Chapter 4

Chaos

Alucard sensed the sunrise outside of Hagi's hotel room and stirred. He'd covered them both up before surrendering to sleep with his new lover held tightly in his arms. They rested on their sides, Hagi in front of Alucard. The elder vampires arm was wrapped around his lover and their legs were entwined. He didn't want to leave without first waking Hagi and letting him know, not after the emotional confessions and obvious fears his lover had expressed to him last night. The elder vampire gently shook Hagi's shoulder and leaned over him to brush a soft kiss across his lips. He watched as the young vampire's eyes slowly fluttered open.

Hagi woke to Alucard's gentle kiss and the warmth of his body surrounding him. He'd slept so peacefully in his arms, for once his dreams weren't full of trepidation and foreboding. He focused on his lover's eyes and reached his head up to kiss him softly. Alucard pulled away after their lips touched briefly, it was obvious he wanted to say something.

"Hagi, my love, I must leave," he stated softly. He gave his young lover some room, waited for his reaction, and was not surprised when Hagi's eyes filled with tears. Alucard pulled him close and tried to comfort him as best he could with the short time he had left. "Don't worry, I'll be back, I promise. I'd never just leave you and not come back," he declared firmly. He was finding it increasingly difficult to depart; now he knew how much it upset his lover.

"Can't you stay a little longer? I need you," Hagi responded. The embrace was bittersweet, it felt so good to him but he knew it wouldn't last nearly as long as he'd like it to. Would it ever last long enough, he wondered? But, at least he'd found his voice and was becoming increasingly adept at requesting what he needed.

Alucard drew him in even closer, "I would like nothing more than to stay with you and never return to the Hellsing castle. But, my master waits for me and I must go. Hopefully someday I can stay," he whispered softly as he kissed the back of Hagi's head.

"When will you be back? Is there a way for me to contact you?" he questioned. He was soothed by Alucard's assurances but he still wanted to know details.

Alucard winced, he hoped he'd be back tonight, but he didn't want to commit in case something should hold him up. "Hagi, I…I will try as best I can to come back to you tonight, I will send a message if I can't. No, you can't contact me, it could be dangerous, do you understand?" he spoke as tenderly as he could. He could see the understanding develop in his lover's eyes and he finally felt like it would be all right for him to be on his way. "Will you be okay if I leave now?" he asked just before he laid a tender kiss on his lover's cheek.

Hagi forced any remaining pain and dread at being left alone again off his expression and nodded. He understood why Alucard had to leave, but it didn't eliminate all his suffering. As his nodding ceased, the warm body that had been behind him suddenly moved away and off the bed. Hagi watched as Alucard's pale skin appeared in his vision and was covered as his lover dressed himself. Then the elder vampire vanished. Hagi wasn't sure how Alucard was able to disappear that way, but he accepted it as another trait of his lover's immense power. He pulled the bedcovers up closer to his face and pushed his cheek into his pillow.

xxx

Hagi spent the day with Saya and Riku, they'd all had a day to themselves and spent it seeing the sights of the city they were staying at. They'd gotten some ice cream that afternoon and sat outside of the establishment enjoying their snack. Hagi noticed Saya eyeing him curiously. He wondered if his love for Alucard and the fact that he was no longer innocent was somehow apparent to his master.

"Hagi, I'm so glad we had some time to spend together today, aren't you?" she questioned with underlying intentions.

"Yes," he replied simply. It was then he realized how much he'd actually been avoiding her while he'd made himself available to Alucard's return.

"You seem different somehow, more silent than normal," she continued, casually as she scooped ice cream out of the small cup with a spoon and licked at it.

"Oh come on Saya, Hagi is just Hagi. He's always quiet," Riku chimed in cheerfully.

"No, I'd say something is definitely different," Saya contended off-handedly. She noticed a slight change in his expression, something only a person who'd spent over a hundred years with him would notice. "So, tell me, Hagi, where have you been? Whom have you been waiting for?" she said flippantly.

Hagi gasped, both Saya and Riku were studying him now, waiting patiently for his response. His mind worked quickly as he reviewed his whereabouts over the last week. He wondered briefly if Saya had seen him with Alucard somehow, but he knew his lover was too clever to allow something like that to happen.

"A-ha, so you have been waiting for someone, or some thing," she teased as she chuckled. "I saw you going out to that park, I heard your cello the first time but not the other two times," she continued seemingly indifferent. She didn't really think he was waiting for someone; it was just something she could say to tease him. But his reaction was interesting, it had her curiosity peaked. Could he have been waiting for someone? His silence unnerved her; she wished he'd let her in, just once. She loved him like a brother, but there was always a wall between them. Half the time she couldn't remember her memories when she woke up from her longer slumbers and she'd always mused if that was what kept them from being closer. She gazed at him; he'd tilted his face forward and hid it behind his long bangs. If it weren't for his ponytail, she wondered if she could see his face at all.

Hagi struggled to find an explanation for his behavior, he had no idea she would have noticed his whereabouts that closely. "I…uh, sensed something in the park. I felt the need to make sure the presence was gone," he lied. He'd never felt the need to lie to Saya before; it was an alien feeling. But he didn't regret it; he'd do whatever he needed in order to keep his forbidden relationship safe. He almost smiled smugly as he thought how Saya deserved to be lied to, after all the years of loneliness he'd endured with her.

Riku finished his ice cream and abruptly stood up to discard the container in the nearest trash. The action broke through the tense moment that had developed between Hagi and Saya. "Come on, shouldn't we get back now?" he questioned as his eyes darted between his older sister and her chevalier.

xxx

Hagi paced his room, the sun had set and everyone had eaten dinner. He was alone again with only his thoughts and memories to haunt him. He thought about picking up his cello and heading back out to the park. But, what if Saya noticed him and followed him? And what if Alucard wasn't able to visit him tonight and he missed the message because he was gone? Before he'd been able to make a decision, he heard a commotion in the hallway and his door slammed open. Hagi instinctively drew his sword and stood ready. He mentally prepared for battle as he saw smoke billow in through the hallway and heard shouting from unknown persons. Before he was able to dash out the open door, the silhouette of a dark haired man in a long trench coat strode over the threshold.

"My love, I'm here for you. Come with me," Alucard spoke calmly as he held out his hand to the younger vampire.

Hagi was confused; he wasn't sure what to do. He wondered if Saya was all right, but so far he hadn't heard any cries from her for help. Maybe she'd left earlier without him knowing. He put his sword away, but he hesitated before taking Alucard's hand. "What's happening?" he questioned uneasily.

Alucard was now at Hagi's side. He wrapped a long arm around his lover, "I won't lie to you; its the Hellsing organization. But remember, you promised to let me protect you," he spoke softly as he ushered Hagi to the window. He wanted to remove the young vampire so he couldn't hear Saya's cries, so his organization could do what they had to do without his lover's intervention.

"But, why are they here? What do they want?" Hagi asked, his voice grew more panicked as he spoke and his gaze shifted from Alucard's face back to the direction of his door.

"Just come with me," Alucard replied as his hold on the younger vampire tightened.

Suddenly, Hagi quite distinctly heard Saya calling out to him. It was faint, but his preternatural hearing detected it clearly. Hagi glared at Alucard, it was obvious he heard it to. "You're organization is here to kill Saya, isn't it? It's not just Diva you want. But why?" he questioned nervously. He felt the sensation of betrayal gnawing at him, could Alucard have been using him all along? Was Hellsing using Hagi's loneliness as a tool to destroy Saya? Hagi couldn't think about it now, he'd have to sort it out later. Right now, Saya needed him. He shoved Alucard hard and broke the hold he had on him. He turned to run only to feel a hand like steel grip his arm. "Let me go! You knew about this!" he shouted furiously.

"No, Hagi, you don't understand. There was nothing I could do, my master would not hear of any alternative," Alucard pleaded as he drew Hagi close.

Hagi allowed himself to be drawn back close to Alucard, but he pushed his face directly into the elder vampire's until their noses almost touched. "You have to let me go now, or I'll never be with you again," he hissed.

Alucard immediately relaxed his grip and lowered his face as Hagi escaped out of the room and into the smoke. He was defeated, for now.

-O-

Hagi ran blindly into the smoke, he used his vampire hearing to discern the location of his master. She was no longer crying for help, but he could still hear her labored breathing. Something was very wrong. There was chaos and people running everywhere, but he managed to slip through it all quickly, almost invisibly. He turned a corner and felt his heart stop momentarily as he saw Saya on the floor, blood pouring out of a bullet wound in her head. He barely registered the blonde woman in blue police garb at the end of the hallway, the only witness to his distress.

Hagi ran to Saya and knelt down to pick her limp body up from the floor. He held her torso to him and listened for her heartbeat. He heard it although it was faint, even through all the commotion. He shook her slightly; he didn't understand why her wound was not healing. Normally, a shot to the head would put her down for a short while, but she should be able to recover. Hagi heard a familiar voice not far from him.

"It's all right, police girl. You can go, I will tend to this situation myself," Alucard spoke calmly to the blonde woman at the end of hall. She'd had her gun pointed at Hagi's head when he'd arrived, but thankfully he'd gotten there in time.

"Yes, master," she replied and sped past them down the hallway.

Hagi looked up at Alucard, he was still horribly confused at the situation. Why wasn't Saya waking up? Her heartbeat was growing fainter as the minutes ticked by. And did that woman really call Alucard her master? He shook his head as if the motion would make everything clear. He turned to Alucard, who was now watching him intently, as if waiting for something. "What's wrong with her? Why won't her wound heal?" he asked as tears started to form in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Hagi, she has been poisoned. Our bullets carry a substance that is lethal to vampires such as she. She won't suffer," he explained compassionately and bent down to lay an arm around Hagi's shoulders.

Hagi swatted Alucard's arm away and glared at him, his confusion turned to fury and frustration at his lover. He turned his attentions back to the dying female vampire lying unresponsively in his arms, "It's all my fault; I should have been here," he said softly. His emotions were all over the map, but confusion reigned supreme. When he gazed down at Saya, he wasn't sure how he felt He thought he should be sad, and he knew the tears that rolled down his cheeks now were surely for her. But at the same time, he knew he didn't love her, had never loved her. They'd just been two people propelled into a nightmare together. As he understood the situation, he realized he mourned more for the loss of his old life than for her specifically. But what kind of a life was it really? Spending long hours alone, year after year. Then his guilt kicked back in, he was guilty for letting this happen and guilty for not feeling more for her. No matter what, she was his master; she made him who he was. He owed her that much. "I'm sorry, Saya, so sorry," he said as he brought her lifeless body close to his and embraced it tightly. He felt lost and began to cry openly now, he didn't care if another poison laced bullet found him.

Alucard's heart ached as he watched Hagi's breakdown. He knew this would be a difficult thing for him and had hoped to spare him the misery of witnessing her death. He cautiously knelt down beside the distressed vampire and slowly attempted to put an arm around him again. Much to his surprise and liking, Hagi lowered Saya slightly and leaned in toward Alucard's chest. The elder vampire drew him closer and tried to wordlessly comfort his lover as Hagi rested his head against his shoulder.

Hagi let himself take solace in Alucard's embrace. But, he hadn't quite resigned himself to Saya's death; he was becoming increasingly alarmed at the notion as reality began to set in. He abruptly turned to Alucard and locked onto his eyes, "Is there and anecdote?" he questioned hastily. He searched his lover's face, hoping to see the answer before it was spoken.

Alucard was stunned by Hagi's sudden change in direction; he thought he all but had his lover to himself, finally. He caught the hope in his lover's eyes and knew if he lied and Hagi found out later about the anecdote, he might loose him. "Ah… yes… there is," he stated reluctantly.

"Then you must help her, you must get it for her," Hagi begged.

"Hagi, I…" Alucard started but was interrupted.

"Please Alucard, I can't live knowing I let this happen, please," Hagi begged further.

"But if I…" the elder vampire attempted start an argument against it, but Hagi wouldn't listen.

"If you truly love me you will do this for me," he stated firmly, his crying had stopped but the traces his tears left still glistened on his cheeks.

Alucard knew he had to do as his lover requested and he would have to find some other way to free Hagi. He just hoped there was enough time now. He nodded his reply and leaned over to pick Saya up. He felt Hagi's arms wrap around him briefly and squeeze in a grateful hug. He stood and motioned for Hagi to follow him and in an instant the trio was gone.