Hey guys! Sorry for the big waiting time. Kinda been busy.
"Well? I'm waiting for the explanation."
His eyes shifted to over my shoulder before focusing back onto me. I wanted to break eye contact, but that would mean I am accepting him as a superior. So against my discomfort, I did not remove my eyes as I spoke. The red-violet irises swirled like wine in a crystal glass, disrupted by the soft breathing coming from him. My throat felt oddly dry.
"I... Sir, I..."
"You were what?" Her voice dug in-between my shoulder blades, and a pang of guilt buried itself there like a bullet.
I spoke again, "I... Couldn't do it." The wine danced in the glass, almost as if it was intrigued by my answer.
"What?"
"...I couldn't kill him." I dropped my gaze to the floor as Integra stepped forward, moving into my line of sight. I kept my eyes cast towards her fingertips, focusing on the immaculately clean gloves.
Her voice cut through the air like glass, "And what am I supposed to do with a dog that does not obey simple commands?"
Part of me was tempted to challenge her with the fact she never told me to specifically kill him, but to just return to her alive, but I pulled my lips thin, allowing my eyes to slowly drift towards the polished combat boots of the man standing near her desk.
"I am sorry sir." I said, eyes tracing the laces through the loops. I continued, "This is my fault. I accept and await my punishment for such disobedience, sir."
Integra's footsteps were sharp as she moved closer, my head tilting lower and lower until all I could see were my own boots. "What sort of punishment could I inflict... Perhaps, making you put him down right here, and proceeding to clean the room?" The familiar sheen of metal entered my vision as I looked down at her handgun.
I did not dare breathe, much less move.
"Take the gun." Her command was clear, and my hand moved towards it slowly, as if approaching a dangerous animal. My fingers brushed against the cold, metal barrel, gripping around it. I tossed it up and snatched it by the grip, aiming quickly; sights placed right between the maroon pair of eyes. He made no move. His body did not even show any thought had crossed his mind to move.
Did he really... Want to die.. So badly?
My heart felt like lead in my chest as I took a deep breath. My arm was steady, but my mind was anything but. Integra stood next to me, a face of disinterest as she puffed at her cigar. My thumb slowly pulled the hammer back, my ears listening intently to the click if only to find something other than the soldier to focus on.
My index finger slowly stroked the trigger as I tried to find the part of me that could pull it.
"Shoot."
I stared deeply into the wardog's eyes now, noting how utterly calm he seemed. Like he expected this. I wondered if his life was really that devoid that he felt no reason to move on.
I guess I shouldn't be one to talk...
Before Hellsing, I really had nothing. No home. No family. I was alone for years on end, hiding from everything. If not for the incident with the vampire in Northern England thirty years ago, I wouldn't have even ended up here.
But... I wish you peace after all the war you've seen.
I pulled.
Click.
His eyes opened a bit wider, his jaw muscle tightening for a fraction of a second. Dumbfounded, I popped the cylinder. I found myself peering deep into the empty chambers, looking for answers. I turned to Integra, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as her lips twitched into a smirk.
"Sir?.."
She grabbed the handgun from me, saying, "I had no intention of punishing you in such a way. This was more of a test to your loyalty."
The smoke danced off her cigar as her eyes rested on him. Turning her body, she spoke up. "Millenium dog, why did you come?"
His eyes seemed to narrow slightly at her name for him, but he made no move to answer. His eyes moved back towards me for a moment before resting on her.
Integra's eyebrow raised a fraction. "You came for her? For what reason..?"
His hand reached into his pocket, and I bristled in caution. He seemed to notice, but fished something out, holding it in-between his fingers. My eyes widened and I adverted my gaze. Never have I felt so much guilt. Images of his fingers digging into his own chest flashed through my mind, and I gulped.
"What is that? A silver crown?" Integra stepped slightly closer, eyes squinting. I looked back at him. He was staring at me, eyes sharp as he gave a curt nod. I spoke up, voice quiet, "I... Buried it deep into his chest and left him to die..."
Integra looked back at me, a small amount of astonishment on her face. But moments after, she was focused back on him. "You... Want revenge?"
His head shook.
"You want... Closure." She stated, and he turned towards me. Slowly, he moved closer, making even strides my way. He stopped two and half feet from me, holding out the silver. I slowly held my hand out, and he dropped it into my palm. I looked down at the small silver piece, now spotted with black stains from blood.
I closed my hand around it, eyes drifting up his coat, tracing the lines of his jaw to his sharp cheeks and wine-red eyes. I stood still, just... Looking. Finally, my lips moved unintentionally.
"Are you sure this is what you want?" My voice sounded small and far away.
His eyes searched mine, reading them as if they were printed words on a page. I felt trapped in his gaze, unable to look away. I don't know how long we stood there before Integra interjected, "It's not what I want though."
He ripped his eyes from mine, turning to look over his shoulder at Integra. I looked over too, wondering if I wanted to thank her for her somewhat rescue of me.
"Sir?"
She strode over to her desk, sitting down calmly. We both moved to face her. My eyes shot to the wolf next to me, who was intently watching Integra was an almost curious glint to his eye. I looked back to her.
"You mentioned punishment earlier, yes?" She said casually, shuffling papers on her desk as she picked up her pen and set her cigar down in the ashtray. "Yessir." I replied, feeling very anxious.
"Then, he is your punishment."
What?
"Uh, sir, I don't think I understand-" I started to speak, but she silenced me with the raise of her hand, her fingers twirling the pen between them to dismiss my argument. "Dog, approach."
I looked over at him as he stepped forward. She looked him up and down critically. "Do you owe any loyalty to Millenium or its ideology?"
His jaw muscles tightened again as he shook his head, and I could almost feel anger surrounding his thoughts on the group he once worked for.
"Hm. How do I know that you won't cause trouble?" She asked, elbows leaning on her desk as she sharply stared at him.
He looked towards my hand, still tightly clenching the silver. He looked back to her. Her face seemed to relax slightly, content with his answer. She glanced at me.
"Can I trust that you will see it through should the need arise?"
He looked over his shoulder at me, and I sucked in quickly. "Of course, sir." He kept his gaze locked onto mine for a few more moments before blinking slowly and returning his attention to Integra.
"Good. Because as I said, he is your punishment. You are in charge of anything dealing with him. As a superior and as a warden." She paused as she looked at him. "You are, as of right now, a Hellsing soldier with special restrictions. Any misdemeanors or neglection of rules and restrictions will result in punishment, varying in severity depending on the severity of your break in the rules. Your superior will be in charge of inflicting punishment. Understood?"
He nodded abruptly. She smirked. "Then, I welcome you to the Hellsing Organization. I shall have tags for you prepared within the week. You will be under constant surveillance by your warden for the first three months, depending on behavior. Welcome to Hellsing, dog."
She looked over to me, and I bowed, saluting. "Follow me." I ordered, walking out of the room. I listened to his even footsteps as I led him down the hall and towards the living quarters.
God give me strength.
I sighed softly, turning to look at him over my shoulder. He stared back at me, face passive. Spinning around to face him, I clenched a little tighter to the silver in my hand as I approached a door. "This is my room. You will have to stay here until you are issued your own room." I pointed to the door across from mine. "That is Seras' room." He just continued to stare directly at me, not even acknowledging I was talking. I pulled my lips into a thin smile. "The doors we passed on our way are staff and other soldiers. The door at the end of the hallway is Alucard's."
His eyes flashed briefly, and shot upwards. I could see his jaw muscles working again. He was intently staring down the door, as if waiting for the Count to waltz his way down the hall. I sighed.
"If you're looking to pick a fight, don't worry... He's not returned yet..." I looked over my shoulder at it. A feeling of emptiness crossed through me before I looked back at the wolf. His narrowed eyes moved back towards me. For a few seconds to long to be comfortable, we just stared at each other. He broke the contact, turning and entering my room. I sighed deeply. My heart was oddly loud to my head. I ignored it as I followed him in.
Shutting the door behind me, I kicked my boots off. He looked down at the before back up at me with what could almost be a questioning glance.
"What?"
He looked away, examining the room. I peered around it. It seemed very unused. A small sofa, a bureau and closet, a desk and couple chairs, a queen-sized bed, and a door leading to the bathroom. Since my room was also in the lower floors of the mansion, I did not have windows. The room was adequately lit though.
I looked over at him, and his eyes seemed to be frozen over the bed. I blinked, looking over. Is he...Worried about sleeping arrangements?
I felt warm in the face as the thought of sleeping in the same bed as him came to mind. I made sure to keep my mind locked from any possible prying others. My eyes drifted over to him again, and I tentatively tested a breach in his mind, but he had it shut like a trap. I looked at his dirt and blood-stained coat.
"Do you need a shower? I can get your uniform to the washroom and find something for you to wear."
He looked over at me, not answering. I peered at the matted silver hair peeking out from under his hat. I sighed. "Follow me."
I walked into the bathroom, turning on the shower. "So, you need to pull the handle, and then turn left for hot, right for cold. If you like hot showers, try to keep them under an hour and a half long. The pipes don't bring hot water down here as well as the upstairs."
I turned on the shower, and looked back at him.
"Towels are behind you." He didn't respond, like usual. I watched his hands slowly unbutton his coat. "HEY, wait until I leave! Jesus..." I felt my face get warm again, and I pushed past and shut the door quickly.
I sighed, leaning back on the door. "What am I supposed to do..." I muttered, rubbing my face tiredly. It wasn't late evening but it was pretty close to sunset. I pushed off the door, picking up the phone for staff.
"Hel..lo?"
"Hey, Seras, can you do something for me?"
The draculina yawned. "Katya, is that you? Sorry, I was napping... What do you need?"
I paused, looking over at the door, listening to the shower running. "Do you still have those pajama pants you meant to give to Alucard?"
"Huh?.. Yeah..." She sounded dejected. She bought Alucard a pair of pajamas, but he refused to wear such 'idiotic' clothing. They were simple red pajamas, but then again, Alucard doesn't seem the type to wear pajamas.
"Can I have them?"
"Why would you want them? They're so long in the legs." She said with obvious confusion.
"Uh... Well... I'll explain when you get here. Just bring them over."
"Why don't you walk your lazy butt over and come get them?"
I sighed, answering, "I'm sort of busy, please just do this for me."
"Wait-"
I hung up, hoping she'd come over quickly. I plopped down on the sofa, listening intently to the shower. I could tell when he moved, because the sound of the water hitting the bathtub changed. An image of him standing in the shower came to mind. His darkly tanned skin glistening, hair flattened. His strong, masculine face and intense eyes looking at me indifferently.
He's kind of... Handsome.
I blushed a deep red, shaking the picture from my head as I heard a knock at the door. I jumped up and walked to the door, opening it to Seras with the red pajama bottoms. I grabbed them, unfolding them and holding them out in an attempt to size them to my guest from memory.
"Hey, mind telling me why exactly you wanted those?" She asked, eyebrow raised.
I looked over at her, replying, "Oh, well, there was this incident today and-"
Suddenly, the sound of the bathroom door opening interrupted.
Oh, no.
It felt like I was turning in slow motion as Seras leaned in, peering towards the door. The door shut quietly behind the soldier, who was now looking at us standing in the doorway. A towel hung precariously low around his waist. I looked up from the towel, following the defined lines of muscles up his chest to his face. His hands were frozen on his head, where they had been drying his hair with another black towel.
For a few seconds, no one dared to breathe. Utter silence as we stared at him and he at us.
"Kyaaahhh!" She shouted, pointing at him. Her face was red with embarrassment as she looked at me with her jaw dropped.
"Uh, uh-uhm..." I stuttered, rubbing the back of my head awkwardly as I glanced at him. He just awkwardly stood there indifferently. I sent a small look at him before finally answering, "He's uh... The one from the incident... He's part of Hellsing now! And... I'm in charge of him."
Seras' lips moved, but she made no sound, her arm still pointing at him. She seemed to notice, and quickly dropped her arm. She looked at her feet, face red.
"Keep the pajamas." She muttered softly, turning and quickly leaving the room, shutting the door loudly behind her. I sighed deeply, looking back over at him. After standing there staring for a few seconds too long again, I shouted, "What are you doing parading around in nothing but a towel?! Have you no common sense?!"
I stomped over, shoving the bottoms into his chest and pushing him back into the bathroom. "Change!" I said loudly.
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and for a moment, I thought I'd imagined it. I blinked, but before I could really make sense of it, he handed me his coat, pants, and hat, proceeding to shut the door on me.
I stared at the wooden door for a few seconds absentmindedly.
Did he... Smirk?
I looked down at his dirty clothing, and sighed.
What am I gonna do...
Thank you for reading!
Again, I'm sorry I took so long.
Hope for the next chapter to be edited quickly!