Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Hellsing and make no money from these writings.

Like the Dawn

Chapter Three

It had taken some time to get everything settled and arranged, but Kagome was finally packed, passport and visa in hand, and stepping onto the plane that would take her to London. The flight would take about twelve and a half hours, give or take, so she was well prepared to kill time. An mp3 player filled with music, a couple of books, and a puzzle book were tucked into her carry-on, but Kagome was pretty sure that she would try to sleep most of the way.

Kagome was nervous but tried not to let her voice shake as she asked for help finding her seat. The flight attendant smiled before checking her ticket and pointing out where she would sit for the next twelve hours. Kagome's eyes widened and her face flushed a little as she moved towards her seat. Integra had apparently booked her a seat in First Class. Looking around a little, Kagome noticed that most of the other passengers in that section of the plane were businessmen in nice suits, and she felt very underdressed since she'd opted for a pair of comfy jeans, a t-shirt, and a cardigan.

Sinking into her window seat - a single seat, she noticed, so there wouldn't be anyone sitting beside her - Kagome tried to ignore some of the stares that she was getting. She knew she stuck out as a young and very casually dressed young woman sitting with mostly men and a few women who were all dressed much more smartly than herself. They really didn't have to make her feel more out of place than she already did.

With a few deep breaths, Kagome turned to look out her window. She watched as men worked to load all of the checked luggage and tried to spot her bags. The pink polkadot bags weren't hard to spot when they came up, and she was pleased to see that they were handled with care. There were many other people working around the plane and she wondered what all of their jobs were.

It was Kagome's first time on a plane, and while she wasn't necessarily nervous, she didn't really know what to expect. Her mother had given her some of the basics like keep her electronics off until they were in the air and were told that they could be turned on and that she should expect her ears to pop and trying to yawn would help with that. But otherwise, she was in the dark. She was fiddling with the sleeve hem of her cardigan when a gentle hand touched her shoulder causing her to jump a little.

"I'm sorry," the flight attendant who had helped her earlier apologized with a kind smile. "You seem a little nervous. Is this your first time flying?"

"Yeah," Kagome answered with an awkward laugh. She pushed her hair behind her ears in a nervous gesture. "Is it that obvious?"

The attendant shook her head and smiled. "Not really, you can just tell after working in this job for a while. Can I get you anything? Something to drink?"

"Water, please?" Kagome requested.

"Sure, I'll be right back." With that the attendant disappeared for a moment before returning with a small bottle of water. "Is there anything else?"

"No, thank you," Kagome smiled gratefully.

"Well don't be afraid to flag me down if anything comes up, okay?"

Kagome nodded before quickly glancing at the woman's name tag on the front of her uniform. 'Natsumi,' she thought trying to commit it to memory. Breaking the seal on her water and taking a small sip, Kagome tried to get a little more comfortable in her plush seat. She pulled out one of her books and flipped to the first page. The book was written in English, and she saw it as a good opportunity to brush up. She was used to speaking English more than reading it. When she'd decided to stay at the shrine after her return, she'd started studying English again. She always got good grades in the subject while she was at school, but she wanted to be fluent for the occasional English-speaking tourist that the shrine would get. And she'd done just that. Though she knew that had an accent and some pronunciations still threw her from time to time, her English was almost perfect.

Eventually, after several announcements and safety and evacuation instructions, the plane was in the air. As soon as they were told that they could turn their electronics back on, Kagome dug out her mp3 player and put on her headphones. Laying her book in her lap, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. There was no turning back now. She was going to London, and she was going to meet the woman who contributed to half of her DNA. With any luck, she would sleep through most of the flight so that she couldn't think about how nervous she really was.

Integra checked her watch and saw that Kagome's plane would be landing soon if it wasn't already on the ground. For weeks she'd been going around in circles about how to treat Kagome when she arrived. Kagome was an adult, but whenever Integra thought about her, she could only see the little girl in the photo she kept hidden in her desk. Should she be soft or firm in her tone? She didn't think that she could rightfully call herself Kagome's mother because she'd had absolutely no hand in rearing her. But at the same time, she couldn't think of Kagome as an acquaintance or business partner either. They were blood. They were family in a very broad sense.

That was another thing that gave Integra pause. She had family. How long had it been since she could say that?

"You're distracted," a deep voice spoke behind her.

Damn. She hadn't even noticed Alucard there. This ability of omnipresence that he'd gained due to Schrodinger was proving to get on her nerves. He'd been taking full advantage to be anywhere and everywhere that he pleased. And he seemed to relish in unnerving her troops. When confronted about it, he'd told her that they needed to get used to the presence of powerful vampires because there was no telling when one might start causing trouble or attack. She had agreed with him in theory, but she still thought that he popped in on the newer recruits because he was sadistic.

"I'm a very busy woman, and I have many things on my mind," Integra finally told him. She turned away from watching her men go through their hand-to-hand training and made her way back towards her office.

Alucard followed smoothly as he hummed low in his throat. "But you seem particularly distracted today."

Integra wanted to sigh but refused to do so in Alucard's presence. She hadn't told him about Kagome or that she would be arriving that afternoon. Of course she had intended to tell him that he would have a master after she was gone, but Kagome had still been a baby when Alucard disappeared. And even now, she couldn't be sure that Kagome would want to stay and claim her inheritance. Rena had informed her of Kagome's reservations about coming to London, and Integra knew that it would be Kagome's decision on whether or not to stay. If she forced the issue or demanded that Kagome stay, there would be no telling what she could do after taking over the organization. Spite and anger could be dangerous things. So, while she would do her best to convince Kagome to stay, it would ultimately be up to Kagome.

"I have a guest arriving this afternoon who will be staying with us for a time," Integra announced.

Alucard actually laughed at that. "You don't keep guests. Have thirty years changed you that much?"

Reaching her office doors, Integra pushed them open and stepped into the large room. She saw Seras at the desk taking care of some update that her computer had required. Opting to ignore Alucard's mostly rhetorical question, Integra addressed Seras instead. "Have you already taken care of the computer?"

"Yes, Sir," Seras replied happily as she stood from the desk chair. "Everything is completely up to date!"

"Good work," Integra complimented as she took her seat behind her desk. She turned to look at the two vampires that served under her and decided that it was as good a time as any to inform them of their impending guest. "There is something that the two of you should be made aware of," she began before pointedly making eye contact with Alucard. "It's about my guest that will be arriving soon."

"A guest?" Seras questioned in surprise. How had she not heard about this before now?

"Yes," Integra confirmed with a nod. "She should be arriving within the next couple of hours. This woman will be staying with us while she learns about the Hellsing Organization and what we do."

"An outsider? Who is she?" Seras asked as she looked between her boss and her master. Alucard's face was unreadable, but she got the feeling that he didn't know anymore about this than she did.

Elbows on the arms of her chair, Integra leaned back in her chair and laced her fingers together in front of her. "Depending on her decision, she may very well be my successor as head of the Hellsing family. If I'm to have a successor at all, my daughter is the only choice."

Seras's mouth dropped open as she stared at Integra. A few squeaks escape her in failed attempts to speak before she quickly turned to look at Alucard. One hand gestured wildly towards Integra as her shadow arm spiked and flared with her emotions.

Seeing as his underling was apparently struck speechless, Alucard looked at Integra over the rims of his glasses and simply asked, "When?"

"When?" Seras finally squeaked out in an incredulous tone. "What about how and where and why?"

Integra closed her eyes and prayed for patience. Seras had become dear to her over the years, but she was still almost like a child in many ways. "As for the when and where, it was during my last trip to Japan before London was attacked. For the how and the why, an old friend and his wife acted as surrogates since I had neither the time nor stability to raise a child. I knew that I would need an heir one day, and they agreed to raise her in a stable home until I claimed her."

"But...why now?" Seras asked in confusion. "If it was before London, she must be in her thirties by now. Wouldn't you usually train an heir when they're younger?"

"Usually, yes. But my chief concern was who would inherit Alucard's contract when I'm gone. He disappeared when she was just a baby, and I saw no need to pull her from the only family she knew to bring her into this life. Now that Alucard is back, I'm going back to my original plan," Integra explained. She watched Alucard's face for any reaction. He could be unpredictable at times, but he enjoyed testing people. His respect was a difficult thing to earn, but it would go a long way in Kagome becoming his new master. Their chemistry during their first meeting would be something of a make-or-break moment.

A slight unease began to bubble up in Integra's chest when Alucard's only reaction was a small, fanged smirk. For Kagome's sake, as well as the future of the Hellsing family and organization, Integra hoped that nerve was more nature than nurture and that Kagome had inherited more than just her eyes.