Chapter 27:

Seras awoke groggily, but with a jolt from the pain in her legs. She felt her legs throb and knew that something had run across them, but did not know what. She turned her head slightly to see that D was still resting in a sitting position beside her.

Is he doing this on purpose? Staying with me this whole time and caring, knowing that he wants to get my master…Is he…is he using me? These thoughts had filled her head while she slept, but she still could not help but think that D and her master were similar in some ways.

"I do not think he is the kind to use people without his reasons." The voice of Draco trailed out of the shadows like a fading dream. The fire was still not rekindled, and it took Seras' eyes awhile to adjust to Draco's darkened features and that of the cave.

Seras was more alert in an instance; she thought that she had not said her thoughts out loud, but figured that she was wrong. She leaned up against the back of the wall as best she could with the little bit of strength she could get out of her semi-functional arms. "You are not wrong, my child. I have heard your thoughts wring loud and clean through the haze of this cave. One of the specialties of my kind, I am sorry about that. My mind was wondering again and stumbled upon yours sub-consciousness." The voice of Draco said calm and clear.

Draco moved closer, her tail trailing in her wake, swinging from side to side. "Um…" Seras began and winced a little at a surge of pain that reminded her of the question she wanted to ask. "Did you walk by here before, while I was asleep?"

Draco's dragon like eyes flickered unnoticeably at the embers that were once a fire. "Yes, I was trying to rekindle the fire, but to no prevail. Unfortunately, I need more wood, and I am not about to awaken a vampire hunter. That would be pure ignorance on all accounts….Why do you ask?"

Seras stared at her legs for a moment and then at Draco's tail. Draco's dragon-like eyes closed to slits and followed Seras' eyes. "Ah, I see, young one. I am sorry for that as well. I thought my tail swept over a bunch of the burnt up branches. I must be loosing my eye sight." She scuffed at her bad jock, as if one of her kind could have bad sight. Her wings flapped slightly as she turned to leave.

"Wait…what did you mean by that? Not awakening a vampire hunter…" Seras questioned as if it just came into her head from no where, with her curious nature to back it up.

"Oh, it is a matter of formalities." Draco said as she walked to the cavern exit to the hall. "Like waking a sleeping baby, you can never tell what you will get when they wake up." She turned to look back at Seras for a moment and continued. "Half the time, you do not want to be there to see how they are. It is something better left unscathed." Draco turned back to the exit and left, the sounds of cracking bone trailing her rhythm like feet pace. The sound echoed down the hall, and Seras knew that she was a lone again with the sleeping hunter.

Seras stared after Draco for sometime, a moment that seemed to drag on, until she heard a rustle beside her. Seras' red eyes seemed well adjusted now and saw the figure of D as if it was bright daylight; he seemed to stand out of the blackness. D was still asleep, with his arms folded over his chest and wide brimmed hat that falls over his eyes, hiding everything from view. The way his hair seemed to fall flowing in a dark river. For a moment, maybe more, Seras was staring at him, unable to move her gaze. Maybe it was because she was bored or the fact that the cavern was bare aside from the bones that littered the floor.

Seras inched closer, seeing how long it would take for D to wake up. She could still see him move a little, as if on the verge of waking. His mind wants to wake, but his body would not comply. Seras curiosity still held control, and she inched a little closer, now right up to him. "Like a sleeping baby." Seras stated out loud, as if a question that was repeated.

After a moment or two when nothing happened, Seras breathed a sigh of relief. Right after she did so, like clock work, D awoke with his eyes glow a dark red, so dark that it was almost a black, and his teeth seemed a bit longer. D stretched his jaw as if by instinct alone and the full glory of his teeth was seen, jutting out from his mouth, ready to bite.

Seras gasped a little in awe and wonderment if that was what Draco meant. D closed his mouth slowly as if from pain of a wound long since made. His eyes quickly met Seras from under his darkened hat, but his expression was cold as ice. Seras backed away slowly, thinking that she was the one to disturb his slumber. D stared at her for a moment more before his eyes returned to normal and he slumped over his own legs, the cling of his armor was a muffled sound. Seras was unsure of what to do, and the weariness of her bones told her that there was not much she could do if she were sure.

Left hand moved quickly and quietly, for once, until he was in-between D and Seras, glaring at Seras. "Well now, if it isn't miss. hurt disturbing our slumber. Do you know how annoying it is to get D to fall asleep with his constant hunger and restraint?" The sarcasm of Lefty was a stinging one, it seemed he had woken up on the wrong hand, or so Seras thought.

Seras gasped, but before she could comment back, D wiggled his Left hand. Left hand started to make a muffled woah sound, and when the shaking stopped, he was wobbly. "Yo-ya know D…th-this could be considered hand abuse. Shaking me, yelling at me, squishing me, and now…now you are making me wake up without as much as a wink!" Left hand grumped some more, and inverted his gaze to try to stare at D, whose hat was draped over his eyes as his head rested peacefully on his legs.

Seras sat there with a puzzling look on her face as she leaned back up against the wall for support. D's hand quieted down and was placed face down against the little bit of dirt that made up the original floor of the cavern. D sat there silently, just staring out at everything from under his hat.

After a long time, half an hour of silence at most, D turned his eyes to look at Seras. There eyes meet glance by glance, but D was the one to speak. "How are your wounds?" He asked dully as if to think of nothing else to ask.

"I guess they are okay, my legs are a little tender, thought…" Seras removed D's cape that she used as a blanket and stared at the red flesh on her legs. "My arms seem to be a bit better." She said, trying to sound somewhat cheerful.

D lifted his head up and turned to look at the wounds on Seras legs. They had healed a great deal than since he had originally brought her to the cavern, however, they were still quiet red, and D knew that it was more of a fresh red than that of a dull pain. Something had happened to her as he slept, though he could not figure out what exactly, but it must not have been that serious as she still was rather all right.

D moved his hand to touch the reddened flesh, and Seras flinched from the cold calm hand of D. "You should be able to walk; your legs have swollen up, and will ache for some time…" He trailed thinking about how much time they could have spent in that cavern. "If you feel up to it, we could start on the move again…." He trailed, hinting at his attempt to finally get out of the forest.

Seras looked at her legs and felt his hand pressed on them. "I...I think so, I can't walk very far on these, but you said I could ride with you…right?" She asked hopefully, not feeling that her legs would support her very much, even if her arms were probably strong enough to attempt holding her Halocannon, which happened to be back at the Hellsing Manor.

"Oh, so now that she feels fine we can go, huh? Couldn't have left sooner, could you D? Had to wait for the gi-" Left hand never finished his sentence because D crushed him back into his palm, followed by a muffled stream of curses and moans that were unrecognizable.

D growled and glared at his hand, Seras just chuckled lightly, or she did until D started to stare at her. "Hmm…you would think to be used to his rude comments by now, having had him in your hand for so long." Seras stated as an observation, but D merely shook his head.

"It is not that I am not used to his comments, the exact opposite. His voice is to the point of annoyance." D stated plainly, his face still cold and unwavering. "Are you sure about this?"

Seras nodded and then felt her self being lifted from the ground, her knees buckling under a familiar pressure that seemed to be ten times harder than usual. The cape Seras used as a blanket fell to the ground, as if in slow motion, Seras felt her self moving closer to that cape. Just as Seras thought that she would hit the cape, she was held back by a pair of sure hands that she knew were D's.

"Are you alright?" D asked with a slight undertone of concern, but not much of one.

"I am fine, just not use to my legs like this." Seras said, reassuringly.

"You should take it more slowly. Your muscles have to regain their former strength and you are used to being feed…you have not had anything to drink in some time." D said, observantly as he let her lean up against the wall for a moment while he replaced his cape to their former spot of around his shoulders and draped onto his back.

Seras wrapped her arm around D's neck for support, which made him hunch over a little as Seras is smaller than himself. He wrapped his right arm around Seras, giving her back some support to stand straight while he hunched. He led her out of the room, going only as quickly as Seras legs would allow her to be held. This effort took quite some time, and the time would be near mid-day, if the sun worked correctly.

Outside the entrance of the hall was Draco, with her back leaned up against the side and her eyes closed as if asleep on duty. D and Seras stumbled past slowly, and the eye of the dragonic opened half way. Her tail swished to the side allowing them past more easily. "It is time then, my friends, for you to depart?" She questioned, already knowing the answer, and not bothering to move from her lay back position up against the wall.

D answered for once, though, Seras expected that his Left hand must answer a good amount of the time. "Yes, there is nothing left for us here. Seras wounds are still tender, but well enough to move on." D moved to his horse and put Seras up first, lifting her up as if she were nothing, and placing her upright in the seat.

The dragonic smirked in amusement. "Ah, so the times for your journeys to continue is at hand…but are either of you sure the journey is not worthless?" She questioned as D hoped onto the back of his horse.

"Wherever the journey leads, it is the road that takes us. Worthless is only not to try. Good-bye, Draco." D said straight faced, with Seras sitting in front of him on the horse, while still holding onto the reins. Seras said her good-byes as well and D led the horse out of the forest, but not the original way he came.

D's horse seemed to know the way all on his own, without help of his master, and road all day long. Seras's legs and bottom ached tremendously, even though the ride was smooth, she was not used to the intensity. Her weakness made them stop to rest every few hours, but D seemed not to mind, and the trip was silent. Dodging at high speeds through the trees, the horse took all day, and a portion of nigh to avoid danger and safely return them out of the valley.

Soon after, Seras fell asleep, with the world whirling around her in her mind and D still fully awake at the helm. She felt calm there; warm in away, with D's arms holding her in place so that she would not fall off, and the cool wind gushing at her face. Seras did doze on and off, and can not remember much about the ride itself, with D's watchful eyes over all. D, meanwhile, struggled to keep down his hand and stir slightly. However, he could not stop thinking how natural this seemed. How he, too, enjoyed this for once, but that only pained him more for he knew that he had to assassinate her master.

Wow, now this one took forever and a year to do O_O  Sorry, Halloween+ school+ anime club= NO FREE TIME. Yeah, it can get to be annoying, but I was getting writing deprived, so I had to write more for my fans.^^ TigerRain04, THANKS FOR MASTER OF MOSQUITON…HEHE…if any of you can't figure out, I have a vampire fetish…OH, so, it's not obvious, huh…HUH!! LOL, sorry, late night. See you all next chapter, whenever that will be…-___-