Again with the anime versions of the characters. Please R&R, constructive criticism as always very welcome!

Oh, yeah, and I don't own Hellsing. No, really. If I did, I would keep Alucard all to myself.


The sky was as black as pitch over London, the only heavenly body visible was the incredibly bright, almost iridescent orb of the full moon. The streets of London were, thankfully, quite this evening, and in the gardens of the Hellsing Estate the night-blooming flowers were in their full glory, the sweet smells of jasmine and lilac mingling softly with the crisp clean aroma coming from the waters of the fountain.

It was a cool, clear night in the middle of September, and only a few windows of the massive estate were still illuminated against the cold grey stones of the mansion. The curtains of Integra's personal office were, as usual, backlit by the glow of her desk lamp, and pulled tightly closed against the night. Somewhere in the distance a nightingale twittered, and the soft night wind gracefully sauntered through the peaceful scene.

In the sculptured and terraced back lawns of the Estate however, all was not calm. Darkly glowing red eyes were at the head of a slithering mass of shadows that flowed across the grass like fog on the prowl. The smell of blood and gunpowder lightly tinged the comfortable night air, and, for the moment, there was not a sound to be heard past the soft ruffle of leaves in the aforementioned breeze.

The blonde fledgling, Seras, moved into position behind a boxwood hedge and held her breath as her undead heart forced vitae through her system, willing it to her ears and eyes and nose in an attempt to locate her quarry before she was turned from the hunter to the hunted.

She dropped down on her haunches and nearly lost her balance as the tight material of her outfit refused to allow enough give to settle comfortably. 'I guess Ferguson was right about running around in a skirt all the time', she thought ruefully, softly to herself, so as not to give away her position.

Too late, the creature she stalked thought to himself. Your unnatural heartbeat calls to me like a concerto, and the blood in your veins – MY blood - like a choir. But he kept these things to himself… best to let her think she had a sporting chance.

She allowed her eyes to drift half-closed as she silently threw out the mental net as she had been taught by her Master, clumsily, to try and ensnare any stray sensations and bring them to the attention of her other senses. She sniffed in a feral manner as an ear pricked at a strange sound – she smirked slightly and half-stood, creeping along her path, her white fangs gleaming in the moonlight.

She had him now.

Quick as a flash she had her handgun pointed at what she had detected, and as soon as she saw the shadow of the creature she pulled the trigger, watching with anticipatory glee as two bullets zipped through leaves and branches… a glee that quickly turned to annoyed frustration as a rabbit squealed and ran off through the bushes.

A dark, all-encompassing chuckle served to only annoy her further. 'You will have to do better than that, Police Girl.'

She grumbled under her breath about playing children's games, and how they were NOT her idea of training, as she once again stalked across the terraced grounds in search of her elusive quarry.

'One must learn to climb from ones crib first, police girl, before one can be expected to enjoy more… adult… pursuits.'

Her cheeks warmed at the insinuation, momentarily forgetting that his taunts were usually double-edged and meant to distract rather than to invite. She shook her head and used the brief mental contact that he had initiated in order to more closely hone in on his position… Master's pride will be his downfall one day, she mused. But then thinking of her Master as downfallen wasn't something that she long entertained. It caused a tearing sensation in her stomach and the beginnings of an ache in her heart that she refused to listen to. Master will live forever. After all, had she not personally witnessed him be blown to bits, hacked to pieces, and torn to shreds time and again, only to coalesce into his proper form and take out the mongrel dog that had dared attack him?

She wondered suddenly if she would ever develop those same powers.

'Not if you persist in sitting there feeling sorry for yourself instead of coming and finding me. Here, shall I give you a hint?'

There was a not-so-subtle rustle of leaves off to her left as a bush rocked so violently that she thought it might actually take legs and run away.

Seras sighed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, bloody hell."

But she broke out into a run in the direction of the bush anyway, knowing that this training session would not end until she had caught the grinning fiend, and that this might be her only opportunity to end this before dawn. He had been in a particularly solicitous mood for the past few days and she wished that he would snap out of it. When she had expressed her desires to train with him the week before, she had NOT meant 24-hours-a-day-for-three-days-straight.

'Oh really…? And here I thought you enjoyed spending time with me, police girl.'

She sighed, and refused to fall for the bait. Of COURSE she enjoyed spending time with him, but… what she had in mind was more the cuddles-in-the-coffin type of time, not the 'chase-me-around-in-the-dark-and-make-me-shoot-you' type. This, to her, was NOT quality time.

Again, his irritatingly mocking laughter filled her mind.

She pelted down an embankment and made a leap across a small stone bench, landing beside the riotous bush just in time to see a thick shadow slithering around it and UP the other side, back the way she had just come. She used her mental powers to try and mask her presence as she stalked around the bush, her gun at the ready. She did not see the tenebrous shadow any longer so she climbed back up the terraced embankment carefully, searching with not only her eyes and ears but her soul, allowing her instincts to hone in on him as he had done to her in the past. 'Blood calls out to blood' he had told her when she had inquired as to how he did that. 'My blood is inside you, therefore I shall always be able to find you.'

She recalled with a warm blush and a soft smile the exact circumstances surrounding their 'mingling' of blood. She had never experienced so intimate a moment before, so completely between THEM as when she lay dying in his arms in that church… when he had bitten her and drawn her blood from her she had felt a rush of paralyzing pleasure wash through her… a feeling that no one could ever take away from her, or claim to have experienced with her. The hot flush in her cheeks at the memory traveled down her shoulders to blaze across her whole body as she recalled her feverant desire to share that sort of intimacy with her Master again, but the pleasantness was ruined by the looming image in her minds eye of yet another blonde woman staring derisively down at her for her childish notions towards Alucard.

Seras shook her head to rid herself of these human emotions. Alucard of course took advantage of her moment of distraction – like a cat he allowed his shadowy form to rub against one of her legs, wrapping around it like a snake and causing her to shiver deliciously at the sensation, before the dark tentacle slithered off into the underbrush. 'I'm waiting…' came his teasing entreaty. She had frozen at the unexpected contact, furious with herself for allowing him to get away so easily when all she had to do was reach down and grab him. sigh I'm hopeless.

She forced herself to refocus on the situation at hand, tightening the grip on her weapon and heading towards the rustle of leaves just ahead. And, personally, she didn't really wish to think too long on how exactly it was that Alucard was able to track Sir Integra, too.

Suddenly, she pounced. She had no reason to have pounced other than her more base instincts telling her to do so. She landed with a definite 'OMFH!' on something that tried to writhe its way out from under her, but again her instincts took over and she grappled the wiggling mass of half-coalesced shadows. "Got you!" She yelled triumphantly, only to make a surprised face and tighten her grip as the thing under her started MOVING. There was that annoying chuckle as the tenebrous form of her Master nearly freed itself, but Seras got her feet under her and sprang once more. The creature bucked and rolled like an angry tsunami, undulating under and against her in a most… interesting way, its shadowy state of being making it near impossible to find a secure handhold. Alucard's inky half-form then leapt into the air and landed hard as he tried to dislodge Seras, who now gripped around the shadow creature's midsection with her legs, dropping her gun in the process and holding on for dear life.

"Give up!" she grunted as they continued to careen up the terraced hill. "You said if I caught you, you would give up!"

'Hmm… yes, you have caught me haven't you?' The amused sarcasm seemed to fairly drip from the disembodied voice that sounded in and around her, making her positively gush at its sinful timbre. 'But now the question is, can you hold on?'

She looked momentarily puzzled. "Hold on? Wha---?" But as the realization of his words sunk in, she grabbed a hold of the beast she was riding even harder. "No! Don't you dare…!"


Integra had heard the gunshot and frowned. What now? She had asked herself irritably, but had not paid too much attention to the ruckus. She was sure that if it was something that required her immediate attention that she would be well-informed. Over-informed was more the term, as she was sure Walter would report in, as well as Ferguson, and then of course that damnedable monster of hers would not be able to RESIST taunting her about how easily someone had infiltrated the hallowed Hellsing halls and how he was sure she was grateful for his presence to keep her safe.

So, she prepared a stopping point in her paperwork just in case.

But when no one rushed to tell her what was going on, she became mildly annoyed.

A second report was heard and she rose from her desk and peeked out of her office window – it had sounded as if it had come from the back garden. What she saw made her frown even deeper – what in the world was Seras doing slinking around the gardens with her gun in the middle of the night? And where was Alucard? She had not seen him in more than just passing for the past week and that annoyed her.

She hesitated for a moment, then with a decisive noise in the back of her throat turned and headed out of her office towards the stairs, determined to find out what was going on and why she had not been invited.


"Omfh! Hold still, Master!" Seras demanded as the shadow-creature continued its merry jaunt up and down the terraces.

'Oh but where is the fun in that?' He teased. 'Nothing much can be accomplished by just laying there…'

She blushed, furiously, her grasp on her humanity still great enough that she unwittingly pushed her vitae towards her cheeks for the task. The thought of anyone being able to 'just lay there' with Alucard around was absurd. Much writhing would ensue, she was sure, and probably some biting and scratching and…

'…and?' He prodded as the umbral form chose this time to perform a complicated cork-screw-rollover maneuver. The effect upon Seras was exactly what he had expected – she giggled almost giddily, and was torn between exasperation at not being able to control him, and almost orgasmic ecstasy at being almost completely enveloped in his embrace – arms or not, it was still HIM, and that was enough for her.

"Ohhhh! You ENJOY teasing me, don't you?" she grunted through gritted teeth as she was turned over, so that her back was gently grazing the grass as he slithered across it.

'Mmmmm… Immensely.'

His tone briefly led her to wonder whether he had meant teasing in THIS manner, or if he had been alluding to some other, much more enjoyable activities. Psha. Master is hundreds of years old. I don't even know if he THINKS like that anymore.

It was her fatal mistake, she realized that later, but she could not help it. Her mind plunged itself into a daydream that took her almost forcefully to a satin-lined bed with burning candles all around, the image of HIM, bare-chested and leaning over her, that seductively indolent grin plastered on his face as his long dark hair tickled her exposed flesh… he was gazing down at her as if she were the only other creature in the world, like he was a starving wolf and she his intended prey… she gulped…

…and was brought out of her fantasy with a shocking 'Ompfh!' as she hit the ground forcefully, his hands gently yet firmly gripping her upper arms, his arms and face and chest and hair having manifested from the inky shadows that he had been manipulating just a few seconds before. He had her pinned and she knew it. Had she really been his quarry he would have had no problems ripping out her throat. Her dark red eyes held a mingling of fear and confusion, but were still tinged with the embers that had burned within her in her just-passed daydream.

And in real life, just as in her dreamlet, he stared down at her, grinning rakishly as tendrils of his hair came to life and reached out, teasingly flicking bits of grass and leaves from her blond locks as she lay there. She was not sure if she should close her eyes and accept the imagined killing blow, or if she should leave them open and enjoy the ecstasy that she feverantly hoped was in store for her. The rays of the bright moonlight gleamed for a moment off of his ivory fangs, her unnecessary breaths coming in short, hard gasps.

'Why don't you tell me, police girl… after hundreds of years, do I still think that way?'

"That's enough, Alucard," came the all-too-familiar voice from across the yard. Seras experienced an uncharacteristic stab of true hatred then for the owner of that voice, emitting a low, almost feral growl at the unexpected intrusion that caused Alucard to arch a brow and smirked in amusement. Her resentful anger was further elevated when Alucard immediately released Seras and manifested completely, moving away from his fledgling and kneeling in the grass with his head bowed, facing the house.

Seras blinked as the preternatural rage died, and she sat up. She turned to see Sir Hellsing standing on the back steps, regal and commanding as always.

"Would either of you care to tell me what was going on?"

Alucard raised his head then, an almost wicked expression on his face as he prepared to answer. He did not glance at Seras and seemed to have eyes only for the Ice Queen.

Seras sought to save her dignity and cleared her throat nervously, answering in a rush before Alucard could. "I – it was just training, Sir Integra. You see, I was supposed to try and catch Master, but well it seems he caught me instead..." She ended the rush of words with a rather lame laugh, a laugh that died a few seconds later as a chilling, round-spectacled gaze slid to her and seemed to pin her there. She got the impression that the Knight was not displeased, merely annoyed. For now at least.

"Hm." she finally replied. "Training. Is that what they call it these days?" Her voice was colored with an odd emotion, somewhere between sarcasm and challenge. Her eyes slid from Seras to Alucard. Through their mental connection came the stinging querry, 'Attempting to molest your childe again, Alucard?'

His eyes held hers as he remained kneeling. 'As if she'd resist.' his mind replied derisively. 'Why? Do you have a better… outlet… for my affections?'

"Hmm, indeed, Master," Alucard purred exquisitely as if the mental exchange had not happened, the tone of his voice sending shivers up Seras' spine. "I could perhaps arrange a similar event for you if you desired."

Seras groaned at the obvious insinuation and dropped her head into her hand. "Can I go now, please?"

The weight of Integra's penetrating gaze now refocused on the fidgeting Seras, who had no desires to be reminded of where Alucard's true affections and loyalties obviously lay. What she could not understand was why Sir Integra, who would never return the affection, got so jealous whenever someone else tried to. Alpha female syndrome I guess she finally decided, gazing up expectantly at the obviously un-thrilled Knight.

"Dismissed, Officer Victoria," was the eventual disapprovingreply.Integra's icy glare slid from Seras and back to her kneeling pet vampire. "Alucard, my office. I require your assistance."

Seras released a breath that she did not know that she had been holding as without another word Integra tuned on her heel and stalked silently back into the Estate. Without hesitation Alucard rose fluidly to his feet, the graceful cat-like motion causing Seras to sigh in admiration. He stalked by her without a glance despite the almost pleading look in her eyes as he passed.

"G – goodnight, Master…" she said uncertainly, at a loss as to what to say next but knowing that she didn't want him to leave her presence just yet – not without him speaking to her at least! "Um… enjoy yourself…"

His head dropped and he gave her a backward glance around his shoulder rather than over it, his blood-red eyes penetrating her very soul as he mentally replied. 'Oh I intend to, Police Girl…I intend to.'