Disclaimer: Don't own. Sad.

I was soimpressed by the feedback I received on this, I decided to do another chapter. I didn't expect people to react so much! Consequently, I decided to change this from a one shot to something longer in the long run.

God, I need this soak.

Integra turned off the hot tap, then allowed herself a moment of enjoyment as she felt the steam radiating off the bath, despite the large amount of bubbles which floated on the surface, obscuring almost the entire surface of the water from view.

What would her employees say if they knew that their employer harboured a penchant for bubbles in her bath?

It wasn't often she got to take baths these days, since she had taken to showers very early in her leadership of Hellsing in favour of their swiftness and efficiency. However, there were occasions when she did find time to relax in the tub. True the times were few and far between, but that was what made them all the more precious – a rare treat, to be earned and savoured. Such as now.

Still, with the pleasure always came the pain…

But for now, nothing would spoil her enjoyment of this, her long awaited, much needed soak.

She stepped back from the tub, and unfastened the cross pin at her throat, followed in swift succession by the pulling away of her derby and the stripping off of her already unbuttoned jacket. She heaped them upon the chair she had position on one side of the bath, careful to drape the jacket across the back so that it would hang properly. Her shoes went neatly in between the legs of the seat, her socks inside them.

Unbuttoning her shirt, Integra felt the familiar bite of nerves at the prospect of uncovering herself – though she dressed as a man, she obviously did not share their confidence in baring her thorax. Once the shirt was doffed, she did not proceed any further until she had picked up one of the large, fluffy white towels Walter had obligingly left by the bath – usually the only part he played in these 'bath nights' – and wrapped it securely around herself, before proceeding to peel off her extreme undergarments.

Contrary to popular if hushed legend among the soldiers, Integra did not bind her bosom. However, she did spend a lot more than she personally felt was necessary for items of brassiere which kept her surprisingly large breasts under strict control – she didn't see the need for unnecessary and potentially distracting bouncing and bulging in that particular area. Nonetheless, she could not help breathing a sigh of relief as, with a practised hand and careful manipulation, the restricting crop-top bra was loosened and slipped off, giving her more freedom to move, and especially breathe.

With her shirt and bra placed carefully on the seat of the chair, all that was left were her trousers, which she quickly slipped off from underneath the towel, along with her boxer shorts. For all the importance the garments were of to her, she could discard them very easily, it seemed. Before the cool air had time to chill her skin, she was pulling a hair band off her wrist and tying her hair back twice above her head to make sure it would not fall down; hoisting up the towel and raising her leg, she dipped it into the water.

Mmm. Just right.

Swiftly she shed her towel, and hopped over the side of the tub into the slightly too hot water. She could not help letting out a sigh of delight as she sank down into the bubbles up to her neck.

This is the life, she thought, as she luxuriated in the water's warm embrace, and let it soothe all her aches and pains away, lapping even at the back of her neck and her collarbone like a gentle caress. Somehow, she could not resist the childish urge to scoop up some of the bubbles in her hands, and with a puff of breath blow them into the air. They didn't get far, of course, but landed with a plop back on top of their fellows. During the bubble baths of her younger days, she would always try to sculpt the foam into various shapes, with varying degrees of success, but now she was simply content to lie back and watch her fluffy white nest in contentment.

Still, she felt that there could perhaps be a few more bubbles. After all, this was a special treat – well, why not? She extracted her left arm from the soapy water with care so that it would not drip over the floor, and reached down for the bottle of her favourite bubble-bath.

The sudden crisping of the hairs on her arm, even more than was usual for hot wet flesh meeting the cooler air, at once shot her hand to the pocket of her trousers instead, to rapidly whip out the little surprise she had kept hidden there. With almost pin-point accuracy, she aimed her gun right between Alucard's eyes from where his head protruded out of the wall.

The vampire didn't seem to be in the least disconcerted at being caught out in his potential spying, but only grinned happily. "You are getting very quick, Master," he purred, as he slipped the rest of his body into the room and his feet landed on the floor.

"Let us say that noticing the air has become considerably colder than before is much easier when you are wet, and dare I say it, bare, Alucard." Integra leant back a little, sinking further down into the bubbles, but keeping the gun trained upon him all the time. "What brings you here, servant?" she went on, as if neither of them knew just why Alucard had invaded her bathroom – again.

"I have a question to ask you, Master." As he took a step closer, she casually levelled the gun to remain between his eyes. She felt that he was feeling rebellious tonight, even with the binding, and it was best to be on the safe side.

"Could it not have waited for a more convenient occasion?"

He flashed a smile of pearly white teeth. "It was one of those inquiries which demanded an answer as soon as it was thought of."

She resigned herself as she sank further down, just to make absolutely sure he couldn't see anything he wasn't supposed to. "Very well, then. Ask away."

"You used to have a mirror or two in this room, didn't you, Integra." She was really getting tired of that façade of innocence he had taken to adopting. "Yet now they are all gone, and most of the ones in your bedchamber as well. I was curious as to why you should make this change in the décor."

"Yes, I imagine you would be. It may interest you to know, Alucard, that vanity is one of the seven greatest sins, and thus I have chosen to abscond from it by banishing all opportunities of viewing my body, to ensure my modesty and self-shame." He snorted; obviously he thought her insusceptible to any form of shame. He has no idea. "And also because I was not exactly enamoured of the multitudes of blinking red eyes which winked at me in a most lewd fashion out of every available reflective surface every time I took my shirt off."

His cacophonous laughter echoed around the room. "Oh, you are a modest little flower indeed, Master!"

"But did you not say a short while ago that I was not a flower, but made of steel?"

"True, true," the vampire admitted, seeming to gain control of himself at once. "And in light of that truth, I suppose that I too must be truthful." He drew closer still, his boots brushing the edge of the steps which led up to the bath. "It was not only that question which drew me to you tonight."

"Really," Integra stated dryly, or as dryly as she could in a potentially vulnerable position while her vampire servant approached for unknown reasons.

His head tilted on one side, his sun glasses sliding down with no apparent help on his part, so that one yellow red eye could wink at her. "You are bleeding, Master."

"Of course, Alucard. Why else do you think I would be taking a bath? It is, after all, the recommended course to ease the pangs." She easily read the obscure but obvious desire in his slit-pupil eyes; Alucard practically went wild when this time of the month came around. For the life of her she couldn't see why; she had no real theory as to why her dead, wasted blood was so fascinating to him. Maybe it was the sheer amount of it that was shed that attracted him; her periods were often exceptionally, though she refused to take pills to control them. "Oh, I see. Aren't you full from last night, from feeding on that police girl? No, of course you're not. Just like a greedy little boy who's stuffed himself full of sweets, and now comes begging for a lick of the spoon."

"Or perhaps a lick of the bowl, in this case," the vampire smoothly retorted – they both knew what he was alluding to. "And I am tempted to do so because the cake mixture is just so good. Far surpassing any sickly sucrose creation."

"I suppose I should be flattered." Integra crossed one leg over the other, her dark, streaming knee emerging ever so slightly out of the water and bubbles. His eyes at once were attracted to it, and further up her hidden body, she didn't fail to note. "But regardless of what my moon blood tastes like, Alucard, you aren't getting any of it. Unless you are particularly inspired to drink my bath water, by any chance?"

"No, no, Master. I would rather leave it well alone, to admire you all the better."

Admire me all the better? Even she was prepared to admit she had expected that he would prefer to admire her without the water, perverted though the desire certainly would be.

Alucard's grin grew softer, as he enjoyed her evident puzzlement. "You present a divine masque, Integra; a beautiful spectacle. Maintaining your modesty by your nest of bubbles and water, your golden hair gleaming – you seem to be Aphrodite herself, rising from the foam of the sea."

Integra cleared her throat. This was going too far, and she did not particularly like the look on her servant's face. "Such romance, Alucard; I never knew you had it in you. But I would prefer not to be compared to a goddess who was not only born from the blood of another god's testicles, but was also a whore and an adulteress into the bargain."

"I see. I suppose that the Lady of Love does not exactly recommend herself to your – delicate sensibilities. So you would rather be Artemis, then?"

She had to smile at that. "The Maiden Goddess? The Divine Huntress? Yes, I would have to say that I would infinitely prefer that association. After all, Aphrodite only lay about waiting to get seduced by handsome mortals."

Too late she realised the irony of her words – that a handsome immortal would very much like to seduce her – but Alucard appeared to ignore the opportunities for exploiting her statement. He seemed to have his eyes set on a much greater prize. "And like Artemis, you would be full of wrath if any man saw you bathing?"

"Oh, indeed. So if the unwelcome intruder came any closer to seeing what he should not, he would receive my wrath right between the eyebrows – all 5cm of it." She straightened her arm, bringing the gun closer to him, to emphasise her point.

Surprisingly, he didn't seem to be at all ruffled. "Why, no turning me into a stag and setting hounds to chase me down and tear me into pieces? Such is not the behaviour of the Divine Huntress, Master!"

"No. I suspect that would be more in your line of dealing with unwelcome intruders, whereas I simply use my marksmanship to the best advantage. Such as now. I think you have overstayed your welcome, Actaeon, and I advise you to leave, before you receive my version of the vengeance of outraged Artemis."

"So I may not even see the vision of the goddess unclothed?"

"For that privilege, Alucard, you yourself would have to pay in a similar coin," she retorted smoothly, even as she screamed inwardly What am I saying?

"Oh, my Master, I sense you are issuing a challenge." Alucard's chuckle echoed as he stepped forward and upwards. She tensed herself, preparing to fire – it was evident that her servant was feeling amorous, his desires heightened by the scent of her body stripping away her wasted blood and flesh inside her. Silently she cursed. Why couldn't I just have taken a shower instead? But the next instant she was caught up in watching Alucard, and what he was doing.

For the instant he had stepped up onto the first step, his red coat had melted away, disappearing into his shadow like rivulets of blood diluting into water, and with it his darker inner coat, leaving his black waistcoat to gleam in the soft bathroom lights, and contrast with the snow whiteness of his shirt. Now, the only drops of colour in him were his eyes and the crimson of his ascot, spilling down like the contents of a gorgeously slit throat.

"Alucard? What are you doing?" she asked, tentatively.

The vampire made no reply, but took another step forward. His boot clicked for only a moment on the tiled surface, before it too disappeared, and the other with it, leaving Alucard's trousers free to puddle around his bare feet – his bare feet? Integra could never remember, in her whole time of knowing her servant, ever seeing him with bare feet! She looked up just in time to see his waistcoat and ascot disappear as well, blending into the shadow which now followed him, leaving his white shirt fairly glowing, and slowly unbuttoning, his black hair writhing seemingly of his own free will down onto his shoulders.

"Alucard, what is the meaning of this?" she demanded, more harshly now. What did he aim to achieve with this strange strip tease?

"Patience, Integra. I am merely rising to your challenge."

"Oh, really? Well if you think you're stripping off in here, then you have another-"

But as he stepped up onto the top step, only a foot or so away from her, she felt the binding flex, even as Alucard's very skin and form disappeared, and he himself melted into shadows; the darkness swallowing up his form like the pale flame of a candle abruptly going out – but not departing as he usually did, instead leaving an aura of darkness which was beginning to invade every corner of the bathroom.

Of course, she thought, even as she restrained herself from drawing in a sharp breath. To a true vampire, to be devoid of flesh and shape is true nakedness.

"A very good ploy, Alucard," she said aloud, even as she darted a glance at the tendrils of shadow encroaching on the gleam of the bathroom lights, dimming the light in the room "But I am afraid you rather took me at my word. I have no intention of getting out of this bathtub while you are anywhere in the vicinity, and I suspect you know me well enough to believe me in that."

I did not expect for a moment that you would acquiesce, Master. But I have a different aim in mind. Even as her servant's disembodied voice echoed around her, she felt the binding jerk again, signifying that the vampire was gaining access to more of his power.

What the devil is he playing at now? This has gone too far. But even as she opened her mouth to command him to cease and depart, her attention was caught and held by what was going on further down the tub.

Around the area of her abdomen, something was happening to the water; the bubbles on the surface were rippling gently, as the water itself began to take on a new colour – and a very distinctive colour at that. Before she even had time to react, the ghastly shade was spreading to the rest of the tub, down to her toes and up past her sides, washing both over and under her body – she felt the change as it swept along, brushing her skin. Even the bubbles did not escape the illusion – in a few moments, they resembled nothing more nor less than crimson froth, worthy of being spilled from the gnashing fangs and mouth of the most rabid of vampires.

Of course, she knew that the illusion was simply that, an illusion, just as she could tell that her bathwater had not actually turned to blood – it didn't have that particular liquid's consistency or smell. Still, it was convincing enough that it was all she could do to make herself keep still and not squirm, as she glared up at where she guessed Alucard's head now was, since two of his many red eyes had opened in roughly that position.

"Playing Moses are we now, servant? I must admit, this is a bit of a comedown after the Nile."

"Oh, Integra." Alucard's voice rippled around her, both slightly mocking and yet more gentle that it had been in a long time. "Can you not see? The image of the Divine Huntress, the Virgin Goddess, bathing in her moon blood? The celebration of her body's own mystery?" As if on an unbidden signal, literally thousands of eyes opened in the darkness all around her, focusing on her as she sat tensely soaking in make-believe blood. She had never before felt so exposed, even with the red foam still shielding her. She shivered in anger. How dare he? The countless orbs winked in amusement, as the vampire's voice trickled into her ears, no matter how hard she tried to keep it out. "And perhaps, one day, Integra, it might be the blood of others."

"But probably not tonight." Integra forced her teeth not to chatter – the water, far from being hot now, literally seemed to be freezing her flesh, and other parts besides. But the gun she held in her hand was perfectly steady, and right on target. "You have proved your point, Alucard. Now get out, before I suddenly have more in common with Aphrodite than I would wish."

There was silence, as all the eyes suddenly focused on exactly where she was pointing the gun. The shadow mass in front of her had gone very still. Even in his shadow form, Alucard was still susceptible to wounds and subsequent pain. Most he disregarded, even enjoyed – but there was at least one pain Integra guessed that he would not be able to endure so easily.

Even so, the vampire made no move to retaliate, nor retreat.

"You heard me, servant. Go. Now."

Slowly, the eyes closed and the darkness receded, and as it did so the crimson and ice seeped from the bathwater, until it was clear and hot once more. She let a shudder pass through her frame, yet she still kept the gun trained on Alucard, who had reformed himself, however sulkily, by the wall where he had made his first appearance, back in his waistcoat and firmly buttoned up shirt.

"Didn't I tell you to get out?" she snapped. "Go ogle your new toy, if such is your desire!"

"But you are much more fun to observe, Master!" The vampire seemed to have regained some of his stamina and joviality, now he no longer had the barrel of her gun pressed to part of his anatomy that had still existed, even in shadow form.

"Perhaps, but from what I know of the police girl she has the added advantage of having scruples about shooting you somewhere that I am sure would take a while for even you to regenerate, Alucard." She raised her other hand out of the water, and shooed him away. "Now, leave. That is an order."

The vampire mockingly bowed, then faded away into the wall.

"And don't even think about watching me through the walls!"

There was no reply.

Integra sat back in the bath with a groan. If he had gone any further, I would have had to shoot him. What's gotten into him lately?

But she knew…the police girl. Seras Victoria. Now that he had turned a person for the first time in over an hundred years, he was getting above himself – yet again. Well, the only way to deal with his new found rebellion was to undermine it, as well as any attempts he might have to make the girl more like him. It was bad enough having two vampires in the legions without both of them getting uppity.

She settled back in the tub, but the water, however hot it now was, seemed to have lost its appeal after its brief transformation. Cursing Alucard silently under her breath, she abandoned her soak and got up, grabbing the shed towel and wrapping it around herself once more.

As she stepped out of the bath, she felt the water trickle down the inside of her thighs – along with something else. She didn't even need to look to see the blood, thick with her shed flesh, staining her skin and the towel, like a virgin deflowered on her wedding night.

And finish. If you're not essentially clued up on Greek mythology, I shall give you a few helping hints, since I'm such a nice authoress. (Grin.)

(1) Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of Love and Beauty (and yes, a bit of a slut in my opinion) was born when Uranus, the father of Cronos, the father of Zeus and most of the chief gods, was defeated by his son (Cronos) who, presumably to rub the victory in, castrated him. Ouch. The blood dripped into the sea, creating 'aphros' foam, from which Aphrodite emerged, fully formed. She existed merely to be beautiful and admired, and apparently to have affairs with just about every attractive male being under the sun – though, considering her name basically means 'frothy', I think she did pretty well for herself, even if she did cause the Trojan War by tempting Paris and everything.

(2) Artemis, meanwhile was about as different from Aphrodite as two really dissimilar things can be. She was born in a perfectly normal fashion (normal for Greek mythology, that is; read it as Zeus having one of his many affairs, on this occasion with her mother Leto, and she growing into adulthood as soon as she was born – well, more normal than some other of Zeus's daughters at least), she was the goddess of the moon, the hunt and protector of wild animals, and she was most definitely a virgin. At least, I think she was…though there was that whole business with Orion…anyway, she didn't like men seeing her bathing, and one man, Acteon, being unfortunate enough to do so, suffered the extremely nasty fate as listed above. The moral of the story is; don't spy on goddesses in the nudd. It's really not worth it in the long run. Really! You'll either be struck blind, lame or dead – or all three!

(3) And for any one who is interested in that sort of thing – in the Bible, if a girl is not believed to have been a virgin on her wedding night, her father can take the bloodstained bed-sheets to the Elders and claim that the husband was lying in his claim. Of course, if the girl wasn't a virgin, she'd be stoned to death, or some such charming fate. This probably wouldn't work in this day and age, since with all the activities and running around and playing sports that most girls do, the necessary barrier a.k.a the hymen, inside the body that was usually torn on the wedding night, causing the blood, often breaks without our even noticing it. We could all have been stoned to death in Biblical times! Comforting thought.

Seriously, who needs all the anime and manga, when you can have legends and Biblical texts? So much blood. So much blooood…

Also, I'm not exactly sure about Alucard's solidity when in his dark, spooky shadowy-eye form (the words of she who has not read the manga). I'm guessing that if he can get his dogs to chew up Luke, Integra can find something to aim at that will hurt.

I got the idea for this chapter from a picture I found on Deviant Art, but can't find now, sob sob. It was of Integra in the bath (one without bubbles, but her hair prevented you from seeing anything) looking pretty P.O.'d, pointing her gun at the viewer, but actually is aimed at Alucard, who we can see from the mirror set behind her grinning at her out of the wall. I just thought; did he do that sort of thing often? And was Integra prepared? Shppff; she'd been living with the vamp for ten years. Stupid question.

Review, please?