Chapter 17
While Akiko slept, Sir Integra, Alucard, and Seras were talking with their prisoners. Most of the Yokai had nothing to say, Alucard suggested torturing them to see if they were honest, and that was enough to make them talk. The sight of the No-Life King's smiling face had that effect on most people and monsters. Almost everyone knew nothing, except for Akira and Oyuki. Akira needed to have the rest of his arm amputated because of Oyuki's ice, it stopped the immediate bleeding, but it also gave him a nearly lethal case of frostbite and infection.
Akira was not happy with the impromptu surgery and would have killed the doctor if Alucard hadn't knocked him out with a blow to his head. He and Oyuki were now held in an unused dungeon, restrained with various seals provided by Mr. Goro. The tanuki kept a good distance from the dungeon for fear of what they would do to him should they escape. And now, Sir Integra, Alucard, and Seras were standing in front of them. Sir Integra was looking at them with her 'I'm more superior than you could ever hope to be' look on her face. It was seriously pissing the prisoners off.
"Stop looking at me, Gaijin Bitch!" Akira yelled in English. "When Nii-san releases me, I'll make you beg for the honor of sucking my cock! And after you do, I'll tear all of your limbs off and throw you into a pit of the horniest Ox-demons I can find. Every day, for a year! By the time they're through with you, you will beg for me to tear your heart out through your anus!" Sir Integra was not intimidated, and she said, "Is that all? You sound like an amateur troll from some internet forum." Integra looked him in the eyes and said, "I've had my life and honor threatened by creatures far more intimidating than you, little fox."
Oyuki growled at her and said, "If it weren't for these seals, you one-eyed wrinkled up bitch, you would be dead!" Sir Integra responded by lighting a cigar, and blew smoke at the yuki-onna, "True, however, I am still out here, you are still in there, and I am the one here who will get to have a nice meal in an hour. You can have some of our finest bread and water for dinner." With that, Integra turned around and left the room, to the angry and impotent yells from Akira and Oyuki.
As she walked down the halls, she turned to Seras, "How many of them are accounted for?" Seras took a second before saying, "Three-hundred and sixty, two-hundred and forty-seven of which were killed at the club, the rest captured. Aki Itto and Sakki Itto remain at large." Integra nodded, "That's a third of what they hoped to have. What about negotiations, do any of them seem like they could be trusted not to attack humans?" Seras scratched her head, "That's hard to say, Integra. The Yokai legends are at times contradictory. Take that woman, Oyuki, a yuki-onna, a snow woman.
"In some legends the yuki-onna seduces men in snowstorms so that they will strip naked and freeze to death, in others she will guide weary people out of danger, and in still others they have babies with them. If you carry the baby for them then you will be led to safety, if you fail then you will be frozen to death immediately. According to legends, the baby's weight increases every second you hold it. Or take kitsune for example, they can be good or evil depending on how you treat them. It is very complicated, and some of them are straight up man-eaters as well," Seras explained. Studying about yokai with Akiko was really helping.
Integra nodded, "Very well. Alucard, make sure that our defenses are fully prepared. The enemy may be desperate enough to try for an all-out assault now. We've defeated them each time we've faced them, but that doesn't mean we should let ourselves grow complacent." Alucard bowed and disappeared into the shadows. Integra and Seras went to Integra's office and Integra sat down behind her desk, while Seras got coffee started for the old Head of Hellsing.
Her phone rang then, and she answered, "This is Hellsing." ON the other end, the Prime Minister said, "Hellsing, you have been slacking off on your job." Sir Integra blinked at that and said, "Sir, what do you mean by this? We have been working harder than ever on a new case the likes of which we have never faced before. These creatures, this Yokai-gumi is now more desperate than ever, and desperate creatures can be unpredictable. We have been working harder than we have in years to head off a catastrophe that would overshadow the Millennium Incident!"
"You have been slacking in your main mission, Hellsing. I am emailing a list of vampire attacks that have occurred while you've been chasing goblins. Send your vampires to deal with these vampires, or I will consider looking for a new Head of Hellsing," the Prime Minister said. Sir Integra looked at the list and was confused. She had not been slacking, she had been paying close attention to vampire attacks, they had gone underground. Then where did this information come from that the Prime Minister was sending? She opened her mind and called to Seras telepathically, Seras, can kitsune possess humans? Seras gasped and said, "Yes. Oh God…" She then telepathically told Sir Integra, Kitsune can't say the phrase 'moshi moshi'. Japanese people always answer the phone with it to prove they aren't kitsune or possessed.
Integra nodded as she felt a fire go through her veins. "Moshi moshi," she said. The Prime Minister stopped and said. "Moshi moshi," Sir Integra repeated. "What gibberish is this?" the Prime Minister asked. "It's Japanese," Sir Integra said, "Something that they say in Japan to make sure that one is a human and not a fox spirit. We've been battling fox spirits, and I must say, we've been winning so far. It seems strange that when we need them most, Seras and Alucard are being sent elsewhere. Would you mind proving that you're not a fox spirit? Just repeat the phrase, 'moshi moshi'. If you do that, then I'll send Alucard and Seras out."
The Prime Minister sputtered, "What is this, Hellsing!? Are you playing me for a fool!?" Sir Integra replied, "I would never do that, sir. I just want you to reassure me that all is well. Say 'moshi moshi' just as I said it, and I'll follow your orders to the letter." The Prime Minister growled and said, "Mashi mashi!" Sir Integra smirked, "Nice try, kitsune. Your brother and his girlfriend are sealed within my dungeons now. They're mostly unharmed, except that your brother won't be swinging a spear too well with one arm now." The Prime Minister growled higher, like a rabid fox in fact, and a woman's voice, Sakki Itto's, said through the phone, "We will burn your island into the ground!"
Sir Integra's voice was like ice, "If any civilian dies at you or your people's hands, claws, teeth, nails, or any other weapon or appendages, I will make them and all my prisoners suffer in the worst ways humanity has ever used! We have one-hundred and thirteen of your people here as well, and we will reveal them to the world if you harm a single innocent human being! This fight is between us, and only us. Do you understand, mongrel?"
Sakki Itto's screams were so loud Sir Integra was tempted to hold her phone away from her ear, but she resisted temptation, she had a plan now. When the kitsune stopped screaming, Integra laughed, "If there's one thing I've learned about you supposedly immortal creatures, it's that you're all nothing but spoiled children that refuse to grow up." The phone was hung up, and Sir Integra looked at Seras, "Prepare for battle."