Chapter 12

Once again, Seras's head collided with the coffin lid as she shot up from her sleep. After shouting a few choice words that fell on deaf ears, she pushed the lid up and stepped out, rubbing her forehead, thoroughly irritated. The clock on the wall indicated 9:01 p.m.

'How does he do that...?' Seras thought to herself. She shook off the impending headache and decided to head to Sir Integra's to see if she had anything planned for her that night. She barely made it to the door before her Master invited himself in through it.

"You're awake," he said as though he hadnt expected her to be conscious at that moment. Seras blinked.

"Yes, Sir," she said slowly. "...Does Sir Integra need me for anything?" Alucard didnt answer. Instead, he held up his hand, which had another large cup of blood in it.

"Drink," he commanded. "Integra has nothing more planned for you for the next week. I however," he added with a dark tone, "have that whole week for your training. I'll have to advance it sooner than expected; you seem to be more powerful than I anticipated."

Seras didnt know whether or not that was a compliment at first, but upon looking at her Master's face, she concluded that indeed, it wasnt. It was an ill-calculated statement of forthcoming doom.


It was barely midnight when Seras burst through her room--taking the door for effect, then slamming it--and slammed her fist into the wall, making a sizable crater. Suffice to say, the training hadnt gone well. At all. She had finally snapped and stalked away from the training, not really remembering all that had happened, she was so pissed. Alucard had drilled her on advanced powers, got angry when she (of course) failed, and they had both gotten aggrivated and shouted at each other until Seras had up and left after summoning a rock and throwing it at him without even meaning to.

Seras let out a frustrated howl and sat down hard on her chair. 'Why doesnt he FUCKING listen to me!?' she screamed in her head. She remembered one moment in the training that might have started the whole fight...

"Damn it, Seras! Cant you hit me once!? Just once!?"

"I'm TRYING!"

"You're not! Where's that power you had earlier, Seras? I know you're capable of more than this!"

"..."

"Stop moping and HIT me!"

"Just stop it, Master! I cant hit you when you're in this level!"

"Dont give me that--!"

"LOOK, I KNOW what I'm capable of, alright!? And I KNOW that right now, I CANT hit you!"

It all went downhill from there. Seras wasnt stupid. She was self-aware enough to know what she could and could not do. She knew that she could go through walls, use a small level of psychic ability, and fly. What she couldnt do was fight her Master at Level 2, land a punch, or deal with his impatience. Not yet, anyway. She was the kind of person that learned best at the basics, and she knew it.

After a few moments, Seras finally calmed down and put her head on the desk. "...I...hate...my life..." she murmured into the wood.

'Oh, dont think like that...'

"Shut up..." Seras replied weakly, not really feeling like talking; thinking, whatever. She raised her head to put her arms under it. "I'm not in the best of moods..."

'I can tell. Vhy dont you just--'

"No."

She heard a sigh. "Fine." Then she heard no more. Seras sighed herself and snuggled her head into her arms. After a moment of calming down, she found her thoughts replaying the last conversation they had...

"I cant protect you all the time, Seras."

What had he meant by that...?

Before she could contemplate his meaning, she suddenly sensed the presence of her Master approaching and raised her head off of her arms in time to see him some sliding through the door. His face was set and showing no emotion, and in his hand was her cup of blood. He set it down on the edge of the desk and stepped back.

"We will talk when you finish your meal," he said with acidic finality to his voice. Without waiting for a response, he turned and went the way he came. Seras stared a hole into the door for a moment before growling deep in her throat and seeing red. She felt a slight stirring in her head, but tried to ignore it. Fat chance, no pun intended.

'I think you should reconsider my offer,' the Major said gently as Seras glared with killer intent at the cup of her dinner on the desk. Seras merely growled and knocked back three quarters of the cup with one gulp, then slammed the cup back onto the desktop. 'You know I'm right, Seras.'

Seras gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on the cup until it broke, splattering blood all over her hand and on the desk.

"Fine!" she finally shouted, stalking over to her coffin and throwing herself into it. "If it'll shut you up, then teach me the goddamn mind barrier!" She slammed the lid down and used her own will to project herself into her mind; something she knew by now, it had been done enough times to learn from essence memory.

When she finally felt herself materialize in her mind, she opened her eyes and saw the Major standing a small distance from her, his back turned and his hands behind it. She stalked forward, still a little pissed, but the Major didnt turn around.

"Alright, I'm here!" she said huffily. She crossed her arms. "Teach me, if you must!"

She heard the Major make a small noise under his breath. "You are angry, Fraulein," he said softly, his back still to her. "Anger leads to stupid, hurried decisions. I vould suggest you calm down before deciding if this ist really vhat you vant..."

Seras clenched her fists. "Then why were you so insistant on getting me to come here!?" she demanded. "Why would you--!?"

"Ahah!" the Major interrupted, holding one hand up. "Calm." He waved his hand and a chair appeared next to Seras. Seras swore she was about to burst a blood vessel at any given moment, but she threw herself into the chair and crossed her arms, slumping down irritably.

"Fine..." she muttered. "Calm down. Yeah..."

After a few moments, the air of homicidal tendencies faded to mild irritation. It was then that the Major made himself a seat in front of her and sat down, his eyes serious and calculating. He folded his hands and rested his chin on them.

"Feeling better?" he asked softy. Seras shot her gaze at him from under her bangs and shifted in her seat.

"...Yeah..." she mumbled. The Major grinned.

"Und vhat ist your decision?" he asked, his voice still soft. Seras remained silent for a moment before she sat up straighter and uncrossed her arms. Her face grew serious.

"...I'm not the kind of monster that seeks power no matter what the means," she began slowly, her hands flexing on her knees. She paused. "...But to have the power you offer me..." Her eyes shifted up to meet his. "...I know that Master doesnt have--nor ever can have--this power. And then there's the fact that you offered this power to me...I never asked for it..." She broke off softly.

"Exactly," the Major cut in. She looked at him curiously. "...Seras...there is more than just vone reason vhy I decided to offer you vhat I have to offer...but vone ist because of the fact that you didnt ask. You're a modest girl, Seras. Und I respect you for that."

Seras stared at him with surprise, mostly from the 'respect' comment. "There are more reasons, of course," he continued. "But they are, at present, not quite important." He fell silent. Seras nodded after a moment.

"...I...I accept your offer," she said softly. "But not all at once. I just want to learn little-by-little...starting with the mind barrier."

The Major studied her for a moment before his eyes flared and his grin broadened. "That," he said with a touch of glee, "ist the answer I vas looking for." He stood up. "Very vell, Seras. I vill give you access to my powers. Are you truely prepared for vhat you have decided?"

Seras stood up as well and looked him in the eye. "I am," she said firmly with no hint of hesitation or remorse in her voice. Alucard's meeting be damned for the moment; she had something to learn that he couldnt ever teach.


...These late-night sessions cant be good for college...oh well. At present, I would like to thank Sama for putting up with my badgering. --bows-- Love you!

Chapter 13 Preview

...It was all flashes; a sequence of memories that she never experienced...some were somewhat normal...but others...

Pain.

Hurt.

Tears.

Humiliation.

SNAP

Insanity.

Death.

In that order.