Walking down the streets of London with the ever conspicuous Malakai, Seras began to wonder . . . was he really going to kill someone? Would he really make her watch him drain some poor human of their life, knowing someday she may have to do the same?
Do not be so troubled, Victoria. It is not as bad as all that, Malakai murmured soothingly into her mind.
So hunting down and killing some poor, random person who you've never met before and who could've had a whole life head of them isn't 'as bad as all that'! She asked silently in reply.
Seras, do not question this. I did not choose this. I didn't ask to be a vampire. You did. As for the rest . . . would you prefer that I spent several nights getting to know a human and gaining their trust, only to kill them later? How would that improve anything? Trust me on this, Seras Victoria, it is nothing compared to what it could be, Malakai told her calmly.
But, it just seems . . . wrong. Like you're stealing, and anyway . . . doesn't it hurt them?
A quiet laugh escaped Malakai's lips before he replied, No, Seras, far from it. You sound like a child asking their father if it hurts fish to be hooked and eaten. It is only painful when the bite comes from an unstable or hostile vampire.
Seras reluctantly decided he was right. He didn't choose this lifestyle, and in fact, she had. He had suffered these same moral dilemmas, she was sure. Especially after hearing him talk about Trinity. So she quietly continued walking alongside him.
"Does it really bother you so, Seras?" Malakai asked suddenly.
"Yes, well, I mean, kind of. It just feels . . . like . . . it's unnecessary. I mean, isn't there another way?" Seras asked.
"Yes, but trust me, the alternative is far worse than the current reality."
Images of the "alternative" rushed through her mind and she shuddered. He was right. And she knew it was silly. It was just the way things had to be. Vampires could not help their nature, any more than humans could. She would just have to get used to it. But she didn't want to get used to it.
"I shouldn't be here anyway, Sir Integral wouldn't like it," she muttered.
"Sir Integral is suddenly your master now?" Malakai remarked mildly.
"Well, no, but I've always taken orders from her, since I became a vampire," Seras replied, "Since I joined Hellsing."
"Only with your master's consent. You serve the Hellsing Organization only because your master wills it. It was his will that you come with me tonight. Don't worry," Malakai told her, a small, amused smile lifting a corner of his mouth.
"Master?"
"Yes."
They continued walking until they reached a small but very noisy bar. Malakai grinned at her as they walked in. It wasn't small at all. It only appeared so from the outside. The throbbing beat of ridiculously loud music pounded in Seras' ears. A girl of no more than seventeen years (Seras determined her age from scent alone, as she appeared older than she actually was) sat near them. Fake ID. Seras fought a Police Girl's urge to arrest her. Or snitch on her. The girl was fairly pretty, with bright red hair, which hung to her waist, and vivid green eyes. The outfit she wore was far too skimpy for someone her age. Seras was almost disgusted that a child would wear something like that, when even she wouldn't. The girl stared at Malakai, who ignored her. Two more girls joined them over the next fifteen minutes, one about two years older than the other girl than Seras and one about a year younger. The older girl had dark brown hair and eyes and was wearing a decent dress. The younger was about the same, but her dress was pink, and a pink headband held back her hair. Malakai ignored them too.
Then, the one he had apparently been watching finally joined them. It seemed as though she was the only one actually old enough to be here. She had short black hair and blue eyes, and was wearing a red shirt with tight black jeans. The jeans had two slits cut on each hip, and chains stretched from the first belt loop on the right to the one in the back. She was very pretty. She sat directly next to Malakai, and they almost immediately engaged in conversation. They talked for a half hour, including Seras in their conversation at frequent intervals, when finally the girl seemed ready to leave. The three of them stood and left, the other girls staring with undisguised envy and even mild hatred at the black-haired girl. But things did not quite go as planned.
The minute they walked out the door and got a decent distance away from the club, a knife sliced through the air and embedded itself in the girl's chest. A freak vampire stepped out of the shadow in the alley to their right. The girl slumped to the ground, clutching at the knife. Seras knelt and tended to the girl, leaving Malakai to tend to the freak.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, you fucking Hellsing loser, I got you!" The vampire jeered.
This vampire was obviously an idiot crack-addict son-of-a-bitch, who obviously deserved to die. Seras glanced around looking for Malakai. But Malakai was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly the vampire gagged, clawing at its back, desperately trying to reach an unseen menace. It collapsed to its knees.
"Got you," Malakai said quietly.
Before the vampire's body became ash, Seras saw the hilt of a knife sticking out of the vampire's back, over where the heart would be.
The girl was obviously in pain, her breathing was heavy, and blood poured onto the pavement.
"It went through your lung," Malakai murmured as he knelt down beside her.
"Y-yeah, it d-did, I-," the girl managed to say before she was thrown into spasms of coughing.
Malakai held her, staring out into the night as though looking for another enemy. When her coughing subsided, she continued.
"Am I g-gonna die?" she asked.
"If we can't get you to a hospital, then yes, you will die," Malakai replied.
The girl shuddered.
"I-I c-can't go t-to a hospital. My m-m-om, you d-don't understand, she'll think . . . I don't wanna go to the hospital. You don't under-understand. My m-mom was raped at the-the hospital. I can't go to the hospital," the girl told him, shaking.
Seras pitied the girl. But what now? If she wouldn't go to the hospital, then what could they do? Unless . . .
"I-I am so tired of b-being afraid . . . I'd rather die than go to the hospital," the girl said with as much force as she could muster.
Malakai stroked the girl's hair. Blood that was slowly beginning to trickle out of the girl's mouth.
"I can save you from this pain. You don't have to die," Malakai told her quietly after a moment in deep thought.
"Y-you? How?"
"I'm a vampire," he said simply.
"And that guy?"
"He was an imitation of a vampire, a mere copy," was the cool reply.
The girl sighed, and immediately began coughing again.
"You could save me?"
"Yes."
"You would if I asked?"
"Yes."
The girl spoke no more, only nuzzled closer, leaning against his chest.
"I don't understand your questions," Malakai said quietly.
"I don't want you to save me. I just wanted to know if you would . . . if I asked . . . you were going to drink my blood, earlier, weren't you? That's what you brought me outside for," the girl smiled.
Malakai's mouth twitched in what would have been a smile, "Yes."
"Then why don't you? I'm gonna die anyway . . ."
Malakai stared into her eyes curiously. She nodded and tilted her head back.
"I don't mind. Go on," She murmured, closing her eyes.
He dipped his head to her neck, fangs sinking into her skin. Moments passed and soon, he pulled away, eyes showing deep remorse and sadness as he did, a small line of blood dripping from his mouth to his chin. He wiped the blood on his sleeve. The girl was limp in his arms.
And then her body crumbled into ash. Seras gasped in surprise. Malakai's eyes were dark as he stood, releasing the ash that was cradled in his arms.
"Let's go, Seras. Your master is waiting for you," he murmured.
As they walked away from that place, Seras understood just a little bit more of his pain. He didn't choose this life. But in the end . . . it was all he had. As an immortal, you could never depend on any thing.
