I have no excuse for its lateness ^_^ sorry everybody, I hope you like this continuation. I'll try to be faster with my future updates.
"You must be the little girl the Queen mentioned would be helping."
"And you must be the little bra-, er, boy the Queen stated so desperately needed a second person's guidance."
If looks could kill, the police would've found a mass killing inside the Phantomhive estate.
Integra and Ciel were still glaring at each other with expressions of steel coldness.
After a few seconds of pure silence and statue worthy stillness, Alucard and Sebastian were the first to break this frozen moment, hastily busying themselves on other tasks, attempting to hide the animosity they had felt; Vampires meeting demons usually meant that the two hell spawns would fight until the other was obliterated.
Walter and Mey-Rin broke eye contact, and indeed noticed that Sebastian was ushering them all out into the garden, where they would continue their activities.
As Alucard walked behind the group, he noticed Sebastian glancing frequently in his direction, almost expectantly. Alucard guessed that Sebastian was leading them into the sunlit garden to put Alucard in pain and humiliation, but laughed inwardly as the sun hit his pale skin, and left him unaffected.
Sebastian's eyes widened very slightly, yet he took it in his stride, seating them all into a chair around the circular table, which looked totally unaffected by weather or use. Walter automatically rose from his seat to begin serving food, and realized that he had grabbed the serving tray at the same moment Sebastian had.
When Walter's ice blue eyes met Sebastian's scarlet ones, the first few moments were just like it had been in the entrance hall: a silent battle of wills.
However, Walter let go, suddenly, with an unusually polite bow to Sebastian.
"My apologies, Mr. Sebastian. It is my custom and habit to be the one serving"
"Not at all, my good man."
Sebastian gave a smile, and proceeded with distributing whatever he was asked for from the tray, while Integra looked at Walter with raised eyebrows, silently observing this sudden show of courtesy at a stranger. Sebastian noted Walter's attitude and actions, and thought that there might be at least one reasonably polite member of the guest organization.
Integra and Ciel had never been more pointedly polite to anyone. Mey-Rin noted that their over zealous politeness was far more terrifying than if they had just starting fighting.
The snack was rather uneventful, except for when Mey-Rin's exceptional accident prone talents somehow lit the Captain's coat aflame, which caused a few moments of mass hysteria, laughter, and embarrassment, along with a scarlet Mey-Rin apologizing to the indifferent Captain in a stuttering rhythm.
After a while, Walter cleared his throat loudly, and asked Mey-Rin with a rugged smile if she would show him around the estate. Soon afterwards, Finny mumbled something about needing to rake the garden and rushed away, apparently unable to cope with the atmosphere. This left Alucard, Captain, Integra, Sebastian, and Ciel alone.
"Captain, Alucard, you can go and do as you wish around this area," said Integra, "But Alucard.." She looked pointedly at him, "Don't touch anything. I'm sure Sir Phantomhive would also see fit to have his servant leave us as well?"
Ciel raised his eyebrows, and for a few moments, it looked as if he'd refuse, but he waved his hand dismissively at Sebastian, who bowed and exited the room. After he left, this left the two aristocratic children alone in the room for a few moments of empty silence.
Finally, Ciel made the initial move, stirring his tea cup noisily, clearing his throat, and giving a cold look at Integra.
"Try not to spill anything," he sated bluntly, giving her a venomous smile, "I'm sure your nanny would hate to clean up after you. That is, of course, if he's done cleaning after all his cigarette remains."
Instead of getting angry, Integra suddenly became highly fascinated in two squirrels nearby, who had just discovered an acorn in the shade of a tree.
"You mean Walter? He's the cleanest human I've met. And he's not my nanny, he's my butler, my subordinate. He cleans up messes, and of course, he has the displeasure of cleaning after the queen's lapdog, who can't seem to handle his own messes."
"Well at least I finish my jobs on time, without too much collateral damage, if any."
"Really? You look like you couldn't even wipe your own arse without your dear Sebastian there at your beck and call"
"At least I'm a boy"
"A sexist, idiot boy"
If possible, this exchange of words caused the environment to get even colder, the air practically crackling with tension.
"This isn't going to work."
Integra raised her eyebrows, before giving the smallest smile to Ciel.
"I agree. You refuse help from the Hellsing Organization, and I refuse to play babysitter to the Phantomhives. It's obvious we can't work together, at least, with all this hostility between us."
Ciel eyed her for a while, playing idly with a teaspoon with his fingers. He frowned, looking intently at the table.
"You think? All our other members seem to be getting along."
As if on cue, a small explosion erupted in the window above Integra's side of the table, on the second floor, causing glass shards to fall all over her, and dust to coat her hair and shoulders. A blur of red and black slammed down on the table, where a whirlwind of fists and furious struggling caused even more dust to fly around, reducing visibility.
Integra cried out in surprise, backing away on all fours, covered in dust, her chair having been broken to pieces. Ciel swore loudly, trying to stop his bleeding nose, pinching it. One of the bodies had fallen back on him. As the dust settled, a very battered Alucard, and a very disheveled Sebastion were in the middle of the courtyard, pinning each other down, strangling each other and gnashing their teeth.
"I've had enough of you, demon piece of shit!" Alucard stumbled to his feet, eyes glowing scarlet, hair growing into tendrils, and the symbols on his hands glowing.
"You've crossed the last border, vampiric bitch!" Sebastian just as quickly stumbled to his feet, eyes also glowing intensely, this being the only bodily change. However, black feathers had started to fall around he courtyard.
Integra watched this, mouth agape, one of her lenses cracked. Ciel crawled frantically to her side, where it seemed safest. Integra was so confused, and beyond furious, that she searched for he area where she saw the group of squirrels. They were gone.
Ciel, however, was almost grinning. Unlike Integra, he was highly curious to see how this fight would turn out, and had absolutely no intention to break up the fight. Integra knew that it was best to let the two hell spawns run out of steam before they resumed a calm conversation.
"As I was saying, we have too much hostility between us," said Integra to Ciel, in an air as if two creatures from hell hadn't just caused part of the second floor to collapse on top of them.
"Yes, quite. Perhaps we need a way to blow off some steam before we focus onwork?"
With another ear shattering roar of breaking glass, another window of the second floor completely spontaneously erupted into sound and actual flames. Gunshots rang out into the courtyard, causing Integra and Ciel to both yelp and take cover behind part of the broken table, and Alucard and Sebastian to both look up.
Mey-Rin front flipped out of the collapsing windowsill, glasses removed, brown eyes fierce and furious. She landed in a perfect kneeling position. In each hand, she held a silver pistol, explaining the source of the gunshots.
Not a second afterwards, the support beams suddenly fell over, split precisely and cleanly in half. Every few seconds, the tiniest threads of silver were visible near the blur that landed opposite of Mey-Rin, next to Alucard. Walter was glaring daggers at Mey-Rin.
"It's 50 degrees! No more, no less! That's was Sebastian taught us!" Mey-Rin sounded half hoarse, as if she had been shouting for a while now.
"Well he taught you wrong! When you're elegant, you pour the tea at 45 degrees! And with the pinky up!" Walter shouted back, positively roaring the last part.
Sebastian, Alucard, Integra and Ciel looked at the pair with an air of disbelief, the fact that they couldn't believe what they were hearing was evident. Of course, Alucard immediately took it in his stride and encouraged Walter.
"What? She does it 50 degrees?! Walter, you're the professional! Damn straight! You kick her ass into Hell's pit if you have to, little angel!"
Sebastian glared holes into Alucard, his air of calm pleasantness completely gone now.
"Mey-Rin, you beat him down! Uphold the rules of this household!"
Integra and Ciel blinked, unable to believe what they were hearing. With a final crash, Finny the Gardner fell out of the final window of the second floor, causing the rest of it to collapse into and around the courtyard, leaving the group in the middle. Finny was screaming, and hid behind Sebastian. The Captain landed next to Integra, perfectly calm, though his eyes were burning more intensely than before.
"He.. He charged me when I said that the dogs of the estate were kept outside, because they didn't get the same treatment as humans!"
Finny seemed close to tears as he proclaimed this. Integra scoffed, and turned her gaze to him.
"You insulted his kind, it's only natural for him to desire to make you pay the price to say such words."
Finny paled.
"B-But, I don't want to get into a fight! Whenever I hit someone, they get flat like a pancake!"
Integra shrugged.
"Not my problem. You two settle it as needed."
Ciel watched this with a bemused look, before he stepped forth in the middle of the courtyard.
"I've had a change of heart. Cease this at once. We can settle this with... A game."
Integra rolled her eyes to herself, thinking back to when she heard that Ciel was notorious about his gaming personality.
"I hardly think this is the time for a game, Ciel. Such immaturity won't help solve this mystery."
Ciel's eye flashed, but his smiled grew.
"No, I think that this will solve our hostility problem. Come with me, I'll explain everything. Trust me."
He held out his hand, his look inquisitive, all eyes in Integra, waiting to see if this would be a good first step. Integra stared at him for a few long seconds, before taking his hand.
"Well after you then.."