"Now remember, Alucard," Integra had said, in a tone that meant business. "You are to stay on your best behavior. Don't behave like a vampire, and for the love of God and all that is Holy, DON'T SCARE THE CHILDREN."

"My master thinks so little of me," he had joked, chuckling at Integra's serious expression. "Really, you think it'll be that difficult to play pretend for a few weeks? I've adjusted to human society. Remember that I had Johnathan Harker fooled for plenty of time."

The heiress let out a deep, exhausted sigh. "Children are prone to asking questions. Lots of questions. And they are particularly intuitive when it comes to detecting the presence of monsters, be them real or imaginary. There's three of them, so you know they'll talk amongst themselves. This won't be a cakewalk, Alucard."

"Feh," the vampire king puffed, materializing from the shadows onto the front porch of the unsuspecting home. "This will be easier than a cakewalk."

It was a rather unsuspecting neighborhood. The house was two stories tall, and there was an innocuous playground set stationed on the lawn with multiple toys and rubber balls strewn across the green grass. In fact, the word that came to his mind was 'domestic'.

"And suppose they ask you a blunt question. What will you do then?"

Alucard knocked on the manila door. It slowly creaked open, and he had to look down to see the wide brown eyes staring up at him. The girl, who looked to be about six years old, gawked at him. He was used to this, however, and offered her a small, cordial smile (careful to hide his teeth- that was one thing Integra insisted he do). "Hello," he greeted.

"Are you the bogeyman?" she asked immediately.

"Well," he had replied, "I won't tell them a lie. But I have a way of speaking the truth without giving anything away. You know, finesse isone of the reasons I'm still around to argue with you, Master."

He shrugged casually. "Worse."

The girl continued to stare, though it was obvious that she was ruffled by his response. "You're scary, mister. Are you gonna eat us?"

At this, the vampire raised an eyebrow. "You know, it's normally polite to greet strangers at the door and ask them what they're doing there in the first place. To answer your question, no."

She cocked her head to the side like a confused puppy. "Oh. Hello. How come you're here in the first place? And do you eat people?"

Alucard found this whole situation so incredibly amusing that he couldn't help but laugh, careful to cover his mouth as he did so. "Has anyone ever told you that you're an incredibly blunt little girl?"

"Uh-huh. Lots."

"I'll bet."

From behind the door, Alucard heard movement. "Lilly?" a woman's voice called out. "Who's at the door?" Said door swung open wider to reveal a tall, somewhat pudgy woman who appeared to be in her early forties. She had deep rings under her aquamarine eyes. When she saw him, they lit up. "Oh my God! A-Agent Alucard, how wonderful that you've come! I apologize if Lilly's given you any trouble."

The vampire spared a glance down at the girl, who was hiding behind the woman's legs to both keep an eye on him and stay out of his way. He gave a low huff. "I've seen trouble, my lady, and the little one most certainly does not fit the bill."

Her eyes nervously darted downwards, then back to him. "Y-Yes, well, erm… please come in? Once again, it's an honor and greatly appreciated that the organization would send such an… elite member!"

She cleared the entryway, and he tipped his hat to her before stepping inside. It was obvious that, because the woman knew exactly who and what he was, she was terrified of making a wrong move. "It's no trouble," he replied, turning to face her as she shut the door behind him. Somewhere in the living room, he could hear a videogame being played. Extending his senses further, he also could hear a girl, definitely in her teens, talking very animatedly into what he could only guess was her phone. "Your home is a part of England, and as such, it is our sworn duty to protect it to the best of our abilities."

Some relief was evident in her features as she met his gaze, somewhat hesitantly. "I'm glad to hear it. Um…" she turned away and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Kids! Mr. Alucard is here, come meet him!"

The game on the television was paused, and after a brief second, he could hear two pairs of footsteps making their way towards him. The boy from the other room appeared first, wearing a headset of some kind around his neck. He was about twelve years old, with black, curly hair that dangled just above his glasses. His footwear was what intrigued Alucard the most, and the vampire caught himself before his gaze lingered too long on his feet. Socks and sandals?

The next appearance was by a girl in her teens, with long brown hair tied up in a high ponytail and a slight frame. There was a slight purpling of her flesh on her cheekbone. He wondered where that had come from.

Eventually, everyone came to stand together in a group so that introductions could be made. The woman, offering him a smile, gestured to each of them. "Everyone, this is Mr. Alucard. Mr. Alucard, these are my children: Lilly, whom you've already met, Robin, and Susan."

"Hi," the two other kids greeted, both with suspicious glances towards their newcomer and then towards one another.

He nodded towards them. "A pleasure. Now, Ms. Johnson, if you could fill me in on just what precisely your situation is…?"

"Yes, yes. I think that would be splendid. Um, if it would be alright with you, I think we should move this conversation to the kitchen. Kids, do your homework while the adults are talking."

"But mom!" Robin complained. "I can't quit in the middle of a match! My team hasn't won yet!"

"And I put Tracy on hold," Susan was quick to add. "She's waiting on me right now- I can't just hang up on her!"

"You can and you will," Mrs. Johnson replied sternly, squaring her shoulders. "Go."

The two eldest children groaned in complaint, but left the room as she bade. But lo and behold, Lilly stayed behind, staring up wide-eyed at them both. Mrs. Johnson turned to her. "That includes you, sweetie."

"But I don't have any homework," she said. Her gaze then fixed on Alucard. "Is he a vampire?"

"Lilly!" Mrs. Johnson gasped. Alucard, meanwhile, was struggling to school his expression into remaining neutral. "Why on Earth would you ask that!"

"He has super pale skin. Wait…" she scrunched up her forehead in thought. "Are you a ginger?"

Alucard looked at her, puzzled. "What's a ginger?"

"He's not a ginger, and we've talked about asking rude questions," Mrs. Johnson grated out. The poor woman resembled a radish. "Sweetie, go play dolls or something. We have very important business to discuss."

"Okay Mommy," the girl replied. But, she glanced one last time up at Alucard. "Whatever you are, I hope you can help, mister." And with that, she left.

When she was finally out of earshot, Alucard fixed the woman a sly smirk. "You know, I do drink wine. And you look like you could use a glass."

Mrs. Johnson's shoulders sagged, but she looked at him gratefully. "Try a bottle. Merlot?"

"Perfect."

This was another brainchild that snuck up on me without any warning. Hope you guys enjoyed it! More will be explained later on, don't worry! This is just the introduction.