Chapter Five:
Ryuku's Promise
That night, Integra and Ryuku exchanged words about Shadow. "So, he's after Angel? And what does this have to do with Alucard?" she asked. Ryuku paused for a moment. " I'm not sure." he lied. Seras walked into the room after a small knock. "What now?" Integra asked looking at the young woman. "Master Alucard has shut himself in his room." she stated. Integra sighed out of frustration and looked at Ryuku. "Angel is on the fourth floor. The second door on the left." she told him. Ryuku nodded and headed upstairs. It was a good thing that he had shut his mouth before he told her the truth. It was her own fault that she didn't bother to ask Alucard what was going on. He headed up the stairs, trying to rethink his duty to Angel as her protector. He stood outside the door, wondering if she was up or not. He began to think of an explaination... a good reason... or even a simple, "you should have came with me," theory. But there was no luck. He took in a deep breath and placed his hand on the knob.
Integra banged on the door, rage upon her. "DAMNIT ALUCARD! IF YOU DON'T OPEN-" she looked at Alucard, who had opened the door. "What's wrong, My Master? Is everything okay?" he asked in an innocent voice. She glared at him and Seras looked at them both. "Seras told me that you locked yourself in your room." Alucard rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked at Seras. "I went to bed... after all, I do need sleep." he stated. Integra glared at Seras, who had a goofy look on her face. "No wonder you kept saying you needed to go to bed." she stated. Integra dropped her head and passed them both. "I'm getting too old for this shit." she thought, walking down the hall. Alucard closed his door, leaving Seras by herself in the hall. He walked over to his coffin, in a daze, trying to figure out if his body was well rested. His mind shifted to the fact that Angel was just down the hall from him. He wondered if she had opened her eyes yet. He went over to his chair by the window and sat down with a sigh. He moved his body, trying to get comfrontable. Once in a perfect spot, Alucard closed his eyes and began to doze off.
Angel opened her eyes, looking around the room. "You're up... that's good." she heard. She turned her head and looked at Ryuku, who happened to be sitting in a chair next to her bed. "Ryuku? What are you-"
"I came over here earlier, remember? Anyway, I'm not important right now. How are you feeling?" he asked, looking at her. She sat up and looked at her arms. "I think I'm okay. You know how things get when you're me." she teased. Ryuku couldn't help but smile. He looked down and Angel knew exactly what he was thinking. "Listen... It's not your fault... You didn't know he was going to find me there. You are a great protector... you just have to except what happened." he heard. He looked at her with his green eyes. "Hey, remember? We're like family. You're my older brother and I'm your younger sister." She looked down. "Miss Angel?" he whispered, noticing her change in mood. She fisted her hands in the blue blanket and whispered, "We'll just have to move now... find somewhere else to hide... leave... like we always do..." Ryuku knew where this was going. "We're not going to move... I wouldn't do that to you. After all, it took almost a hundred years to find him. I just have to except the fact that he is also your protector." she looked at him with tears in her eyes. "You would do that for me?" she asked. Ryuku smirked and rustled her hair. "Duh! Like you said, you're my lil sister." he replied. Angel hugged him in rejoice. She didn't know what to say to that. She just knew that he was risking a lot for her.
That morning, Angel sat downstairs in the dining room, drinking tea. Ryuku, was by the window, watching the world pass by. Integra had expected them to leave the night before, but to her demise, Angel hadn't fully recovered. Integra walked passed the dining room and noticed Alucard by the door. He seemed to be looking in, probably at Angel. "Why don't you just go in. It's not polite to stare." Integra stated, walking by. Alucard looked at her and then asked, "Are you okay, Master? You seem a bit edgy." Integra stopped in her tracks and looked at him. "I'm fine... just need to think is all." she stated, turning back around. Alucard watched as she walked down the hall. He shook his head and turned around, coming face to face with Angel. "Angel... I-"
"I'm leaving, Alucard. I don't know where... but I know I won't be here." she stated.
"So you're just going to leave?"
Angel looked down, silence upon her. "Do you realize that if you leave-"
"I will only be saving you."
Alucard looked at her. His crimson eyes fell upon her with such worried that it started to get to him. Her bangs covered her eyes.
"I only wanted the best for you. It took me over a hundred years to gain back what I had lost... and yet... I have no power over you anymore... you are your own Vampire, Alucard... but I wish that I could make you see what we had some time ago... I know that you are confused and all, but you must understand that it is for the best."
Alucard stood there, silence taking over the hallway. He reached out to at least touch her cheek, but she turned away. " I can only wish for the best. I only pray that nothing will stand in your way of any mission. Just know..." she couldn't fight it anymore... tears were falling and there was nothing she could do about it. "Just know... that I was happy to see you again." And with that, she turned and ran down the hall. Alucard stood there, trying to place everything together. His eyes slid closed as he stood there, silence filling the air. He wondered for a moment if he should go after her... but, as any could see... she didn't want to be bothered. He slowly turned away, walking down the opposite way of the hall. For the first time, in a long time... he felt pain.
Angel sat there in the swing, the only place she loved to be alone. Her heart sunk in her chest as she realized the rash reality that she had to leave. She looked up at the moon, wondering where they would go. "So... are you ready to leave?" she heard. She turned her head and looked at Ryuku. She then looked down, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, kneeling before her. She looked at him and nodded. "It's the only way I can protect him. If I stay... we may all die." she whispered. Ryuku stood up and sat down in the swing next to her. "Alright, I know you really don't want to go... but I see that you have made up your mind. Anyway, just know that if anything happens... I swear I'll do everything in my will to protect you." he told her. Angel looked at him and sighed. There was no way she could change her mind. She stood up and looked up at the night sky. "We better get going... daybreak may come soon today... and I know you need your sleep." she stated. Ryuku stood up next to her with a smile. "I guess you're right."
Alucard sat there in his chair, blood bags scattered across the floor. He had drifted off to sleep yet again, but this time out of mere absent pain. His mind was filled with Angel, though he knew he could not bring her back. He just at there, his eyes closed while his mind drifted in and out of sleep. He had been that way since the encounter with Angel. Seras sighed as she closed the door. She looked down, worry upon her. She only prayed that her Master would get out of this. She turned around and looked at Walter. "It's no use... he's in bad shape. I mean..." she looked at the door. "Miss Angel left for a reason, to keep Alucard safe. We cannot do anything this time. It is out of our hands." he told her. Seras sighed again and began her walk downstairs. She knew that her Master was attracted to Angel, she just didn't know how much. She suddenly paused when the door opened, revealing a seriously wounded Ryuku. "Shadow... he kidnapped Angel..." he managed, before passing out. Seras ran over to him and looked at the scars. "Walter!" she yelled, hoping that Ryuku wasn't really... all the way dead.