"But Walter," protested a sixteen year-old Integra, "I don't want to go to a girls' boarding school!"
"I'm sorry Integra," said the butler, "but none of the other coed schools are up to snuff, so to speak."
Integra muttered something irritably under her breath and took the stack of girls' school pamphlets Walter was holding before stalking off to her room irritably. She hated the idea of an all-girls' school—trapped with a bunch of catty, wealthy, egotistical females with fluff for brains was not Integra's idea of fun. The girls at her previous co-ed school had been bad enough, but at least then she had been able to lean on her male companions for some semblance of sanity.
"I wish I could just go to a boy's school," sighed Integra as she flipped idly through the pamphlets. After a moment, she snapped her current pamphlet shut. "That's it!" she said excitedly as she began formulating a plan. She would do some research into boy's schools and once she had chosen one she liked, she would apply for it all the while deceiving Walter and tricking him into thinking she was going to a girls' school. It would take quite a bit of careful planning, but with any luck, she could pull it off. She would also need to learn how to look and act like a man. This was possibly the easiest part of her plan; Hellsing had lots of soldiers. All she had to do was observe and/or follow a few for a while.
That summer, Integra spent all of her time plotting and scheming her way into Cromwell School for Boys. She had chosen Cromwell's sister school, Rosewood School for Girls, as her 'decoy' school for convenience and had requested that Walter let her work on preparations herself. He had let her, and she had immediately shredded the papers for Rosewood, sending papers she had made out for Cromwell instead. Integra also shadowed numerous soldiers and learned to mimic their speech habits and actions. She had also come up with an alias for school. At Cromwell, she would be known as 'Luke Hunter' and requested contacts in addition to her glasses at her last optometrist appointment. In her opinion, her glasses made her look more feminine.
When the time came for school to start, Walter drove Integra to Rosewood. At her insistence, he left immediately after unloading her things. Once Walter was gone, Integra called for a cab to take her to Cromwell. During the cab ride, she shed her blouse and skirt, instead pulling on slacks and a button-down shirt over her boxers and undershirt and pulled her long hair into a neat ponytail. She had bound her breasts that morning, and thankfully didn't need to do that in the cab. As the cab pulled into Cromwell's drive, Integra slipped her glasses into a case and popped her contacts in.
After paying the cab driver and unloading her bags, Integra began to drag them up to the administration office to get her schedule.
"Hey, you need some help with that?" called a voice from a few feet behind Integra.
Integra turned and found herself facing a tall boy with red hair, the length of which rivaled her own. Kind hazel eyes looked out from behind square-framed glasses. The boy held out his hand. "Xavier Kane, seventh year. And you are?"
"Luke Hunter, sixth-year transfer." said Integra without skipping a beat as she gripped the boy's hand in a firm handshake.
"Nice to meet you, Luke," said Xavier with a smile. "Would you like some help with your bags?"
Integra nodded and Xavier threw one of her duffel bags over his shoulder before stooping to pick up a smaller suitcase. "Administration office?" he asked.
"Yes," said Integra, allowing Xavier to lead the way.
Surprisingly, it didn't take Integra long to get her schedule and room assignment. Both she and Xavier were led by one of the many aides in the office to Integra's new dormitory, Whitman Hall.