o.O You guys actually want to hear the music that me and Itaki like to jam to? o.o Whoa. Their name is O-Zone, and I'll see if I can upload the song somewhere and I'll post it up on my profile. Or if you want it from me directly, send me an email and I'll see what I can do. But be warned: The song is bouncy, happy, and will make anyone else who is hearing it insane.
Onto other matters, again, thanks for all the reviews. o-o I'm about to break my review record, which is about 80, give or take. -does a little dance-
Disclaimer: I only own Harley. This disclaimer will self destruct the next millenuim...
"Hey, Seras, wanna see my tattoos?" Harley asked the blonde when they were in the upstairs bathroom. Seras blinked, taking off the sunglasses she had on, sweatdropping slightly since Harley was already taking off her black tanktop that had a skull and crossbones on the front. "I got one on my back, and one on both my arms."
Yes, she indeed did have a tattoo on her back. A very large one, actually, of a wolf's head snarling, the fangs exposed and wicked. It was black with silver ears, one red eye, one blue eye. But what really caught Seras' attention was the long scar that ran through it, from her left shoulder down to her right hip.
"Where did you get that scar?" Seras asked as the teenager sat down on a stool, quickly slipping her tanktop back on. She didn't reply, sighing very softly, putting her head under some running water. She was attempting to get whatever hair dye she could out, permanent or not. Seras didn't push the question, deciding that if Harley wanted to tell, she would when she was ready.
She watched as the teenager started drying her hair with a towel, looking at herself in the mirror. "You have a reflection," Harley commented. Seras smiled a little. "That kicks the crud out of that vampire myth...Does Alucard have one?"
Seras shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I don't really know," She admitted. "I never really got around to ask him, and I don't catch him in situations with a mirror."
"That's why his hair's so unruly," Harley said in a wicked tone, grinning. Seras laughed a little, making Harley grin wider. "Aha! I knew you could laugh! It was only a matter of time. But you can't deny that his hair is really unruly. Sometimes he looks like a girl, sometimes he looks like a guy."
Seras clamped a hand over her mouth to stop the giggles. She coudln't deny what the teen was saying, his hair did have a mind of its own. "Ok, let's change the subject," She giggled, pointing to Harley's left arm. "What is that a tattoo of?"
"An ankh, egyptian sign of rebirth. Or immortality. Depends on who you're talking to," She replied. "Hand me the black hair dye." The police girl did as she was told. "And on my right arm is the Eye of Horus, a sign of protection." She winked at Seras. "Got any tattoos, Seras?"
Seras shook her head. She had never had any thoughts of getting one. Harley shrugged, carefully applying the black dye to her hair. "So, tell me about your self. I'm all ears."
Back down stairs, a staring contest of sorts was going on. Jimmy was looking at Alucard. Alucard was looking at Jimmy. "Nice sunglasses," The teen commented.
No reply.
"Where'd you get 'em?"
Silence.
"Why are you wearing them at night?"
More silence.
Jimmy sweatdropped slightly. Wasn't this guy chipper? "...You know...The pink in your hair makes you look a little fruity..."
"Whoa, it must have been so cool having your dad as a policeman," Harley said, sitting very still as the dye dried. Seras smiled.
"Y-yeah...It was," She replied, sighing a little. "I became a Police Girl to follow in his footsteps after he died." She hugged her knees some. "I miss him a lot...I miss all my old friends a lot...But they were killed back in Cheddar, so...I don't have anyone left from my past. I'm alone."
"No, you're not," Harley corrected, smiling sincerely at her over her shoulder. "You have Walter and Integra and even the bag of bones downstairs." She turned back to the mirror. "All I got is some stiff as a guardian and some bodyguards who take their job too seriously." Her expression turned serious. "When I'm around other people with that prick, Anders, I gotta act like some china doll that can't think for herself, can't do anything for herself, needs to be protected by the male portion of the species, and will break at any given moment."
Seras could hear the disgust and anger in the teenager's tone and sat down beside her. They looked in the mirror. "You're lucky, Seras," Harley said softly. "I'd give anything in the world to be around Alucard and Integra and Walter all the time. I know that Alucard can be really stiff sometimes, and a jerk...But..." She stopped, smiling at Seras. "I think he really cares about you."
The blonde blinked and started blushing slightly. "...He has a funny way of showing it," She mumbled. Harley giggled.
"Help me streak my hair."
"But really...He..He never.." She groped for the words. "...Sometimes he acts like I don't even exist. For a while, he made it a sport to scare me in any way possible. And then I guess he just got bored.." She sighed. "...Ignore me...I don't know what I'm saying..."
Harley was quiet, thinking. This may be harder than I thought...I knew Alucard and Seras weren't exactly buddy-buddy but... She suddenly shook her head, making Seras scold her and let her finish streaking her hair. What am I thinking! This is just gonna be so much more fun getting them together! And I think I know the first step.
She giggled softly to herself, already forming the plan in her mind.
Jimmy was somehow able to curve Alucard's wrath, though he now had an extremely bad headache and couldn't remember the capital of Switzerland. Alucard was now sitting down in a bench, listening to Marilyn Manson and apparently enjoying it.
"Dude, the Slayers are so much better..." Jimmy muttered, but the vampire was too enthralled into the rock to even care. He waved a hand in front of Alucard's face, who glared at him and took off a headphone. "Ok, I guess this isstrange coming from a guy, but your clothes are seriously beginning to get on my nerves. And it does NOT go with your pink hair."
Harley, can I kill this guy? He asked the teenager upstairs.
"DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM!" Came the frantic shout from upstairs. Jimmy blinked while Alucard sulked.
"She's no fun," he muttered, crossing his arms.
"Can I at least convince you to buy a shirt or something?" Jimmy begged. "Please? Just look at them?"
"Will it shut you up?"
"Yes."
"Can I listen to more of this Manson fellow?"
"Slayers are better..But yes."
"...Will I be paying for it?"
Jimmy sweatdropped a little. "...Uhh..."
"Ok then. Let's get this over with."
Harley hugged Seras after they were done with her hair. "Looks as good as new," She said, satisfied. She looked at the hair dye. "Huh, there's still some left..." She looked at Seras. "Wanna streak your hair?"
"W-what?" The blonde said, blinking. "But why?"
Harley shrugged. "It's fast, it's easy, I know what I'm doing, and it'd look good for Valentine's Day." Seras looked skeptical. "Come on! It'll be fun! And plus.." She winked at her. "Red is oneAlucard's favorite color." And before Seras could even question the statement, the teenager was already working on streaking the tips of her blonde hair.
What did she mean by that? Why does it matter that red is oneMaster's favorite color? What is this girl UP to?
"...Harley? I told you about my parents...How about yours?" Seras asked hesitantly. She knew they had died, but that was about it. The teen didn't answer, consumed in streaking the tips of Seras' blonde hair.
"...Well..." She began, thinking for a moment. "My Dad worked for Hellsing making the weapons and all, but he also made weapons for the Iscariot, the Army, pretty much anyone willing to pay him. He made Alucard's Casull .454 a...few months before he died. Alucard had only been awake for a few months at the time. Walter said that he was wild and nearly unapproachable, 'cept by Integra course..."
She cracked her knuckles and rubbed her neck. "I...don't know that much about my Mum. I think she just followed Dad wherever he went. Along the way, I showed up...I know that I was born in New York City but...it..kinda goes blank as to what happens after that. I know they were killed and Integra took me in for a while before Lukas showed up. He was a...family friend."
"And you remember all of this?" Seras said, blinking. Hadn't Master said he put up some kind of block in her memory?
Harley shook her head. "Nu-uh. Walter told me. I can't even remember their faces...Earliest memories I got of are in the Hellsing mansion. And whenever I try to remember past that, I got this bad-ass headache," She said, rubbing her temples. "So, I'm content to let sleeping does lie. Who wants to be wrapped up in the past anyway? 'S not like you can change it."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, absorbed into their own thoughts when Harley finished. "Ta-da!" She said, smiling at her. "What do you think?" Seras blinked and cautiously touched the tips with her fingers.
"..It's different," She admitted, not sure how to feel.
"Seras, keep this one thing in mind," Harley said, stretching and winking. "Different is ok. It's aight to break out of the box. I mean, look at me! I'm fifteen and I have tattoos. And strangely don't have any piercings." She looked very thoughtful as she said this, and Seras giggled in spite of herself.
"Yay, I got you to laugh some more!" She said happily, hooking her arm to Seras'. "Let's get downstairs before Alucard starts going on a killing spree from sheer boredom." They giggled some more and walked downstairs.
They both blinked when they got there because they couldn't see Alucard or Jimmy, which could not be good. "..Uh oh.." They said in unison.
"What's uh-oh?" A voice said behind them, causing Seras to jump and Harley to shriek.
"DON'T DO THAT!" She shouted, whirling and pouncing on a confused Jimmy.
"OW! HEY! QUIT IT, WHAT'D I DO?" He shouted back as the furious little teenager hit his head repeatedly.
"YOU SCARED ME!"
"IT'S NOT MY FAULT THAT YOU SCARE EASILY!"
While they argued, Seras looked behind Jimmy and saw Alucard calmly sitting behind the counter, a pair of headphones on. You're finally done, Police Girl. He said silently to her. He let his sunglasses slide down his nose, eyeing her intently, while she squirmed slightly. You changed your hair!
There was a note of surpise in his voice, and Seras took it as a compliment. She nodded, blushing lightly. Does it...look alright? She asked shyly, hating the fact that she was and had always been awkward around men, even if it was just Master. He smirked and shrugged.
It suits you.
She smiled at him, wishing her blush would go away, as Jimmy finally calmed Harley down enough to show her had been going on. "I was showing your fruity-" Alucard death glared him. "-I mean...I was showing your friend some of the T-shirts we have. And some CD's. He likes Manson."
Harley stared at him. "..You showed...Alucard...some shirts?" She asked. He nodded.
"He picked out a few. Wanna see them?" Harley gave the elder vampire a look that said "You-Better-Not-Have-Done-Anything-Bad." He looked at her innocently, or as much innocence that Alucard could muster. Jimmy put a stack of shirts on the counter and Harley started looking them over.
"'Jesus is coming..Hide the Bong,'" She read, and glared at him. "Integra will kill both me and you..." He just grinned, putting the headphones down. "'9 out of 10 voices in my head say I'd screw that'...'I leave bitemarks'? Oh, funny, Alucard, real funny."
Alucard thought it was. "I really wanna get that one!" He said. "Please?"
"Whatever...'NPA: National Pimp Association'..." She glared at him. "A shirt with a gun on it...'I'm a big fricking ray of sunshine'...'Property of the Psychiatric Center'..." Harley sighed and shook her head. "Jimmy, ring the NPA and the bite one up."
"Hey, can I get the CD's of the Manson guy?" Alucard asked, making Seras and Harley both sweatdrop slightly.
"How are you going to listen to them?" Harley demanded, putting her hands on her hips. "You are not exactly technologically gifted."
"I'll just use your..thing," He said, standing up. "Or Walter's. Depends on who isn't looking at the moment."
"Alright, whatever." She turned to Jimmy, seeing how much this was going to cost her while Seras looked at some jewelry, gently touched a necklace of a rose.
"Like it?" Alucard asked from right beside her, causing her to jump. He chuckled. "You're so easy.."
"And you'd think one would be used to it by now," She mumbled, still looking at the necklace. "Yeah, it's pretty. I've never seen a black rose before, though."
"They're supposed to symbolize death," He said, standing up straight. "Or revenge. So I'm told."
"That's morbid," She said, also straightening. "It's still pretty, though."
"Red roses are better," Harley called over her shoulder. "Black roses aren't even real." She handed Alucard his bag, refusing to carry it. "Thanks, Jimmy. I'll see you later."
"Don't be a stranger," He said, waving as they walked out of the store, Alucard and Harley arguing on whether or not black roses were, in fact, real. "What a strange bunch.."
Back at the mansion, Alucard and Seras quietly made their way to Harley's room. She had fallen asleep in the limo, so Alucard was carrying her to her room. He was a little annoyed, since they didn't get to finish discussing the natural colors of roses. Seras was quiet, thinking about it.
Red and black...One common, one from a fairytale... Red, the color of blood and love...black, the color of death and vengeance..
And also the color of rebirth, Police Girl, Alucard interrupted, chuckling softly as he set the teenager in her bed. By death, it means the death of old habits, like a phoenix rising from the ashes to live again. He smiled at her softly, starting to dissolve into the shadows. A little like you..Police Girl.
She blinked, watching him leave, her cheeks suddenly flaming. "..Me?" She said softly, looking at the shadows. "...What did he mean by that?"
The only reply she got was a soft snore from Harley.
Those shirts that I listed? o.o They are, in fact, real. I got them out of this rock magazine. And those are the ones that I seriously think Alucard would get. And they kinda fit him!
On the topic of whether black roses exist...Well, I have no idea. I'm not even going to get into it, though the roses will appear again later. o.o Did that chapter have any fluff in it? It won't be until next chapter that things are set into motion seriously, but I'm curious.
Also, note that this chapter is up quickly! -does a little dance- Anyways, you know the drill. I love you all!
Adios!