Vash watched the activities of the locals going from store to store, the seemingly constant chatting with shop owners, and drunks coming and going into the saloons every market had, filling most of the scene before him. After a sleepless night speaking and arguing with Alucard, he had come to an agreement with the vampire. Again, he shuddered at the fact that he was actually agreeing with such a creature. Over and over again he played the scene when the sun began to rise and Alucard sighed from the newest request by Vash that he had to comply to in order to work with him.

"So you finally ask, you certainly thought about asking it enough," Alucard said, looking at Vash with his constant smirk. "If you must know, I was awakened by a young woman's blood. Apparently she had done something worth getting shot over. Unfortunately for them it happened where I was kept as an," Alucard paused with a laughing grin, "artifact. Her blood was pure now that I think of it, a rarity from the old planet. It seems the same goes here as well, for the past week or so I gorged on foul bloo-" Alucard stopped short, seeing anger seethe in new partners eyes.

"How many died after the T.G.C building?" Vash asked, his tone cold with anger. Alucard's smirk widened, obviously sensing hostility which had been sorely lacking in their last encounter due to either shock or bewilderment.

"Ten, a few to sate my blood lust, and the rest a group of young men who witnessed me drinking their sibling's life away and decided to challenge me. I apologize to have gone off the main question. It's in the blood, you see," Alucard answered with a chuckle at his own small joke. Vash's hands turned into tightly balled fists as he stared at the ground.

"No more death! You got that?" His voice did not shake as he stared at the 'no life king' differently now that he truly understood what it meant. Alucard sighed again, and looked as if all the fun was being sucked out of the deal somehow, making his partner more angry. "You said you drank," he paused, as if trying to convince himself that he had really heard Alucard say "blood,right?" Alucard nodded, red eyes fixed on him with awesome intensity.

"Please don't tell me I can't drink either," Alucard said, sarcastically, though he didn't bother to hide the annoyance as he said it.

"I realize that you must eat, er, drink, whatever you like to call it, but don't." Vash paused, the images of the dead from two weeks ago making another appearance in his head as he looked the vampire in the eyes again, "Don't do it to anyone but me. O.K? Don't make me one too – you said that could happen, right? I don't want to be like you," he finally finished. The response was a huff.

"Do you understand what it is like to be bitten even once? To be drained everyday, or even once a week would be more than enough to drive someone insane from the fear of it happening again. Even when I-" he stopped, obviously remembering something important to him. His smirk shrunk to a frown and he shook his head slightly, as if to get better control of the memory. "I can make it so that you do not recall it ever happened, if you'd like. The only time when it is without pain is when one is experiencing intense pain already, or I am under the control of the Hellsing family. As for changing you – a large 'if.'" Hunger flashed in his eyes rather than care. Vash nodded, though appalled at the 'if' Alucard added. He stiffened, wondering when 'meal time' was.

"No Vash, I already had my fill before coming," the vampire said with a smirk. He then sighed and continued where he left off before listing (what he considered an unnecessary) listing of new rules for him to abide by. "Once they saw that I had risen from my casket, they stated I was a monster and decided it would be intelligent to shoot me. So to satisfy my hunger and practice self defense when being shot at as a weaponless corpse, I massacred them," his smirk widened as Vash looked to the ground to avoid eye contact yet again.

Millie's familiar form appeared behind Alucard, walking away from the bakery he had purchased donuts from yesterday. Suddenly he realized his hand had become a tight fist. How much he wanted to make him apologize, or stop...being so much like his brother.

And Alucard was gone again, seemingly as the first ray of sun touched gound... Did sunlight harm him? Appropriate, wierdly.

"Mr. Vash!" she called, smiling.

"Hi Millie!" He responded, his goofy grin already masking the seriousness held previously. He sniffed the air, eyes glittering in the new dawn as he eyed the box cradled in her hands. "Are," he stopped moving closer to the box with a plotting look in his emerald eyes, "are those donuts!?" He pawed enthusiastically. Millie nodded, sitting down on the bench with him.

"Maryl's been worried about ya, ! 'Cause she noticed you were really serious looking this morning -even more serious than the past few weeks even- and you've been sitting here for two days! So I brought you some donuts to cheer you up to cheer Maryl up!" She rained happiness over Vash with her innocent smile. Already busy chewing, he nodded, inwardly concerned that he had failed to keep up his normal characteristics since he had met Alucard.

"Where is Maryl?" Vash asked as Millie stared at something that had caught her interest briefly. Reiterating himself broke concentration.

"huh? Oh! Maryl's in the bar. Her shift'll be over in an hour, I think. Hey! Where are ya going, Mr. Vash?" She asked as he got up and began walking out of the market to the bar just outside of it, towards the cities North end.

"To have a drink and meet some ladies!" Came the dutiful response, his right hand make a peace sign. Yet another group of pedestrians passed him giggling. Millie called after him: "Have fun!"

-!-!-!-

"I would like the cheapest alcoholic drink you have, please!" Vash told the bartender, sitting as close as possible to a young, curvey, female. Tight shirt, gorgeous hair and eyes, stylish skirt- "Hi! What's your name beautiful?" The gaze was set on automatic cool-person attitude.

"Me? I'm Mrs. Brittany Spears, nice to meet you?" She said, emphasizing the 'Mrs.'

"I'm Ericks Longbottom Aluwishous Doughnuthaven Love N' Peace the thir- wait, 'Mrs.'? As in, married, 'Mrs'?" His cool attitude shrunk as he felt an all too familiar pain hit him on the head. The woman laughed, sipping her water as Maryl hit him a few more times on the head before beginning her lectures.

"Vash! Stop annoying the customers! Honestly, what will I do with you? You're like a big baby or something, one that drinks and leeches off me and Millie's paycheck! I have only so much kind and forgiving nature to give, you know!" The insurance girl pulled up a chair to finish her lecture.

"If that's 'forgiving and kind' then I don't want to know what 'unforgiving and unkind' is lik-" Another hit to the head greeted his whining as Maryl shut him up with tray number two. She sighed. 'Boss wasn't going to like that.

"Stop complaining! Listen to what you deserve, leech!" She ordered. He straightened his back and leaned on the chair towards her in fake attention, letting the saloon smell of alcohol calm his nerves for the delicate dance he attempted with her. It lasted two minutes before he started hitting on yet another girl in the bar who had sat down. What are the chances I get two married woman? He wondered as Maryl's wrath came down upon him yet again.

"Okay, okay! I surrender, but know this: I will not be here to leech off of you for a few weeks or so!" He said, attempting to sound fake when he was really serious to Maryl. She stopped her lecture and stared at him suspiciously.

"Why? Where are you going?" She asked.

"I," Vash stumbled for words as he realized he hadn't planned his excuse past "I", "...have to go because," another pause, "I need a vacation from," this time an even longer pause, "you?" He finished trying to sound like he meant it.

"Us? What do you mean from us! Fine then, you can go where ever the hell you want! But you have to come back in a few weeks or else Millie and me will be on your tail!" She warned, a death glare coming at him like laser beams as she stormed out of the bar.

"Eh, young man?" A feeble old man asked behind the counter.

"Yeah?" Vash asked, still a little out of sorts from the Maryl encounter.

"She wasn't done with her shift, could you bring her back?" Vash looked at him stupefied.

"Sure, but can someone come with me? I favor life," he said, half joking.

-!-!-!-

The wind had picked up slightly as Vash picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder, walking back to the market. After the argument with Maryl that morning he had gone to sleep since it didn't seem Alucard would willingly travel when the desert suns were out, not to mention that he would need the rest.

"Do you have any idea where a technologically advanced base could be located yet?" Alucard's voice cut through the desert crickets as he laid a large black rectangular box next to him. No it wasn't a box, it was a coffin!

"What's with the coffin?" Alucard carried it so easily! "Also,stop talking like that!"

"This coffin is almost as old as I am, it was made for my body when I first died, and it shall stay with my body when it finally makes peace. What is wrong with how I speak?" Alucard asked, casually.

"You talk so…so perfectly.It's getting creepier every time you open your mouth and a new word I've never heard of comes out, and then there's that really weird accent you have," Vash complained as they began to walk.

"My accent is that of a country which used to exist on Earth, I will not have you speak lowly of it," Alucard said, focused on the cool blue of the nights moons. "This planet has two," he commented quietly, a smile breaking. Vash shrugged.

"Yeah, so? Didn't Earth have two?"

"It had one." Alucard said, his voice completely emotionless as he stood for a brief moment staring.

"Oh yeah! Your question. I know a place where you can find enough stuff from when humans landed that would make a T.G.C center give you all the money they have for it," Vash said, though no real emotion showed in his voice. I can't talk to this guy like everyone else, why? Is it because of what he did at T.G.C? Yeah, that's definitely part of it. Then the other part must be that no one told him to do it. All the other people I've faced had a reason for what they were doing- something to forgive them by for what they had done –this man…he couldn't have needed that many people to stop his hunger, would he? They walked in the direction of the moon until just before dawn.

The second light hinted a 'good morning' Alucard began to defy physics with his walking speed. A small town still lay three miles ahead, but in the ten minutes that passed the two had made the distance. Alarmed, Vash had tried to keep up, but only barely. Being broke, he hadn't planned on staying in a hotel but sleeping on a bench, but then he realized that his new traveling companion didn't seem the type to sleep on the ground. Too fancy.

"Eh, Alucard?" Vash asked sheepishly.

"Yes?"

"I don't have any money…" Vash said, grinning. Alucard stared at him.

"Hotels exist on this planet, correct?" He asked, and Vash nodded. "Then direct me to the nearest hotel and we shall get a room," He said with a chuckle.

"No, Alucard, you don't get it. I don't have any money!" Vash said covering his face with his hand as if trying to rid himself of a headache.

"Direct me to the nearest hotel," Alucard persisted, annoyance seeping into his words. Vash gave up, and within a few minutes they had entered a hotel. He could only smile to the cashier, expecting to be kicked out for having no money when his new pal stepped up and commenced a staring contest.

"We would like a room, please," he requested pleasantly.

"That will be forty double dollars please," The woman behind the counter said just as pleasantly.

"We have no money," Alucard stated bluntly. Vash was already turning towards the door. "We would like a room, please," he said again. The girls eyes widened and she nodded.

"Thank you for coming, please enjoy your stay," the woman said, handing the room key to Alucard with a glazed look.

"Won the contest," He said to Vash, hefting his coffin over his shoulder with a haughty snort.

"Win some you lose some... Is she okay?"

The vampire ignored him.

Writers rant:

Well there's chapter three, just so you know this story isnt meant to be one of those never ending things…there's…actually… ..! Gasps are heard in the audience….also I kind of figured everyone would assume Vash was pissed at Alucard but to verify it I made this chapter slightly longer…all this stuff I force you to read is so you understand the final chapter which ties everything in and answers the question of what Alucard did that made his former master say he "betrayed the one he promised to obey" or something like that….once again I will tell you all that I am very busy due to exams and such and will not be able to write much at a quick pace….the only reason this came out so soon is because I kind of erm….took a day off from school though I think you'd call that skipping…but is it skipping when your mom agreed to it?

ANYWAY:

Alucard: what do you mean my accent is creepy?

Vash: it is!

Alucard: dramatically sharp intake of breath and:The big blue bird from Saint Maries left a big white tur-

Vash: SHUSH! THIS IS FOR TEENS! WE DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOU SAYING STUFF THAT RESEMBLES A QUOTE FROM A BORING SCHOOL BOOK!

Alucard: (maniacal laughing ) (attempts to shoot humanoid plant playfull but accidently shoots him in the leg…. this be foreshadowing? …..maybe…)

Vash: WHAT WAS THAT FOR!

Alucard:(millionth smirk of day) boredom…also don't forget you said I couldn't eat any body…I am hungry…

Vash:Silence…erm…CRAP! So …how do you get their blood anyway? Do you just make a cut or something on their arm and lick it?Shudders…how grose…

Alucard:smirk that says : HA HA, you have no idea…you'll see (maniacal laugh here ~*~ )