AN: I don't own Hellsing or Inuyasha, this is just for fun.

Thank you for the support on the last part, so here's the next park. I can't believe how long this got, and I wanted to make it longer with more character interactions, but I stopped myself this is over 20 pages. That is enough, and I realized that I can always write more later.

Pairing: Kagome/ Alexander Anderson

Wherein She Tries to Be Left Alone

Kagome was legitimately shocked when they let her go home. Well, they let her leave after that awkward dinner. Thankfully, Maxwell didn't mention offering protection, but she was given back her bow. It was funny to see all their looks of shock as she made it transform into a chain-link bracelet. Hell, when she got back to her apartment, everything looked the same. She was happy to see that they hadn't violated the small space that she called her home. Or if they had, they didn't leave any visible signs.

Her string of coincidences continued when almost all of her professors didn't expect her to turn any work in. The only exception had been her Drawing Level 4 class because they were in the middle of a project. Though that professor did offer her an extension. The only thing that hadn't been affected were her jobs, as a part-time dance instructor, a nighttime bartender, and an occasional performer at a burlesque parlor. Don't ask her, she's not sure how she got either position. Her bosses and students had been worried about her disappearance, however her 'uncle' called them and told them that she was alright. Kagome did not want to know what weird Iscariot man had called to pretend to be an uncle that did not exist.

To make matters feel worse, she never felt alone anymore. Though they were hard to see, she could feel eyes on her at all times. It was unsettling. The final straw was when she was working on a paper in the university library. She wanted to take a small break and rest her eyes for a few minutes, then grab a coffee from the cafe. With an alarm set, she closed her eyes. However, before she could fully relax, she felt someone approach her and she snapped awake. When she cracked open an eye a man that was dressed as a priest put a steaming coffee cup near her stuff. Like the many members of Iscariot, he was tall, wore a long trench coat, glasses, and had short-cropped brown hair. The only thing that stood out was that he had bright blue eyes.

"Don't mind me, Your Holiness," he said as he started to back peddle.

"What did you just call me?"

"Your Holiness," the man looked like he would pass out, "Please I mean no offense, if you have a more official title-"

"No, don't call me that. My name is Kagome," she took the coffee, causing the man to go even more pale which confused her. "Thank you for the drink. You don't need to do that, save your money." She took a sip and wasn't even surprised that it was her normal order, mint mocha with a touch of cinnamon.

"It is an honor to serve you, my money is yours," the man knelt by her chair, "I am here to protect you with my life against all evils." She looked around, frantic and afraid that someone would see this. Thankfully she the area she was in was vacant for the most part, the only other person was passed out at tabel drooling everywhere.

"No, don't do that, get up," she was happy when he stood at his full height, "What's your name?"

"Marcus, your Holiness,"

"My name's Kagome, Marcus, it's great to meet you," she shook his hand which seemed to shock him. When she got comfortable enough to continue studying she decided right then and there that she needed to get rid of these Iscariot people. It would not end up well if she kept interacting with them. Otherwise they would probably put her on a pedestal where she risked angering them when they found she wasn't what they expected and she could end up dead. Or...well she couldn't think of an "or" so she would just plan for the worst. But how would she go about getting rid of them? Well, she would have to prove that either her powers were fake or that she wasn't as holy as they thought, however ever the fuck they defined that. She decided she would focus on the issue at hand after she finished her essay.

...

Yumiko was surprisingly becoming a fast friend to Kagome, though if she had to guess it was most likely because the other woman was Japanese as well. So Kagome didn't really mind that the woman would sit very close whenever she was doing anything. It was going to be a shame when the woman was out of her life. That was her main thought as she talked to her brother over the phone.

"How do you keep meeting weirdos? That's just unfortunate," Souta said as he leaned into the phone screen.

"Hey what can I say that's how I meet most of my friends," she paused after she had said that word and felt Yumiko perk up beside her. It's not like she was speaking in English to her brother, and Yumiko just sat there, enthralled.

"Is that nun one of them?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm shocked you haven't said anything before. Yumiko this is my brother Souta," she said, switching to English and gesturing between the two.

"Um hi," Yumiko said in unsure Japanese.

"Is she okay?" Souta asked, "She looks real flustered."

"Hold on," she muted her mic and looked at the nun, "Can't you speak Japanese?"

"Um, I remember a little from when I was younger. I didn't really get to use it," she said, "Please feel free to keep talking to your brother."

"Ah okay," she said.

"Maybe you can teach me?" Yumiko asked, her voice hopeful, and it kinda hurt Kagome, because this was not going to be a permanent situation.

"Yeah, I'll think about it," she took the mic off of mute, "She's fine, can sorta understand us."

"Ah,"

"Yeah, but don't get used to her. I'll find a way to get them to leave me alone."

"Why do you want to be alone?" he pulled the camera really close to his eye. "Are you sick? Should I get grandpa to mail you something?"

"No, and they only want me around because of some misconception that I'm their God's chosen person. I don't want to deal with any repercussions that might come with that." She sighed and tilted her head. "I really don't."

"Well I mean, if they're doing all this, I don't think they'll just leave." he zoomed himself out again, "I mean, Inuyasha kept you around for a long time. He didn't just leave"

"Okay yes, that's an example, but that's more of an outlier than the norm. You haven't seen how quickly people lose interest when you aren't what they want or expect." She stopped to gather her words, "This is serious I could end up dead."

"If you say so, I think this is a good chance for you to make friends," he said to which she gasped at "Don't look offended, you're a fucking hermit with great conversation skills. It's weird not to make friends, maybe this is a good thing."

"I doubt it, they'll leave or die like everyone else," she trailed off. "Fuck I made this sad, I'll call later okay?"

"Yeah, but seriously, sis, you need people. I know it's hard because of what happened, you should at least give them a chance. Hey look at me, I'm an advice man now."

"Don't let it blow up your head, jackass. I love you."

"Love you too." And with that, she hung up and looked over at Yumiko.

"How much of that did you catch?" the nun just stared at her and it made Kagome sink in on herself, almost made her feel guilty.

"I'm your friend right?" Yumiko asked in English. Kagome couldn't bring herself to answer, she knew she had to get rid of them. It would be better in the long run for Iscariot, she'll just be a little misstep eventually forgotten, and for her, she didn't know if her heart could open up fully again.

Attempt 1

Alright, this one was not well planned at all. She was dressed a little more revealing than normal. For a shirt, if you could call it that, a dark purple bralette bustier top. The cups were transparent but the black lace was gathered so that her nipples weren't out. She was also wearing black shorts that had straps for the sides. Before she left, she threw on a pair of ankle cuff high heels and grabbed a sheer floral cardigan. Looking herself over in the mirror, she started to pep herself up.

"You are going to get shit faced," she pointed at herself in the mirror. "You won't quit after a couple of shots. You will not remember how you got home."

When she left, she could immediately sense the people stationed around her house. She wondered what they thought right now. There was a hope that they were reconsidering her as a holy woman, which should be cemented after tonight. Her logic was if she got so blindingly drunk, so shamefully trashed that she shamed her family for generations, and got a hangover that lasted at least a week; maybe they wouldn't see her as pure anymore. What holy woman went to a party dressed like this and got blitzed? That was the furthest thing from pure. Hell, she'll give props to herself if she gets laid tonight. Surely another sign of her impure nature and a fine way to lose her virginity. She wasn't attached to it, it just never came up and she didn't like being vulnerable around people. Maybe drunk Kagome would love people.

An hour into her drinkfest, and she was delightfully tipsy, enough so to dance on a table with another woman. But not drunk enough. She had gotten a couple of proposals to go home but was not yet gone enough to accept. In the next hour, she tossed back a good number of White Russians, good news she was starting to lose count, and everything was so fucking great. She didn't know how much time had passed, she didn't know the name of the drinks she was throwing back. Her heels were starting to feel a little uncomfortable. As she was about to do another shot, she felt something that was distinctively not human. She peeled herself away from the man that had been grinding on her hip. The time went by fast the more she drank and she found herself outside. Cold wind to her face was a little sobering, not by much as she stumbled over the cobblestone street of Rome.

The presence was moving, but not very fast. She giggled to herself, maybe it was also drunk. People bumped into her as she walked towards what she felt. After a couple of blocks, the population had thinned, and it looked like she was nearing a park. A place she had never seen before. In fact, she was certain that she was lost. Whoops.

"Dumb shoes," she said. Why did she get stuck? She tugged at her ankle but saw that a tentacle was holding her in place.

"What a sweet meal." She looked up to see a sloth-human thing. It was weird to look at, and drunk goggles were doing it no favors. The creature had a shabby coat matted with dark spots. Its limbs were contorted around the thick tree branch it was holding onto. The weird sloth thing's tongue lolled out of its mouth and Kagome's eyes followed it to her ankle. Oh. That made sense.

"No, not a meal, a delectable snack," it said, though she wasn't sure how it talked. It propelled itself at her and she lifted her leg charged with her powers and, for lack of a better word punted it. Where her leg hit, the sloth immediately burned and turned to ash. The only thing that remained was the tongue.

"Ew." She managed to shake it off. "That was lame. I want more booze."

"Your Holiness!" she turned when she saw two people run from around the tree, they held guns tightly in their hands. She recognized one of them.

"Hi, Marcus, what did I tell you about calling me that," she wagged her finger at him, then laughed, "Well good to see you, I'll be going."

"But you are not well! Did that thing hurt you?" Marcus asked as he walked closer.

"Ha, the only damage being done is to my liver. Now I must find another bar," she tried to turn on her heel only to trip on something and land on her knees. "Ouch." She stood and kept walking. This was a tomorrow Kagome problem. As she walked away, she heard one of them on the phone. Good, tell Maxwell what a mess she was. The trees and paths looked the same so it took a while but she eventually got to the entrance of the park and saw a car parked in front. She didn't pay it any mind as she walked past.

"Miss Higurashi, please get in the car," she stopped and looked over her shoulder to see a disgruntled white-haired man staring at her.

"Oh, hey Enr...Maxwell," she waved before she kept walking.

"No, get in the car." There were bags under his eyes.

"I doubt you will take me to a bar, but that's where I'm headed." She snapped finger guns at him, "You wanna come with?"

"No, and I assure you you've had enough," he was trying to aggressively wave her over now.

"Nope, I can still see straight," she turned on her heel and almost fell off the curb.

"Get in," the car started to slowly drive next to her.

"Suck my dick," that made her giggle, "I'm not getting into the car." At the small chance she saw she ran around the back of the car, and into an alleyway. How she wasn't caught she did not know, but she found herself at another club. It was funny how many there were so close to the Vatican. Again she lost time. Her drink starter was a Black Rose. When she left the bar, she could barely stand. The sky was pink with the early sunrise. She sat down at a bench that faced the street and wrestled with her shoes. They needed to come off, then she would figure out how to get home. As she won the battle with one shoe, a car pulled up.

"I'm not asking again, get in the car," she didn't have to look up to see Maxwell, and she was tempted to throw her shoe at him.

"No," she said, and would have stood, but she still needed to get her other shoe off. "Leave me alone!"

"I'm not leaving you out here, dressed like a disease-riddled streetwalker, and intoxicated."

"Hey, that's fucking rude,"

"My point stands, Anderson!" she winced at his yell. She didn't know who that was, but she was leaving now that her shoes were off. She stood and was about to walk away when her world was turned upside down. What the hell? The world was white, wait she tried her hands around. This was a person. Their back. She was able to look down at the ground. She was over someone's shoulder. "Bring her back to the base, I'll get one of the doctors ready for her." And with that, the car drove off.

"Can you let me down?"

"No," the accent was familiar.

"Oh wait, you're the tall mountain man," she looked over her shoulder the best of her ability to see spiked blonde hair. He doesn't respond. "I'm sorry that's rude. Can you let me down?"

"No."

"Well fine, don't wanna talk, I'll just play the quiet game." She didn't bother crossing her arms, they swayed near her head. After a while her eyes felt heavy, being carried was oddly soothing, and this guy smelled nice. She tried to resist, but sleep sounded heavenly.

The next day Kagome remembered why she didn't get shit faced. To her extreme displeasure, she woke up in the same fucking hospital room as the one when she was first kidnaped. Her head was killing her and everything was too bright and too loud. She slept through the morning and woke up in the afternoon dressed in a baggy shirt and a pair of leggings. Her stomach was empty because she had puked so much when she woke had gone to her apartment and brought her clothes. She had been given a drink that tasted worse than her vomit which was supposed to help with her hangover, but she was convinced that it only made her feel worse. She had an ornate pillow hugged to her middle and was sitting on a couch in a lavish office. Enrico Maxwell was sitting behind his desk with his hands clasped over his paperwork. They were alone in his office, which should have been a little unsettling, but she couldn't bring herself to care as another wave of nausea passed over her.

"Now, do you wanna tell me why you were out drunk and dressed like a harlot?" he asked and she scowled. How dare he take a tone as if she was a child.

"Because I'm an adult, and can do what I want," she wanted to be strong, but her body hurt so bad.

"Yes, of course, but this is not in your line of behavior. Your usual attire aside, from our records you don't drink often. And never to the point of recklessness, as you did last night." There seemed to be a genuine bit of curiosity buried under his smug demeanor.

"Something different, maybe I want to start drinking," he didn't seem impressed, "My goal was to get laid." She tacked on, and his face didn't change. No shock or disgust, just curiosity.

"I must admit, I am impressed," and now it was her turn to be confused.

"With what? I don't remember most of last night, and what I do recall. I was stumbling a lot," her ankles throbbed a little, maybe they hurt from falling or her heels were just terrible. She did not know.

"Because even intoxicated, you took out a demon. Truly impressive, that you still filled out the will of God in that deplorable state."

"I did what?" No memories came to mind, she thought she was in a park at one point in time.

"Took out a lower level demon," he looked back down at his papers and shuffled them around, "Yes, there has been a problem of sloth-like demons killing people."

"Can I leave now?" Obviously, what she did had not worked, and she was back at square one. She was also nauseated for no reason.

"Of course, I'll have two of our agents escort you home," he picked the phone and was about to dial-in numbers.

"Don't worry about it, I can make my home." She didn't exchange any more formality as she walked out of his office. Well, more like stomped out. Why hadn't it worked? Why did she have to go and kill a demon? She didn't even remember doing it. The button for the elevator felt her wrath when she called for the lift.

"I can walk home by myself!" she yelled as Marcus and another man walked towards her. They quickly recoiled, and she did feel a little bad as she got on the elevator.

Attempt 2

Kagome wasn't going to lie, she couldn't think of anything to get them to leave. Her mind was blank; any idea she came up with was juvenile. The only thing that might work was murder, but she wasn't going to do that. She hated to say it, but it was becoming harder to find reasons to get them to leave her alone. It had been at least two months since the drunken night, and well, Anderson started to have nightly chats with her when he was in town, which was an unexpected outcome. They would talk while she worked on her artwork for class. He traveled a lot to kill demons, vampires, werewolves, and the like, and there she was assuming that they were almost extinct. Finally, some people who were aware of the supernatural. Though it did make her wonder if any of her demon friends might have survived the fight with Naraku. Where could they be now?

Hell, she had even started to remember who would watch over her, she knew their names. Marcus was someone she was getting close to, he was great company when she had lengthy papers due. He did help often, and they had multiple conversations over a multitude of topics. Then there was Yumiko, who was walking beside her. She found it refreshing to be able to speak her native language in person instead of over the phone. And Yumiko recalled more Japanese than she knew. Kagome even got to meet Yumie when a different cult nut tried to kidnap her, and it had been interesting to meet the psychotic side of the nun. On this sunny Saturday, she was with Yumiko. They must have looked like an odd pair, Kagome in yoga pants and a crop top, and Yumiko was dressed fully in nun regalia.

"Do you ever get hot?" Kagome asked as she adjusted the bag on her shoulder. They were headed to one of her jobs. This Saturday she'd offered to teach for a few hours. This was the first time someone from Iscariot visibly escorted her there. A bulb started to blink violently over her head.

"I mean, no. I get a good breeze, it can get hot in the summer, and depends on where I am. When I'm at the convent, I can wear a loose shirt or even long pants." the woman looked over at her, "How do you never feel exposed?"

"I've sort of always worn things that were revealing. I guess, hell, in the feudal era I never changed to appropriate clothes. Why fix what's not broken," she said with another shrug of her bag.

"I would have thought the chosen of God would practice modesty," there was a light-hearted tone to the woman's voice that made Kagome smile at her. The nun had an odd fascination with the miko's lack of demureness.

"Well, I was raised to do what I want. The way I dress doesn't reflect who I am, and if anyone wants to sexualize me then that's their problem, not mine." Yumiko gave her a weird look and cocked her head. This caused the nun's glasses to jostle, and Kagome prepared to be lectured by Yumie. The chaotic side of her seemed to take perverse pleasure in making sure Kagome knew how important she was to their organization, and was above as she put it filth of the world and should present as such. Hell Yumie was fond of throwing curtains over Kagome when given the chance. Thankfully the woman remained vaguely timid until they got to Lorenzo's Dance Studio.

"Wow, I've never been in one of these," Yumiko said as they entered.

"Really?"

"Never had a reason to, unless it was abandoned," she stared, fascinated by the layout of the lobby. It was by no means a big building, but it had a nice layout with a studio to the immediate left upon entering.

"Huh, guess that makes sense." As Kagome called the elevator she wondered if her half-baked plan would work. She doubted it, but it was worth a shot. Not a good one mind you, but something... maybe...unlikely.

"So, what are you teaching today?"

"I wanted a break from ballroom," she said as they entered the elevator, and she pressed the second-floor button, "If you want, feel free to leave."

"Why would I want to do that? Maybe I can join."

"Most likely not, every class is for paying students, and," the elevator door opened, "I'm teaching pole today, I'm really excited. It's my first time teaching solo." Yumiko didn't say anything as she took in the room. Kagome went behind one of the modesty curtains for people to change behind. When she emerged she was wearing a pair of tropical shorts and her sports bra. The other Japanese woman looked at her, and Kagome pulled out a chair from behind the curtain. "If you want you can sit in the corner. Again, feel free to leave." The woman shook her head and went to sit in the corner. Kagome wasn't sure how to take Yumiko's silence, but she hoped that it was helping her case for getting them to leave her alone. What holy woman, she didn't even know, they seemed slightly miffed at her other job, which was more explicit in nature. Well worth a shot.

It was a little awkward to do her stretches before her students arrived, she could feel the intense eyes on her. She chose a light rock playlist today but turning on music didn't make it any less weird. As her body started to feel limber, she began to do simple spins and climbs to warm up more. Once she felt ready she started doing inverts.

"Oh hey, everyone," she said while hanging upside down, as her students walked in, a couple of women of varying ages and a man in his late twenties. "I'm Kagome, I'm the teacher today, and hopefully for longer," she said as she came down.

Kagome proceeded to teach two classes of pole with both beginners and intermediate students. Then she moved down the hall to teach the beginners ballroom, and all the while Yumiko acted like a shadow. They hadn't shared a word since they entered the studio. Her students had been great about ignoring her aside from a couple of odd looks here and there. After her final class, it was about noon.

"Okay, Yumiko, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. Are you joining me for lunch?" her muscles were so sore. This was the first time she taught for so long.

"No, it's almost time for my replacement to come. I'm sure nothing will happen in the meantime." the woman stopped as she walked away to turn back to Kagome. "I found your teaching very invigorating, thank you for sharing. I'll be gone for a couple of days, I was trusted on a mission with Sister Heinkel again. I'll miss you." She rushed back to give Kagome a hug.

"Me too," Kagome hugged the woman back before she pulled away. "Be safe, come back alive."

"I will," they smiled at each other "Maybe Heinkel will feel social and you two can properly meet."

Thirdish Attempt

Tonight Kagome was a little anxious, simply because she helped her classmate Alice with her project, to showcase deities from other cultures, and she had wanted her classmates from non-Abrahamic religions to be her subjects. Kagome was so excited, for one to be asked, and two to show off her connection to Shinto. For her picture, she dressed as Amaterasu, the sun goddess. It had been fun to make an elaborate sun crown. The kimono had been tricky to get, but she managed to get a light pink on with red and gold trim. Looking at the photo in the gallery was unreal, she and the other few classmates who volunteered looked ethereal. It seemed like a prime golden attempt to also spite Iscariot, maybe show her vanity? Her being blasphemous for dressing as what they would see as a pagan god? But if this didn't work, she was just stuck.

The exhibit had just barely opened before she started to regret wearing these fucking red heels. At the time it went so well with the cream lace dress she was wearing, but every step felt like she was stepping on hot coals. Her composure was still up, brightly smiling at her classmates as they walked around the small art exhibit that they put together for their final project. The theme she chose to showcase this semester was survivor's guilt and PTSD, which allowed her to work through her emotions since it's not like she could go to therapy. For a moment she thought about the not at all inconspicuous clergymen that were also here. Even Anderson was here in his white robe, towering over everyone. Any thought of interacting was immediately dismissed. She was trying to get rid of them, not bond. Hell, she was already getting too close to Marcus and Yumiko. As a server with champagne flutes walked by she grabbed a drink. Praying to anyone that her consuming alcohol would disgust the religious zealots. She knew it wouldn't work, and it felt childish to attempt to spite them.

"Is this your piece?" Anderson asked as he stood beside her.

The oil painting was of a young woman, kind of nondescript, with her chest ripped open. Out of the hole were hands reaching towards the foreground. There was also a pair of skeletal hands holding her eyes open, making her watch the horror. It wasn't Kagome's first choice, but any other draft she wanted to submit felt too personal. There was one piece where she drew the bodies of her friends, an image burned into her forever, and she scrapped it. This was the safe submission, along with a few abstract drawings of people suffering from injuries and demons. All of her work was both somehow personal and not. She gripped the stem of the champagne flute tighter as she took another sip.

"I can see the pain." She watched as he scratched at his beard. "I know a thing or two about art."

"I'll admit it's boring. It feels so general, all of my truly personal sketches I keep to myself." She stared at the painting and the colors that created more chaos on the piece, "It looks a little demonic, but I guess that's the point of what I was doing."

"I would like to see your other sketches." Then he turned to look at her, and there was something deep in his green eyes that she could get lost in. "If you'll let me in the future." She pretended that something else grabbed her attention while she took a sip and let the bubbly liquid smoothly burn down her throat. "Have you seen the other areas?"

"Oh yes, I meant to say sooner, you look stunning. I would love to know more about the Goddess you are dressed as," which made her choke on her drink.

"You aren't mad?"

"No, why would I be?"

"I don't know, isn't it weird that I dressed up as a deity?" she was hoping for some kind of rise. She'd seen Anderson get passionate about his disdain for heretics and non-believers. Wasn't this picture showing that she was just that?

"You helped your classmate, and showed some of the culture that you grew up with. While I don't agree with," oop there it was, his eyes went a little crazed "pagan creatures being paid homage. I try not to get mad at artistic interpretations. At least it's religious, so there's a chance of them to find the real and true God." And like a switch, he was back to being calm and clasping his hands behind his back.

Her glass was downed and she grabbed another from a passing tray. As she looked around all of her peers were in groups, talking, laughing, and the like, then here she was standing alone in a room of people. She peered over her shoulder to see Anderson observing her other pieces before turning his attention to the projector that was hung specifically for Alice's piece. He seemed rather enraptured by her picture. It wasn't special in hindsight, nothing blasphemous, a fun art project. A chance for her to pose for her classmate.

"You know facing demons is a great way to find the light," she said hoping to not sound awkward "That sounds really pretentious, I'm sorry. That sounded better in my head."

He chuckled deep in his chest. "No, you're right. I'll be more than happy to talk about philosophy with you. This piece is eccentric." The piece he was looking at now was of a house spider being impaled by a butcher's knife. The scene was set in a modern kitchen, with the walls melting, and the spiders were heavily warped monstrosities. One of the pieces she picked only to fill the submission quota, also an image that haunted her in the middle of the night. Painting it had released something.

"Yeah," she gave a half-hearted laugh, "I wish I could look at spiders without fear. I know he's gone, and every derivative of him, but there's always this feeling of 'what if'. I know it's…" a large hand landed on her shoulder.

"Trust me, I understand. It will take some time, but I'm here if you need to talk."

"Thanks," she took another sip.

"Now lass, be careful, can't have you getting drunk," his tone was light.

"Hey, I'm not going to lose it because of two glasses of champagne, and that night was an outlier." She lightly punched his arm. The rest of the night went a lot better. Her presentations on her paintings were a little dry. She got applause, had no desire to stay any longer, Once she got down the stone steps outside of the gallery she stopped.

"Hey, Anderson can I lean on you for a second?" as she asked she was already placing a hand on his arm to steady herself as she pulled off her shoes. There was no relief when she put her feet back on the ground, it was like standing on a bruise.

"Do you need a lift?" Anderson asked behind her as he waved the other Iscariot members away.

"No," she hissed as she took a step, "I'm fine."

"Get on my back," he crouched in front of her.

"Really, it's…" she stopped and climbed onto his back, making sure to pull her dress down to ensure her ass was covered. She really didn't want to flash the Iscariot agents flanking them. "Wow, you are tall," she said as he stood to his full height.

"Thank you," he started to walk, "Now why did you decide to wear those things?"

"Because they looked nice and I don't wear them often. Then I wear them, and remember why I don't put them on. It's the Catch-22 of fashion."

"Beauty is subjective, and the health of your feet is important," he said, and it made her blush. What was with this guy? Or was it with her? Was she so starved of human contact? Why was he radiating heat and smelled so damn good? Maybe those two...three glasses of champagne were getting to her.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But I like to make myself look good, if it comes with some sore feet, then hey that's fashion."

"You look good regardless, lass. But if you insist, I'll be more than happy to carry you around." She felt so flustered by that, and she couldn't even go anywhere, so she gently plucked the back of his head.

"Don't just presume that I want to be carried everywhere."

"Aye. Aye, my bad"

Acceptance

Kagome was chugging so much coffee, this was going to be her night shift at the burlesque club. Tonight was not a performance night for her, she was on bartending duty. While not as fun, she did need to dress up to get tips. She wore a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie and would change when she got to work. With her work duffle bag over her shoulder, she felt a presence to her left.

"Hi Marcus," she looked up to see the tall brunette dressed in his frock as always as with most Iscariot members. There was a little envy for the simplicity in their clothing, how great it must be to just pick two things and they match. However, that was because they swore to their religious clothing, which was something she vehemently refused to do, never in the past and sure as fuck not now.

"Hello Ms. Kagome," she was still working on making him less formal with her, it's been four months, but slow progress was something. "I am here to escort you to work."

"So chivalrous thank you," she patted his shoulder as she walked past him down the steps of her front door.

"Do you need me to carry that?"

"Nope."

"Alright," they walked down the street with the sun's fading light shining off the glass of shops closing for the night. As they got closer she saw the priest gradually become more and more uncomfortable.

"You okay?"

"Miss, I must bring up that I do not agree with this particular job that you have. If you need, Iscariot could provide you with more, all you have to do is ask." He stopped with her at the employee entrance and slapped his open palm on his chest, "I don't want to impose, but as our Holy Lady, you should not have to work amongst the filth and debauchery of this establishment."

"Marcus," she took his hands in hers, "I appreciate the sentiment, but I like my jobs. It fits my schedule, and I like my independence." His face turned dejected. "If I didn't like it, I would have left. Are you staying outside tonight, it's going to be chilly."

"I can stand the cold," he said as a brisk wind punched past them.

"Okay, if it gets too much, feel free to come in and I'll make you a hot chocolate."

"I will keep that in mind," he nodded at her before walking down the alley. She wasn't sure what he did while she was inside. At least Yumiko came in with her. The nun had taken an odd fascination with her job and would sit quietly in a corner while she worked.

When she entered the locker room, she quickly changed into a pleather sleeveless crop top with a zipper, halfway unzipped' since showing cleavage got her more tips, and a pair of short shorts that had cut-outs on the waist. Then to fully finish her look was a pair of thigh-high boots with a decent heel. Setting up the bar was dull, and she could tell after about an hour. It was going to be a slow night for her. After a few minutes of polishing the glasses, she almost dropped one when she sensed a demonic aura. The temptation to check it out was strong, but she was sure that Marcus could handle it. After a few more minutes she got concerned that it didn't seem dead. She rushed from behind the bar and out the side door.

It wasn't hard to find what had happened, Marcus was on the ground and his glasses were smashed nearby. He was feebly crawling towards one of his guns. Before he was able to grasp it a clawed hand grabbed his ankle and pulled him into another dark alley.

"Fuck," was all Kagome could say as she swept up his gun and ran down the alley after him. It looked like a sloth and for a second, she swore she'd seen one of those before. With a shake of her head, she aimed the gun at it. She'd never shot one of these, but maybe aiming and firing were like a dumbed-down bow. Shots rang through the dark as she hit the area around the creature, and her last bullet charged with her energy hit the creature and it fell dead. It turned to dust as she rushed to Marcus' side.

"Shit," she mumbled, his face was horribly bruised. She crouched down and placed his head in her lap and her hands on his temples. Forcing her powers into a human was weird, but it was the only thing she could think of to heal some of what had happened. Her powers flowing through him showed the extent of the damage; Concussion, she healed as much as she was comfortable, a couple of shattered ribs that she healed to hairline fractures, and a lot of internal bruising. Once she was sure that he was mostly stable, she dug in his pockets for his phone. There were only a couple of numbers on it and she dialed Maxwell, hoping he was in his office.

"Marcus, do you have something-"

"Hey, not Marcus, he's unconscious in an alleyway near my job, and can you send someone to take him to the hospital,"

"Oh, Miss. Higurashi, of course just let me-" she heard his voice talking to someone, the words were muffled. "A few agents will be there in a few minutes, are there any more immediate dangers?"

"Not from what I can see, I'll try to keep Marcus stable," she hung up and concentrated her powers back into his body, trying to heal as much as she could see. "C'mon man, you'll be fine." He groaned a little in pain at her statement. "You awake?"

"Your Holiness?" Marcus' voice was so soft

"Yeah, I'm here," she stroked her hands through his hair, "You're safe, someone's coming to get you help."

"You saved me?"

"Of course I did, you're my friend," the word felt foreign on her tongue, but was true.

"I'm honored," he smiled then winced.

"Don't move, I didn't heal everything," she said as she continued to channel her power into him, and she couldn't pick up the source of his internal bleeding. "Shit," she wasn't used to healing anyone that wasn't herself.

"Your Holiness!" she looked behind her as she heard rapidly approaching footsteps.

"We're here!" she called back, "It's okay, you're going to be fine." A couple of agents she hadn't seen before crouched on either side of him.

"Do you know what happened?"

"There was a demon, I couldn't really see what it was. Um, it's dead. He had a mild concussion, cracked ribs, and internal bleeding. I've tried to keep him stable." She said, and hated that her voice was a little shaky.

"Thank you, we'll take it from here." They hoisted the man up with little effort. Now that he wasn't in her lap, she noticed the chill running through the alley. As she was about to stand, a gloved hand came into her sight.

"Father Anderson," she greeted as he helped her up.

"Kagome," she almost blushed at how her name sounded in his accent, "Are you injured?"

"Nope, I'm fine." she was about to walk back to work, "Oh crap," she turned around and looked around the alley.

"Something wrong?"

"I used one of Marcus' pistols, and I don't know where I put it because I needed to heal him," his hand landed on her shoulder, halting her search.

"I got it before I helped you up," he patted his pocket.

"Oh okay, cool. I guess I should head back to work. I hope my boss didn't notice." She ran a hand down her face, "Also I assume, you're my guard until the morning?"

"Aye," he walked beside her. They fell into a comfortable silence, and Kagome noticed that the priest was walking very close beside her. It was odd because usually Yumiko, Marcus, and any other Iscariot would walk slightly behind her. For once she appreciated that Anderson was like a walking heater.

"Are you coming in with me?"

"Yeah, I'll do that."

"Cool, I'm working the bar. If you want I can make you an orange juice with some grenadine. It looks like a fancy cocktail," he let out a small chuckle.

"I'll take that," he said as he held the door open for her.

Alright, there is part two, oh my goodness, I rewrote a whole section that I thought was working, but it just wasn't jelling with me. I hope that you enjoy it, part three will be along. I'm happy that I'm back into Hellsing, but now I just wanna write Anderson things.