasn't cut out for this...I wish I was, but I'm just not." The double doors of the fencing hall approached her from the distance, and she idly pushed them open, stepping inside and letting them fall shut behind her. She leaned against the doorframe for a moment, closing her eyes as she tried to collect herself once more. "Come on, Anna," she muttered to herself. "No use worrying about it now. All you can do is your best. If that conceited, condescending vampire can't see that, it's not your problem." Steeling herself against her doubts, she pushed away from the door and strode across the hall, yanking her foil down from the wall and turning toward the center of the room.

No sooner had she swept a brief salute to her invisible opponent than a soft knock came at the door. "Anna?" Seras' voice floated across the empty room. "Can I come in-?"

"Don't be stupid, Police Girl. Of course you can go in." The tall, red-clad figure melted through the wall, turning back to look over his shoulder. "Come on."

Seras opened the door and entered the room, looking slightly disgruntled as she shot her master a withering look. "You know, I haven't quite mastered that little trick yet," she grumbled. "You don't need to rub it in."

Anna sighed and lowered the foil, hoping she would be able to disguise her roiling emotions as annoyance at the intrusion. "Yes?"

"I'm not trying to be a pain, but..." Seras gave her a worried look. "It's almost 4 in the morning. Shouldn't you be getting some sleep?"

"I'm not tired," she said dully. "But thank you for your concern." Turning to Alucard, she planted the tip of her weapon on the ground and raised an eyebrow. "And what do you want? Somehow I don't think you're here to make sure I go to bed."

"Me?" He snorted. "I came here to make sure you don't fall on your weapon and kill yourself. I am relieved to find you wielding a practice foil."

"For your information, I have been handling a sword since I was old enough to stand." She demonstrated a few of her favorite attacks with a flourish of her sword, then made her way back to the equipment hooks to hang up her foil. Turning back to her subordinates, she gestured to the vampire king. "Seras, why don't you take this opportunity to fill Alucard in on what has been going on since he disappeared?"

"There is no need." Alucard smirked at the confusion that flitted across her face. "The moment she was revived, I knew everything she knew, including all about this idiot who calls himself 'Seiryu'." Angling his head back, he leered down at her with a toothy sneer. "While not exactly a threat to me, he could have killed Seras without a second thought. What were you thinking, allowing him to enter this place? A demon has no power inside the walls of a man's house unless he is invited in."

"So you're saying that I should have told the creature that could turn my best bodyguard into a carpet stain to take a hike?" she asked incredulously.

"For one reason or another, he was obviously concerned with your safety," he replied calmly. "If you had ignored his entreaties and returned to the manor, he would not have been able to follow. Once inside the fortress of your estate, arrangements could have been made to have the demon exorcised from this plane."

"Well thanks, I'll be sure to keep that in mind next time I encounter a demon." She threw up her hands in defeat, shooting him an irritated but helpless look. "What do you want from me? I'm trying the best I can with what little information I have. I'm sorry I'm not my mother."

The no life king said nothing for a moment, his lips twisted into a bemused smile. Seras shot him a dirty look in response to some unspoken remark; he, of course, paid it no mind. "I wonder when that idiot will decide to show back up," he mused, letting his gaze wander to the door. "According to Seras, he has a bit of a thing for you."

"Don't remind me," she muttered. "As for when he will return, I have no way of knowing. Anyway, since I've apparently 'invited him in', is there a way to...you know, uninvite him?"

"To my knowledge, there is not. Barring a successful exorcism performed by a very competent priest – of which there seem to be painfully few – he can come and go as he pleases."

"Go figure," she sighed. "Thankfully he seems to be terrified of you, so I don't think he'd be willing to start any immediate trouble now that you're here. That being said, I think it would be best to play along with him for the moment. You know, see what he's up to." She managed to crack a smile as she finally met his gaze. "You would be able to fend him off if he should start something, right?"

A low, almost crazed laugh rumbled in his throat. "If he sets so much as one hair out of line, I will tear him to bloody pieces."

She nodded slowly, unsure if she should be reassured or concerned by the maniacal look in his blazing red eyes. "Anything else?"

"Not at the moment, considering he's standing right behind you." Alucard gestured over her shoulder, then folded his arms across his chest.

She felt a surge of adrenaline ignite her tired muscles. Whipping around to face the newcomer, she took a few steps back toward her subordinates, her hand twitching over the butt of her pistol as she gave him what she hoped was an infuriated look. "It's about time you decided to show back up," she barked through gritted teeth. "Any particular reason you decided to leave our team high and dry back there?"

"In a moment," he growled, never taking his eyes from Alucard's. "I see you have successfully found your way back to this plane, monster."

"Yes, imagine that," Alucard retorted, unperturbed. "Master, if you wish this man to be removed from your sight long enough to heal every bone in his body, you need only give the order."

"That won't be necessary...for now." Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm her thundering heart, she took her hand from her gun placed it on her hip. "Now, answer the question: why did you abandon our troop?"

"Yes, demon, why did you run away with your tail between your legs like a frightened dog?" Alucard chuckled, his fangs glistening in the artificial light. "Could it be...because you were afraid?"

"I have no fear of you, vampire," Seiryu spat, pushing his bangs out of his face.

"Oh, so?" Taking a menacing step forward, the ancient Nosferatu sneered as his advance drove the demon closer to the wall. "Then why did you take off the moment I returned to this plane? According to my young draculina, you claim to romantically attached to my little master. Surely you would not have left her side if not for shitting yourself in fear."

Realizing he had backed himself into the far corner of the room, Seiryu growled and forced himself to move forward, a crimson flush staining his cheeks. "There are circumstances of which none of you are as yet aware," he replied, forcing his tone to be calm and measured. "Your final familiar was not the only soul to return to the mortal plane this night. The vampiress Carmilla once more walks the earth."

Anna's brow furrowed. Taking a half a step back, she flicked her eyes over both Alucard and Seiryu, wondering what they were talking about. "Who's Carmilla?"

"Carmilla is an insect," Alucard chuckled, ignoring her question as if she had never asked. "Abraham van Hellsing and I disposed of her easily 70 years ago, and I can easily do so again."

"Back then, you also had over three million souls within you with which to fight," Seiryu retorted heatedly. "Now you are a one-man castle, a vampire who is no longer able to take the lives of others as your own. You may be powerful, but you are a lone dracula; Carmilla, however, is free to feast on as many human souls as she wishes." He pointed an accusing finger at Anna. "And it all started with your blood."

Suddenly all three sets of eyes were trained on Anna, one disapproving, one astonished, and one scared. "...is this true, Anna?" Alucard asked quietly.

The young Hellsing paled. "... I'm not exactly sure." Her eyes darted over to Seras, pleading for help.

<Sorry, Anna,> she thought helplessly, shrugging her shoulders. <I was outside the room when you received the scroll. I never knew how you got it.>

"Did you give up your blood to bring me back or not?" Alucard prodded, brows furrowed in a deep frown. When she gave no immediate response, he narrowed his eyes. "Tell me, little girl." He re-crossed his red-clad arms, waiting.

Anna drew a deep breath, then lowered her gaze. "...yes. I did." <Does he always treat people like they're misbehaved children?> she asked Seras silently.

"Only when it's warranted," Alucard answered in her stead, irritation obvious in his tone. Seras shrugged helplessly, wishing she could make her friend feel better but knowing it was impossible.

Alucard watched the exchange between the two women, then blew out an exasperated sigh. "What's done is done," he grumbled. "I suppose the only thing left to do is what Hellsing does best." Reaching into the confines of his long vermillion coat, he retrieved the Casull, cocking back the barrel with a crazy grin. "You need only give the word, and I will kill. Give me your orders, my master, and I will, in the name of the late Integra Hellsing, search and destroy!"

Slightly relieved that he had decided to take her admonishment no further, she looked over at the vampire king and nodded. "Go, Alucard. Report to me when you can."

Letting loose a manic laugh, he swept his hat from his head and bowed before the young Hellsing. "As you wish, my master," he chortled. "Seras, remain here and make sure our 'friend' doesn't do anything stupid. I will return shortly." His body was enveloped in seething red shadows; thousands of bats erupted from the miasma, then dispersed in a screeching torrent of darkness through the various walls of the fencing hall.

"...does he really think it's going to be that easy?" Seiryu muttered to himself, watching the last of the vampiric masses disappear from the room. "What an idiot."

"You're just mad because my master isn't afraid of a vampiress whose name sounds like a candy bar," Seras huffed.

Anna hid a smile behind her hand, then looked over at Seiryu. "So, are you going to help at all, or are you just going cause trouble?"

"Oh yes, I have been here to cause trouble from the start," he muttered, his tensed muscles finally relaxing when he was sure the vampire king had gone. "I only tried to keep you safe, even from yourself." He cast a small smile at the far wall. "Your pet doesn't seem to want to fight me. He excused himself from acting upon his threat to destroy me just because you wouldn't give him permission."

"Had he considered you a threat, you'd be a shit stain on the floor before you could so much as look at Anna," Seras growled. Then, putting on a cheeky grin, she said, "He could always come back, you know."

Seiryu glared at her, but said nothing.

Anna looked back and forth between the two, then sighed and rolled her eyes. "And Alucard thinks I'm a child" she muttered. "You know what, Seras? It has been a long day, and I have to be up in a few hours. I think I will retire to my quarters." Her statement seemed to trigger her all but forgotten exhaustion; she stifled a yawn as she turned toward the door.

"I can keep watch if you'd like," Seiryu offered.

"Sure...just stay the hell out of my room." She cast her friend a glance over her shoulder. "And you, Seras?"

The young draculina didn't reply. Her eyes were trained wistfully on the ceiling, and she heaved an unconscious sigh.

Seiryu raised an eyebrow. "Seems our would-be monster has a fancy of her own," he snickered.

Anna frowned at Seiryu, then turned back to her friend. <Earth to Seras.>

"Hmm? What?" The girl blinked, coming slowly out of her reverie. "Did you say something?"

"Seiryu offered to keep watch while I take a brief respite. Can you accompany him and wake me if anything happens?"

"So we're just going to assume he's safe to have around, just like that?" she asked grudgingly, giving him a disgusted look out of the corner of her eye.

"I am as devoted to Anna as you are," he snapped back.

"Kinda creepy, considering you only officially met her two days ago."

"I've known her much longer than that...just from afar."

"Creeper."

"Think what you like. I wouldn't expect the likes of you to understand the first thing about love."

"Oh, for God's sake!" Anna snapped. "If you two are going to be like this, then I might as well forget about leaving you to yourselves and just finish my workout." Spinning on her heel, she went to reclaim her equipment.

"But you need to sleep," Seras protested, flitting across the room to stop Anna from taking her foil down from the wall. "You said it yourself; you have to be up in just a few hours."

"You act as if this is the first time I've pulled an all nighter," the young Hellsing grumbled, shrugging her friend off and retrieving the weapon anyway. "Two or three hours of sleep isn't going to make a difference; in fact, it will probably just make me more tired when I get up."

"Then at least do something that isn't going to wear you out more." Seras grabbed for the foil, curling her fingers around the base of the aluminum blade and holding it fast. "Please, Anna," she pleaded. "What if we have to face another attack? You don't want to be dead on your feet."

"...fine." Anna relinquished the sword, wrinkling her nose as she watched the blonde vampiress return the weapon to its hooks. "But I'm still not leaving the two of you alone. In fact, why don't you accompany me to the office? I'll spend the remaining hours before dawn looking over the rest of the paperwork."

"With your permission, I would like to join you as well." Seiryu started toward them, his eyes fixed disparagingly on Anna's companion. "Your life should not be entrusted to one as incompetent as this one, especially when her mind is obviously on...other things."

Seras sucked in a breath, her pale cheeks flushing a dull red in the overhead light. <Can you please order him to go somewhere else?> She asked silently, fixing him with a furious glare. He's really getting to me.

Anna raised an eyebrow, then rolled her eyes and turned to Seiryu. "I think I would feel better if you patrolled the grounds. Report back to me if anything seems out of the ordinary."

The demon narrowed his eyes, his gaze darting briefly to Seras before settling back on Anna. "...very well. I will check in on the hour." Giving her a stiff bow, he turned on his heel and exited the fencing hall.

"...thank you," Seras muttered, making a face at the door as it swung shut. "One more word out of his mouth and I swear I would hit him."

"Definitely warranted, but probably not the best idea." Anna waited for his footsteps to fade into the distance, then started for the door herself. "Though I have to admit, despite everything that's happened, I still don't quite know what to think of him."

Seras fell into step beside her, and the two women made their way toward the staircase. "Well, I know what I think. He's a cowardly excuse for a demon, and he is not to be trusted."

"I don't know. Alucard seemed to believe him when he said that vampire woman had returned." Her expression was thoughtful as she pulled open the door and started up the stairs. "Maybe there's more to him than what we think."

"Somehow I don't think that's a good thing. He's hiding something, and I want to know what."

Anna shrugged, but made no reply. Reaching the landing of the third floor, they turned and crossed the threshold into the hall, walking together toward the office in silence. Seras skipped a few steps ahead of her to open the door, and Anna passed her with a slight nod of thanks. To the young Hellsing's chagrin, the mounds of paperwork were exactly where she had left them the afternoon before, still in piles and entirely unperused. In addition, Andrew had left the group's individual reports on the edge of the desk, making the mountain of files seem even more daunting than before.

"No wonder mother smoked," she muttered. Gliding across the old wood floor to the desk, she pulled the cord on the lamp and sank into the worn leather chair, rubbing her temple for just a moment before gingerly removing the packet from the top of the pile. She began to scan through the lines of drab, unimaginative text, attempting to wrap her tired brain around its meaning even as it began to lull her to sleep. By the time she had reached the end of the first page, she found herself nodding off, her chin slipping slowly but surely from her hand.

"I just realized I didn't absorb any of what I just read," she chuckled dully, tossing the file back onto the desk and leaning back in her chair. When Seras gave no response, she turned her eyes upon her, finding her standing silently by the starlit window. "Something on your mind, Seras?"

"Hm?" She turned her gaze toward Anna, though their eyes never quite met. "Oh, no, it's nothing."

"You've been like this since Alucard left," Anna said gently, fighting the enticing invitation of the comfortable cushion of the chair.

Seras hesitated, the words teetering precariously on the tip of her tongue. "He's just so sad," she said at last, letting her eyes fall back into the distance. "It's not something I'm accustomed to."

Anna snorted softly. "How can you tell? He just seems arrogant to me."

"You've only just met him. I've known him for...well, in the grand scheme of things, saying I've known him for a long time seems rather naive. Still, I've known him long enough." She blew out a small sigh. "He's not really as abrasive as he seems. Beneath that mocking, arrogant, monstrous exterior is just a man who just wants someone to save him from himself."

The younger girl raised a feathery eyebrow. "Oh? I'm sure he'd love to hear you say that."

"It's true," Seras said defensively, finally turning to face her friend. "He's always looking for a human strong enough to destroy him. Even at the end of the battle of London, he practically begged Anderson to finish him before he died..." Wrapping her arms around herself, she frowned at the polished wood floor. "The only reason he really found to keep on living this life was Sir Integra."

In her mind, Anna tried to cast the red-cloaked harbinger of death in the light Seras described. However, try as she might, she could only see him gliding through oceans of blood, that chilling, arrogant sneer plastered across his face. "I think you've spent too many years romanticizing this in your head," she muttered, shaking away the eerie mental image. "Are you saying I should be prepared for him to take his own life in lieu of serving me?"

Seras shook her head, her straw-colored ponytail bobbing wearily in the lamplight. "No. He will carry on like he always does, only now, should he meet his death, and he will greet it as an old friend...without regrets."

Anna closed her eyes, letting her head thunk back against the leather headrest of the chair. "I know he'd prefer to have Integra here," she sighed, thankful for the dark backs of her eyelids. "Frankly, so would I. You and I both know I'm not ready for this, not by a long shot. Hell, I never even wanted this in the first place. However, unfortunate as it is for everyone involved, this is how it's going to be. As much as I hate to admit it, I need Alucard's full cooperation." Finally forcing herself to open her eyes, she leaned forward on the desk, fixing Seras with an almost helpless stare. "Seras, do you think he'll come around?"

The young draculina blinked in surprise, then managed to put on a reassuring smile. "As long as you prove yourself worthy, I'm sure he will. I know you can do it."

"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence." Casting a withering look at the mess before her, she swept an irritated hand over the mounds of paperwork. "Not to change the subject, but how the hell did mother manage all of this?"

"Very carefully," Seras replied cheekily.

Anna made a face, then stuck her tongue out on a childish whim. "It was a rhetorical question, Seras."

"No one ever died from answering a rhetorical question." She paused a moment, then glided over to perch on the corner of her superior's desk. "You know, you really should let master take some of your blood," she ventured cautiously. "Without it, he's sure to be very weak."

"Oh!" Anna frowned, giving herself a mental kick in the pants; the thought had never even crossed her mind. "I didn't even think of that. I suppose I should have done that before he left..."

"Meh, it's his fault really, for not asking." Propping herself up on her hands, she leaned back and crossed her legs, her red eyes traveling to the ceiling. "He always was too proud for his own good..."

The young Hellsing laughed, somewhat absolved by her friend's idle statement. "Why does that not surprise me?" Picking up the report once more, she settled back in her chair and prepared to read. "I'll be sure to take care of that when he gets back." She gave Seras one final appreciative glance, then began to peruse the file, this time being careful to absorb everything she read.
- 6
- 7
- 8
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Hellsing: Coat of Arms