Disclaimer: Good Lord man, I still don't own Hellsing.

Chapter Five

Somewhere Deep Within The Bowels of Hellsing…

" Walter, if you don't try harder how will we crush Alucard and Seras hm? You must try harder…" Integra stood with her arms crossed over her chest and an annoyed look flashing from behind her glasses. As before, she stood wearing her tennis suit holding her specially made racket. A thin bead of sweat rolled over her temple and disappeared into her headband.

While Integra seemed to be picking up tennis fairly well, poor Walter was another story altogether. The old retainer stood hunched over at the hip, leaning heavily on his tennis racket. His knees, too, were bent and beads of sweat were dropping continuously onto the hard floor. He was breathing heavily and seemed to be mere inches from passing out. This will not do… If I don't find some way out of this, it may very well be the end of me…

While Walter's body was reacting slowly, his mind was racing a mile a minute. Different ideas and plots on how he could escape this torture were bouncing off the walls of his skull. This was no help either, for he now had quite a migraine…

" S-Sir… In-Integra… I can't-can't do this… Please be reasonable!" From the other end of the court, an agitated Integra sighed and walked briskly over to Walter's side.

" Unfortunately, I can think of no one else who can replace you, especially with so little time before our match. And unless you are able to think otherwise, I do believe you had better stand back up." Hearing this, Walter's eyes brightened. He had managed to think about this before hand and already knew of someone else who could take his place.

" Sir Integra…" Weak and tired, he forced himself back up, still relying on his racket for support. Being as formal as possible, he re-adjusted his monocle and continued. " If you will hold on a few moments, I can find just the perfect person… Pip!" His voice sounded muffled, but outside the door there was a scurrying sound as though someone had been sitting there for quite a long time. Integra's eyes narrowed at the thought of Pip playing tennis with her. Yet she waited and decided to see if he could at least hold his own at least, for no matter how she played it in her mind, poor Walter wasn't able to keep up with her or this sport and it truly could be his end.

" If you're there, then get in here. Stop making me wait." Slowly the door creaked open and there stood Pip, in all his glory.

" Wh…What are you…wearing…" Integra's voice faltered for a moment and Walter smiled at the shocked look on Integra's face. As he had suspected, Integra had no idea that Pip could play tennis, and fairly well, if Walter didn't say so himself.

Pip was also wearing a tennis suit. However, in place of pants he had short on, his shirt was short sleeved, and to top it all off, he had matching sweatbands on both wrists and his head, holding back his hair which was pulled back in it's usual long braid. In his hand he held a racket and plastered all over his face was a look of pure excitement.

A still wheezing Walter made his way to a pair of benches close by. Once there, he dropped the racket and collapsed onto the dark blue plastic benches, grateful for the reprieve. He would have gladly left but he had to make sure that Integra was at least slightly pleased with the switch.

" Am I to assume… that you can play tennis?"

" No."

" Well then why the bloody hell are you-"

" Allow me to show you instead. Please Sir Integra?"

Integra sighed visibly and once again, briskly walked back to her side of the court and took her stance. To her surprise, Pip was already waiting for Integra on his side of the court. Walter had to admit, Pip looked like he knew what he was doing.

" May I serve, Sir Integra?"

" Hurry up then…" A wide grin crossed Pip's already beaming face as he dropped a tennis ball that neither the retainer nor the Hellsing knew he had been holding, pulled back the racket and swung. The ball seemed to move in a blur as it flew over the net and just out of reach of Integra's racket. Yet another look of shock was plastered on Integra's face, but only for an instant. Her usual cool look resumed itself as she addressed Walter.

" I do believe that this switch will be sufficient."

" Excellent!... Now I can rest…" The weary man pushed himself up and slowly dragged himself to the doors. As he reached for the handle, he turned himself around and viewed Pip showing Integra the correct stance to take, the right way to hit the ball, and just the right way to tell where it was going. Anyone who knew Sir Integra understood that she was not one to take orders, yet she continued to stand there, occasionally following along with Pip and what he was doing.

Walter exited the room and closed the doors behind him. Sighing deeply, he made his way to the showers, ready to rinse off the un-proper sweat that now covered him. Walking down the hall he glimpsed the disappearing sun from behind one of the many windows. It was just about this time when Seras and Alucard would awaken and make their way to the tennis courts. He wondered vaguely how long Sir Integra and Pip would practice.

Still, remembering how serious his master was about this match brought a smile flickering across his mouth. "Yes… Now it seems that this match coming up will actually be worth seeing…."

Meanwhile, Down On the Lower Levels…

" Oh Police Girl… Pooooolllllliiiiiiiiiiiiiccccceeeeee Giiiiiiiiirrrlll… Seras wake up…. Wake up. Wake up!" Grumbling, Seras turned over in her coffin. That past morning had brought Seras nothing but twisting and turning in her coffin, along with strange and almost terrifying dreams. Her already red eyes were blood shot and she was exhausted. She was beginning to wonder if perhaps it was tennis that did this to her.

No matter how hard she tried, not a shred of her dreams returned to her. Still, the feeling of terror remained in the pit of her stomach and she wondered at what on Earth could have scared her to the point of waking up so many times.

Eyes still closed she murmured under he breath, " Maaaasteeeeerrrrrrr… I don-don't wanna get up… I'm too sleeeeepy…" Yawning, she curled herself into a ball, left arm under her pillow. She stretched out her right hand to in front of her to get a bit more comfortable.

Instead of closing on air, her hand closed on fabric. My blanket can't be all the way over here, it's over me… So what's this? Still unsure of what it was, she almost unconsciously drew herself closer to it. Wait… this is-is warm… What is this?

" Now Police Girl…" An all too familiar voice purred at her from awfully close. " Do we not have to practice that sport of yours? I do believe that we only have two days left now, correct?" Since when is my bed so small? I feel so cramped in here…

" Well.. yeah but… Master…" Seras eased her eyes open and had to blink several times until she was able to clear the left over haze still covering her eyes. She could feel something playing with her hair… and now a strange weight over her waist…

" And finally she awakens…" Her eyes widened, for lying next to her, taking up most of her space, was Alucard.

Anyone who happened to be within a fifty foot perimeter of the lower levels heard the following scream that issued from Seras. Walter, who happened to be about to enter the lower levels to hand out the daily ration of blood for both Alucard and Seras, froze where he was. " I believe that I shall come back later…" He about faced and retreated back up the stairs, a flushed look on his face.

" MASTER! GET OUT OF MY BED! GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT!" Alucard laughed loudly and phased out of her bed, leaving an incredibly angry Seras behind. The usual sound of pressureized hydraulics was heard as her bed rose up out of the other half of her bed.

Slowly she slid off of her bed, looking carefully around her for any sign of her Master. She drew in a deep breath and allowed it out again slowly. A dark pink tinge of embarrassment crossed her face as she looked down at her sleeping attire. She was quite scantily clad, having decided that her usual pajamas were uncomfortable. Truthfully, she was only wearing her under clothes, and it wasn't exactly the most covering piece of clothing she owned. " Damn it Master… you pushed it too far this time…" Still angry, she quickly picked up her uniform, which she had left folded and waiting for her when she awoke, on her table.

As she pulled on her uniform, she thought about what just happened. " Why did I… curl up to Master like that? Is-is there something wrong with me?" Still- she tripped over her wooden chair and landed, sprawled out, on her floor. " Damn it! I have got to stop doing that!"

She rubbed at her shin for a moment, then stood back up and replaced the chair where it originally went. Looking at her table she was surprised to not see any of her usual ration of blood. Guiltily she admitted to herself that she had indeed been longing for it. A loud growl issued from her stomach. " Stop that now…"

Shaking her head she finished dressing. " Damn it, now where did I put that racket?" Biting her lip, she turned towards her Harkonnen and found her racket and several tennis balls in the corner of her room. As usual, they had been right next to her specially made gun. She mused vaguely at why she kept placing her racket there.

Before leaving the room, she stared almost fondly at her gun. " Strangely enough… I sort of miss being out and fighting… I never truly thought that I would say that, but then again, I never exactly thought that I'd be teaching a vampire how to play tennis…"

Out of nowhere, that seemed to strike her funny. As she exited her room she laughed heartily and for quite a long time. She smiled slightly at a sudden thought. " That was sort of the fist time since I came here since I've truly laughed." Still chuckling lightly, and now skipping and hopping slightly, she made her way to the exit.

By now she was used to not calling for her Master to follow her. He usual scoffed at her for not being able to teleport as he could. He would then leave her wherever she happened to be, laughing as he quickly made his own way to the tennis courts. Once she was there, he would make fun of her some more.

Therefore, Seras would simply walk at her own pace to the courts and then call for him once there. That way she didn't have to bear his making fun of her. She already had to deal with that on a daily basis as it was.

" Besides… I enjoy being outside in the fresh air. Ah… so peaceful tonight." Looking up to the amazingly clear starry night, she stood for a moment, allowing the pure beauty of it to reach her. Remembering something, she turned over her shoulder and shouted out, " Waaaaaalter! I'm leaving now! We'll be back at the usual time…!"

Shutting the doors, she leapt off the stairs and landed nimbly on the grass. A gentle breeze blew by, ruffling her hair gently. It was, if Seras didn't say so, a perfect night to practice tennis.

Humming lightly, she exited the grounds and took up her usual nightly walk to the courts. Usually it took her thirty to forty minutes to reach her destination, sometimes more or less.

Rounding the corner of the first block, she was soon aware of her Master's presence. " Master? Master you usually don't join up with me until we reach the tennis courts! If you followed me just to make fun of me, then you can just forget it! I'm not in the mood for any more taunting!" Alucard's chuckling filled the air as materialized to the right of her.

" Is it my fault, Police Girl, if you make it oh so easy and fun to 'taunt' you?" The young vampire flushed once more and stared at the ground, expecting another barrage of his nightly picking. The elder vampire chuckled deeply but said nothing, allowing the silence to fill up between them.

Seras took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She didn't exactly have to breath, but she still enjoyed doing it.

After they had been walking for twenty minutes or so, Seras was suddenly aware that there were footsteps behind her. Still walking, she turned around to see three young men, no older than Seras had been before she had well, died.

Once they were aware that she knew that they were there, they began to speak.

" Hey baby, ditch the loser."

" Yeah, we can really show you a good time."

" What use can a loser wearing something stupid do for you? Come on…"

They continued to yell other things to the young blonde, each outburst getting dirtier and dirtier until Seras' ears were a bright pink. By that time, she was boiling inside, ready to rip them to shreds, eager to feast on their blood. That, no doubt, was partially due to the fact that she hadn't eaten that night yet. She had been warned, however, by her Master's Master, Sir Integra, that she was not to hunt live people without her consent.

Still, as their insults and suggestions grew more intense and dirty, her anger continued to bubble up in anger. She felt her pupils shrink as she began to loose her touch on reality.

" Focus, Police Girl. Is it really worth it?" She snapped her head up and stared at her Master.

" M-Master?"

" They are nothing but scum. Not worth a second glance, nor are they even worthy enough to made a meal of."

Seras did her best to calm herself but no matter how hard she tried, the tennis courts would not appear as much as she wished. Without having realized it, she had clenched her fists and now a drop of blood rolled down onto the pavement as they passed.

Out of what seemed like nowhere, there was a familiar gloved hand resting on her left shoulder and an arm draped over her shoulder. Another rush of pink filled her cheeks and covered her ears. She looked up to see her Master staring straight ahead.

Slowly she eased her fists open, attempting to calm herself without embarrassing herself.

" Oh what, the big oaf has to touch the lady now? Can't leave her alone? What are you? Her older, and much less smart, brother?"

She whipped her head around to face them. Gasps were echoed among them as they viewed her angry face. Her eyes had an angry glow to their already crimson shading and even her hair seemed to be standing on end. She bared her teeth angrily and hissed at them.

" Oh my God, she's some sort of freak! Let's get the hell out of here!" Tripping over themselves without even looking back at her, they ran away as quickly as they could.

Slowly Seras realized that she was still glaring back behind her at nothing and turned herself around. Anger still seemed to be emanating off of her, however she was slightly pleased with herself for having gotten rid of them so effectivly. She stared at the pavement as they continued walking along the path that would eventually lead them to the tennis courts as she tried to calm herself. Yet no matter how hard she tried, she was unable to push what those guys were yelling at her. Who had they thought they were? Not only was she angry at having been degraded so horribly, but she was having problems realizing why she had been so angry when they had started making fun of her Master.

" My my Police Girl, I never thought that you had it in you. Well done." Another blush covered Seras' face yet she beamed with pride at the well earned compliment.

" Well- I…. T-Thank you… Master…" Not knowing quite what to do, Seras began to twirl her racket in her hand. After yet another few minutes of silence, during which her Master's arm never left her shoulders, she peeked her head up and noticed that they were less than a block from the courts.

Soon enough, they were in view and Seras felt a twinge of disappointment that they hadn't been able to stay as such for longer. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she rather enjoyed having Alucard's arm over her shoulder and she wasn't ready for him to take it back.

Unfortunately before long, they were at the entrance to the tennis courts. As usual the door was locked and Seras pulled away and made ready to climb over the fence. Placing her racket in her mouth, she started up and had taken only a few steps up when she was interrupted.

" When will you learn to simply walk through objects. Having to climb things like a primitive human is simply useless."

" Mmb Mbabsiogkd, Okdosk eo.." Technically she said something along the lines of, 'But Master, you know I can't…', but she was unable to say anything intelligible for her racket was still in her mouth.

Behind her, Alucard shook his head and walked towards her and easily scooped her up as though she weighed nothing. With her arms free, she spat out her racket and instantly began to speak. " Master! I can do just fine climbing! What are you doing!" Alucard ignored her frantic sounding pleas and held her in a cradle.

" I'm going to show you what it feels like to walk through something solid, so be quiet." Seras quickly shut her mouth and focused her attention back on the fence with a worried expression on her face.

" Now focus Police Girl. Focus on the fence not being there and it will be true. Focus…" Still skeptical, she stared at and through the fence, focusing all of her strength on the fence not being there. Slowly Alucard walked at the fence and just as Seras was about to really freak out, they collided with the fence.

Yet instead of hitting the metal and bouncing off, they simply went through it. The young vampire was fascinated by this, as it felt almost as though they went through water or mist instead of a fence.

Before she could say anything however, she was set back down and her Master quickly walked over to his side.

" Well Police Girl? Aren't you coming?" Seras shook her head and smiled an almost secret smile. Once she made her way to her side and served, which she always seemed to do for some reason, she found that she truly did enjoy being able to play tennis with her Master, no matter how silly it seemed.

She missed the return serve and yelled out, " Alright Master! We have to get even better! We have to beat Sir Integra!" She didn't know why, but she felt that if she was able to conquer her Master's Master, she would be able to conquer her Master.

Secretly across the courts, Alucard himself smiled.

Although at what, one can only guess…

A/N: Boy! That sure took a long time to write. It also doesn't help that I have no way to get online... Magical. So, what do you think about this chapter? Once I started writing, I didn't seem to be able to stop. However, I really have no idea how this will turn out or who will win the tournament. Any ideas? P.S., I changed Walter for all of those people who said that poor Walter just wasn't up to it. Much love!