Rarity: Part 7

My gun is gone, sunk to the bottom of the Loch with the Aquabus. Miraculously, that's all I lost; everything in my jacket pockets made it back to shore with me. My poor copy of Dracula will never be the same, though. It's so water-swollen that I can barely get it out of my jacket's pocket, and when I do, it comes out in pieces.

"Great," I sigh, and decide to leave my wallet where it is for now.

I'm all by myself again, sitting on one of the benches just inside the Aquabus gift shop, with my third hot chocolate. I've been given a large gift sack for my wet clothes, and emergency clothing - a happy pink Aquabus sweat suit with matching socks and slippers - all complimentary from the transit board.

I hate pink.

They're in the process of getting everyone set up to go home right now. There were no serious injuries amongst the survivors, but the elderly woman and the hysterical girlfriend (and her boyfriend, for her sake) went off to the hospital anyway; the rest of us are all here in the gift shop warming up as rides are arranged and statements are taken.

I've already been interviewed five times, and been thanked by just about everyone - particularly the pilot - but I don't want to hear it. The whole mess is my fault, and I can't explain that to anyone.

It occurs to me that I deserve to be wearing this awful pink sweat suit, and the silliness of the thought cheers me considerably.

The door opens with a blast of air that chills my still-damp hair. One of the emergency workers comes inside, looks around, then sees me next to the door and smiles. "There's a car for you," he says.

I'm confused, since I was intending to take a cab as soon as they said I could leave. I've seen neither hide nor hair of my "protector" since the media cornered me, but since he left me with no way to contact him, I could only assume that he would find me. Perhaps he has.

I stand and glance through the door, and I recognize the car - it is indeed the one that Seras picked me up with the other night. I guess it was only last night. Man, I'm tired.

I thank the guy, pick up my bag of wet clothes, and head out to the car. Seras is again behind the wheel, and she smiles at me, and I again notice her teeth.

I wonder if she's actually a vampire. I suppose it would make sense, given her teeth, and her near-red eyes, and given that I've only ever seen her after dark. But... she's so much more bright and cheerful than I'd expect.

Her partner, the jerk, is lounging in the back, taking up the entire back seat. He seems to be amused by something, and I get the idea that being amused is his base state.

I realize, as I cross in front of the car to take the front passenger seat, that I've been thinking of him as a vampire since Seras explained things to me last night. She hadn't said that either of them were, but... it just seemed that way to me.

And it didn't particularly matter to me. The fact that they existed was what took getting used to, not who was or wasn't a vampire.

"I'm to drive you home, and then I'm to go help keep an eye out for Sir Skeffinton coming up from the Loch," Seras informs me pleasantly. "My Master is to stay with you, in case he gets past us."

Well, that explains that relationship. "Sure... but..."

"Yes?"

"Can we stop by the bakery first?"

She blinks, then breaks out in a wide, honest smile. "Sure, I guess so."

"Oh, good." I can't stand it any longer. I twist around in my seat to address the car's other occupant. "Okay... so... what is your name, anyway?"

The moment we enter the bakery, the little Asian ladies - all five of them - are all over me. They give me a box of a dozen of the chocolate-iced chocolate donuts with sprinkles, and a nice big hazelnut latte, and insist that I can't pay for it, because I'm all over the news and I'm a local hero now. Oh, joy.

I thank them as graciously as I can, and one of them asks if my companion would like a drink as well. I turn to see him standing back, near the door, looking out toward the waiting car - with Seras still behind the wheel - with a peculiarly intent expression. I notice that Seras seems to be listening to what appears to be a walkie-talkie... and then she drives away, after a glance toward us.

"Nothing for me, thank you," he tells the smiling women, placing a hand on my shoulder. "We should get you home."

I hand him the box of donuts, after removing one to eat on the way. I bid farewell to my new fan club and follow him out.

As the door of the bakery closes behind us, I glance at the empty parking spot. "Well, luckily, my house is only a couple of blocks away, up the hill," I say, indicating the way with a wave of my donut. "Do you have any idea why Seras ditched us?"

He smiles slightly as we start walking. "Sir Skeffinton was sighted along the shore."

"Ah." I take a bite of my donut, mulling over the information. I feel a bit of a knot trying to form in my stomach, but I do my best to ignore it. "You know this by... telepathy, I take it?"

"After a fashion."

We walk a little further. "So..." I gather up my courage. "Alucard."

"Yes."

"Is... that a... um... code name? Or..." I can't quite bring myself to say it. "Or..."

"Or an anagram?" I don't think I've ever seen anyone smile that wide, and it's kind of creepy.

"Um." I take a long sip from my latte. "Yeah."

"Do you really want to know?"

I have to think about that one. I finish half of my donut and drink a bit of the latte. "You know, I don't think I do."

At that, he laughs, and it is at once one of the most pleasant and most frightening things I've ever heard.

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Hellsing, the series, concepts and characters, are the property, copyright and trademark of Pioneer Animation/Geneon (see http/hellsing. No ownership or claim on said property, copyright or trademark is made or implied by the use in this work. This work constitutes a personal comment on the aforesaid properties pursuant to doctrines of fair use and fair comment. This work is non-commercial, not for sale or profit, and may not be sold or reproduced for commercial purposes.