A limousine could be seen driving through the streets of Kuoh, passing by some cars whose drivers couldn't help but be nosy and glance towards it. The way the car was headed indicated that it belonged to a rich person, much to these ordinary people's dismay as they found themselves a bit jealous at the sight. Many of them wouldn't ever get the chance, but some still held out hope that they would get the experience of what it's like to drive in a limousine. Some wished to be rich while some took pictures of the fancy car. Fortunately, the windows had covers to block the view from seeing who was in the limousine.
Not everything was all sunshine and rainbows however, as one specific individual could attest to right now. That said individual turned out to be a grumbling Theseus who was really trying hard to keep his calm while he sat cross-legged and armed in one of the passenger seats. One could tell the male wasn't in a good mood by the way his gaze held such a sharp intensity that resembled an animal about to pounce on their prey… not like Theseus would do so, but he felt damn well close to it.
He still wore the formal outfit his superior had chosen for him, in fact the place they were going was the exact reason WHY he had to wear it in the first place.
Seated in front of him was that said superior, Meredith, who was ignoring him in favor of putting some makeup on her face. The woman had some ruby red lipstick on her lips alongside her usual outfit, as well as a bit of makeup such as eyeshadow although there was more to come by the time they would arrive at their destination. She had a small mirror to check her face. She pressed her lips together before making a smooch.
Shortly afterwards, Meredith paused in her makeup application and took a glance at Theseus before proceeding to address him. "Alright let's go over this real quick. I want to see if I got it through your thick skull of yours." she began, while resuming her makeup once she'd finished speaking.
Theseus broke his pose, rammed through his pockets before taking out a cigarette box, opened it, taking out one cigar before he lit it with a flash of fire from his fingertip. He took a deep breath before puffing out smoke. "Oh you managed to drill a hole into it alright." putting his hand on the passenger arm support while the cigar was still smoking. "We are going to see a representative of the Shinto faction with whom you made an appointment. They cannot meet us at the Hellsing manor because-"
""We/You boys will make a ruckus and mess everything up."" they both simultaneously declared in unison, the male-sounding like a drone and the woman sounding like a tired nanny.
Theseus scoffed at her while taking a small breath of the cigar before puffing out some smoke. "I still don't understand why you're even dragging me into this, isn't Arthur more suited to this type of BS? He's a much better choice than me." he queried, thinking about the blonde knight in question. Said knight was usually the more reclusive member of the party unless Meredith wanted him to do something, her being the only one among them who knew where he was at all times due to having informed him to keep her updated. As a knight, Arthur would stick by his word on that front, plus his upbringing made him the natural candidate for meetings such as these. One could say that he would make a rather competent statesman if he so wanted to delve into that field of work.
"...You're not wrong there." she eventually answered him while putting her lipstick away and taking out some eyeliner. Brushing her eyebrows while still focusing on her make-up, Meredith proceeded to explain the situation to her companion. "That was the first choice I thought about, but then I realized while this could be a bad idea it would at least teach you some common sense and learn how it is when dealing with business and deals."
"Somehow I just get the feeling you just want me to suffer more than I already am." Nonetheless, Theseus didn't completely buy that crap which was spouted from her lips, the male having narrowed his eyes at Meredith.
It didn't do much though since she kept a stoic face, completely ignoring his presence but he could just feel that she was smiling at his misery.
"Theseus."
Hearing the tone shift in how she addressed him, Theseus stiffened in response thanks to past experience telling him this was something he had to take seriously.
On the other side, Meredith closed her pocket mirror and looked at him with seriousness. She had her hands on her lap, interlocking her fingers over it. "I know how much you hate this with your entire fiber but please, can you at least show a bit of support? We've only been here for about a few months since Sir Integra has assigned our mission, I don't want to ruin it. You don't want to disappoint your master either, so can I ask you to show the representative you're not a monster in front of him or her?"
Theseus was silent for a few minutes while his cigarette was emitting smoke, not responding to Meredith's question in the meantime. He thought about her little lecture and what she was trying to say to him. Restraining the monster inside of him was something he would rather not do or refuse under normal circumstances, but hearing how she doesn't want him to disappoint his master, under no circumstances he would never show a single failure in the eyes of Alucard. If he needed to prove that he was not a disappointment to his teacher….then he needed to accept Meredith's request.
Annoyance flooded him while the male shook his head, taking a deep breath of his cigar before puffing out a big smoke around him. "If that's the case you want me to understand, then I shall comply with it." with a heavy heart and some time of thinking he will keep a leash on himself, restraining the beast inside of him. It would likely be an impossible endeavor, but he would have to try no matter how much he disliked it.
Meredith gazed at the blond-haired boy for a while before she made a small smile towards him, even when he wasn't looking at her. "Good."
"Your highness." Meredith shifted her gaze to the driver who was driving the car, turned his head to face her. "We have arrived." he told her.
Meredith looked at the window and saw a big corporation building with glass used as interiors. The whole building seemed to have been made with the intent to show off a bit of the corporation's status and money, but Meredith didn't pay that much attention. After all, it was nothing compared to the supernatural world's equivalent. She opened the door and got out of the car, Theseus following her action and looking up at the corporation building for a while before he dropped his cigar and stepped on it. "Alright, let's get this over wi-"
"Hold on just a second." Meredith stopped him before he stepped forward. Irritated Theseus looked at Meredith in annoyance. "Just before we go, there is something you have to do first." growling at her he was about to make a response just before Meredith interlocked her arm around his, stunning him at her action. "We need to act more formally in front of the guest we are meeting, showing how well-educated we are and how we know our boundaries."
And just like that, he lost all or any rational thought with his mind literally screaming warning signals into his consciousness.
DANGER!
DANGER!
RUNAWAY!
Images flashed through his mind too fast for him to process, but that didn't matter. His instincts knew VERY well what they were for and they sent his nerves into overdrive. Old feelings and emotions long thought extinguished began to form within his gut, his forehead dampening from the sweat accumulating there while Theseus nearly lost control over his breathing.
In his sudden surge of panic, he almost escaped from Meredith by tugging his arm away... had she not kept a solid grip on his arm.
"Oh no you don't!" she said before she had both of her hands on his arm before pulling him close to her. She got close to his face with an angry expression. "We are going to show them that you are a well-mannered person and you are going to act like it whether you like it or not! You will not ruin this opportunity, understand?!" In a burst of motion, she pulled him down to her height till they were practically face to face as Meredith demanded an answer from him.
All that time spent talking, mixed with lessons and lectures… they hadn't even gotten to the meeting room yet and already things were beginning to unravel! Why had Theseus broken his word before things could even get started?!
Needless to say, she wasn't a fan of this development.
All the while, the male ignored her furious stare favoring his own mental state. The images kept getting increasingly vivid and gradually, he started hearing sounds accompanying them… not ones he wanted to hear. Loud screams, cries of despair and pain mixed with animalistic grunts. 'God…why must you make my life suffer? Haven't I already paid the price, why must I continue my misery, can't you just strike me down and kill me already!?' He pleaded in his mind, asking God to kill him so he can get out from this nightmare.
Meredith huffed before returning her pose and forcefully interlocked her arm on his again, which also had the effect of snapping him out of his funk. While the male blinked several times during his return to reality, the woman made a small magic circle and put it on his side. When he glanced down at it and then shifted his gaze towards her, the angry woman explained. "This will allow me to know if you used your magic, attempt to summon your Trident or gun." Darkness envelopes her face, eyes glowing in the shadow. Her following words reverberated with a tone so low that one might be hearing the death tolls while listening to it. "The consequences will be much greater than what's happening now."
(GULP)!
Theseus gulped while nodding his head towards the suppression and superiority of Integra's student. Nothing could scare him, nothing, except for the way that Hellsing's leader and her successor had this strong ability to rein him and other troublesome elements in. Perhaps that was why Alucard respected them the way he did, only a strong-willed leader could even HOPE to keep him under control.
With that said, she forced him to walk into the building while removing any anger on her expression while Theseus had to make a stoic one as well... but the inside...
'PLEASE KILL ME NOW!'
He pleaded with God to do something already.
Unbeknownst to the duo, when they entered the building a man poked his head out from behind a building column while watching them with an intense gaze. He was spying on them, making no attempts to do anything, lest he draw their attention and ruin the entire operation. His gaze focused specifically on Theseus instead of Meredith, interestingly enough, a strong bloodlust being suppressed within the man's gaze.
Seeing the two enter, he pressed his hand on his ear which had a hidden earpiece. "Alright the target has entered the building, I repeat the target has entered the building."
"Copy that, but man did you see that?"
Another voice came through the com line, distorted enough that one could not tell the person's gender. That didn't bother the observing man any though, he was chuckling in amusement while still communicating with this person. "Yeah, that kid got his ass owned by the woman." he remarked between chuckles.
"Oh yeah, you saw how he tried to run away? Hah! Women are getting scary nowadays."
A snort escaped the hidden man, matched with a wry smile at the images of the two in his mind before making the following statement. "Trust me when you try to date a certain person, they also get crazy when reaching a certain stage." He explained while trying to sound like a wise old man giving advice to the younger generation.
It didn't sound like the person on the other end got that particular memo however, but that didn't concern the man any.
"Let's hope for the best. Anyway she placed a magic circle on him, did you get enough of what she said?"
"Yeah I did and it's perfect." He replied, his mouth hidden by his headpiece whilst promptly explaining his meaning to the voice on the other line. "She conjured a magic circle to alert him if he attempts to use any of his power, including summoning his usual equipment. If he does so for any reason, even a little, she will know."
"Oh, now THAT's good for us. In that case, we can't miss this opportunity! Wait until the target is alone and then we strike."
Nodding his head, the man spoke in a more professional to downright military tone with the matching jargon. "Copy that, I'm sending you my location where you can find me. But remember, do not forget or mess this up. Remember our job."
"Received and understood. Now hurry up before you decide to ditch this."
That served to be the signal, for soon afterwards communication was cut off between him and the mysterious voice.
It wasn't long before the Hellsing duo reached the door to the meeting room in place. The tapping of their respective footwear filled the corridor they strode down on their way towards that said door, the corridor itself having pure white walls and ceiling, with a glistening crimson carpet beneath them. There were various lights and lamps hanging from the ceiling above to illuminate the corridor, whilst various paintings of different historical figures could be seen hanging along the walls they passed.
Eventually reaching the brown colored door with a golden doorknob, Meredith glanced at Theseus who glanced back to see her gesture to the door with her head. Her gaze held the phrase she wanted to say but didn't: 'Be a dear and open the door for the lady.'
Internally cringing at his helplessness, not to mention the slight tightening of her grip on his arm, the blonde male nodded his head silently in compliance. Ignoring the jubilant look Meredith sported at his compliance, Theseus wound up reaching forth and grasping the door's knob. Twisting it in an anti-clockwise angle, he heard it's locks click out of place before he pushed forwards, opening the door and holding his arm over it so Meredith could stride on through without being hit by it.
The woman in question did so with the grace and courtesy of a leader, a proper noblewoman with her hands clasped together before her lap and a strong, steady stride to project her regality and nobility.
Briefly surprised at such a demeanor when comparing it to the angrily stridiing one she'd had previously, Theseus followed behind her, allowing them to view the room they'd entered with a critical gaze.
Like much of the building in question, the meeting room looked just as luxurious as any nobleman's abode in the middle ages. The room had four walls decked out with various paintings of famous, historical Japanese figures that contributed to the country they resided in, the walls themselves matching those of the corridor in color while the corners and edges had white borders placed around them. The carpet beneath them was the same, while in the centre was a large maroon-colored table with two two-seater black sofas parallel to it.
Sitting atop one of those sofas, the one furthest away from the entrance, sat the one who they were likely here to meet Theseus guessed.
"Ah, the queen's granddaughter, you have finally arrived." A Kamaitachi who resembled a human with the features of a ferret, wearing a business suit, declared with a warm, welcoming manner. He sat with a rather lax posture, hands clasped together on his lap with one leg on top of the other. One had to wonder how his balls didn't get crushed in that position, considering the difference in sex and genetalia.
Theseus did think this briefly, before his gaze focused on those who stood alongside him, the entourage as it were. Behind him were bird-like Youkai with black wings and crow heads, dressed like mountain hermits, likely Karasu-Tengu. They additionally had some halberds ready to execute or issue any command from their boss like they were expecting a fight to break out or something.
'What, does nobody care about secrecy anymore?' Theseus grumbled to himself unpleasantly at this, disliking the fact that the Youkai were in their true forms although he could figure out the reason why. It was probably due to them being connected to this building's owner and thus had secured his compliance with keeping this world away from prying eyes. Having looked at the staff here while they walked in an attempt to keep his mind focused on anything BUT neutering the arm holding him back then, Theseus had deduced that they were all human but either didn't know what was happening here or were under some kind of NDA to not disclose it.
That, or some kind of brainwashing thing, that would be simpler and much more effective.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet with you as well Mr. Retsuza. I hope our meeting will be pleasant." Meredith meanwhile, ignored the male beside her as she offered a pleasant nod in turn. She then held her white gloved hand in front of him, offering him a handshake which he accepted. After they shook hands he sat down on the sofa he had been previously occupying. while gesturing to the Hellsing duo.
"Please take a seat." they accepted his suggestion, Theseus would've preferred to stand but against his better judgement (and also to avoid any trouble from his superior). He sat down on the couch beside her while putting his hand on the arm couch support. Retsuza interlocks his hand in front of him while gazing at Meredith. "I must say, even at your age, you are a capable politician. It's not everyday to see one of Queen Elizabeth's family members go for diplomacy." he remarked.
Immediately, Theseus didn't like the emptiness behind the suited Youkai's worlds. They sounded so empty, hollow and like he truly didn't mean a damn thing about what he'd insinuated. Theseus could tell this due to analyzing his body language and tones, a trick he had learned though countless battles against a variety of opponents.
Fortunately for the duo, Meredith didn't seem all that bothered by the emptiness in the youkai's tone. Instead she went to reciprocate the gesture with an equally cold, empty one while she gazed directly into the other man's eyes. "My grandmother only wants what is best for me, only that so I can pursue my own goal. When something happens to my grandmother. I must take precautionary measures in order to be prepared."
"What a skilled young woman you are. I can definitely see a bit of Sir Integra on you." he nods his head in acceptance to Meredith. It seems from his eyes, she looks like she can be ready to take the UK throne. Interestingly speaking, she might grow to become a great leader from the institution she was receiving from the head of the Hellsing Organization.
Meredith leaned forward a little while tapping her fingers at the desk. "Now I was under the impression that I had called a meeting for the west youkai faction of Kyoto, not a representative of the east youkai. Forgive my little insult, but you are not who I called for."
"Hmhm." Taking no offence to her claims, the Yokai chuckled under his closed mouth in amusement born from Meredith's response. It looked like this woman was almost as sharp as her teacher, a more modern version of the Hellsing leader herself. "You are indeed correct, Ms. Ordinton. You see there was a little complication on the west Yokai side. Our head priestess and leader Yasaka is currently dealing with an issue when someone or something attempted to kidnap her. With the paranoia and recent events, Nurahiyon offered his help from our side to meet with you."
Meredith narrowed her eyes when he told her about the recent event, the attempted kidnapping of their leader of the west youkai faction. This doesn't seem natural at all. From the lessons she was taught about the supernatural, their head priestess Yasaka had a connection to the Nation's leylines. Combine that with her being a Kyuubi, one of the stronger breeds of Yokai out there, and one could imagine how she had access to all of the immense spiritual power.
These factors contributed to what made her a dangerous leader of the west youkai faction.
Off to the side, Theseus also narrowed his eyes when he heard this bit of intel as well, before shaking his head and dismissing the issue. Not only did it prove uninteresting to him since it was more for those who were at the forefront of politics, but that intel proved his point to Meredith this morning about how twisted the life of a noble or a leader truly was. They would always have a high risk of being assassinated or being kidnapped for a variety of purposes, none of them pleasant. All the same crap from being high class people. The same shit living style the rich people enjoy while the second rate citizens just suffer because of their economic risks or being just downright poor.
Glancing to the doorway or rather the space above it which had what looked to be a large clock, the suited Yokai cleared his throat with a couple coughs. "Anyway, let's get straight down to business." Retsuza ended the small discussion, something Meredith agreed with a silent nod of her head much to the man's gratitude. Thus, his tone shifted into a more formal one with an air of professionalism overtaking him. "From my clear understanding, while you are given the Kuoh territory by the Satans you wish to expand Hellsing's influence throughout the nation, correct?"
Meredith nods her head in agreement. "Yes, that is exactly the reason. The Hellsing Organization, our leader. Like you said, we received the territory which brought us the opportunity to expand our business for the first time. Making new trade routes for Hellsing and new business deals."
"Hmmmmmmm, I likely find that hard to believe." he shakes his head in disagreement. "While you have made certain changes for the past few months, changes that I admire your ability to actualize into reality, But the past few days have not been as kind. There have been some complications that involve your organization." the Youkai stared directly into Meredith's eyes while he gestured towards the source right next to her, or more specifically to Theseus who kept his stoic face. Though he didn't really give a crap, his fist nonetheless began gripping the sofa's armrest hard which wound up showing veins around his knuckles.
Now those words forced him to pay more attention to the discussion since they involved him directly. He wasn't a fool, Theseus could imagine what the man was referring to when he had referred to some 'complications' involving Hellsing. Meredith had warned him before coming here that the politicians would use this against them in this meeting, so he had some time to mentally prepare himself for it. Nonetheless, the intense annoyance he's feeling now still crept dangerously close to getting out of control.
Meanwhile, Meredith glanced at Theseus with a blank expression that hid what she felt deep inside, before shifting her gaze back to Retsuza. She placed both hands on her thighs while uncrossing her legs then recrossing them over one another. "You will have to forgive me. There is a reason why the past incident happened. You see, my colleague was attacked by the members of the hero clan while on official duties. They had heard of our possible influence, and did not want Hellsing to expand their business; thus they therefore attempted to stop us from expanding further. Though the damage was done, they had to resort to some dramatic measures which forced him to retaliate in kind."
Initially, Theseus wondered why the fuck Meredith had outright lied to this guy about the reasoning behind the Hero Clan's attack on him and Mio. He had figured that she wouldn't have done that and just be blunt with these guys, it would be what he would have done in her shoes. Though he later on realized just how bad of an idea that was when he considered Mio's heritage possibly getting out and the consequences that would follow. He could very well imagine an amount of death and destruction which would have made the radical french revolutionaries red with jealousy.
Fortunately, Ordinton had a makeup story to avoid that, not to mention it also concealed the fact that it had actually been Theseus' fault in the first place. One of the lessons Sir Integra had taught the woman was to always avoid the mistakes one made and instead come up with a good lie to make sure your persuasion made the receiver possible to believe the lie. Also, covering the fact they were protecting Mio from the true fact why the Hero clan came to Kuoh, was likely an attempt to keep the peace in more ways than one.
"Hmmmmmmmm, hero clan you say?" the ferret Youkai mused thoughtfully, his gaze flickering with intrigue while he put his hand on his chin. "I would be highly unlikely to believe what you say…" he began, which added a layer of tension to the room when Meredith and Theseus barely tensed themselves. However, it vanished just as soon as it had arrived when the man leaned back on his sofa with an accepting nod of his head. "But I can understand the past situation. Those tribes have been getting rather unstable nowadays, not to mention they've been increasingly arrogant and bragging especially since the Great War."
Hearing this made her realize that her deception had worked, something which nearly made the woman sigh with relief had her discipline not suppressed such actions from occurring. "Thank you for your understanding." Meredith bowed a little to the ferret Youkai, before conjuring a magic circle and putting her hand on the circle before pulling out a document.
Seeing the document, Retsuza hummed with acknowledgement. "That must be what you wish to request of the Yokai faction, I presume?" he queried.
She nodded in response before she handed the document to Retsuza which he accepted before opening it, ramming through the document. Meredith then proceeded to explain the document's content in a matter-of-fact kind of tone, like a professor at a high-class university. "In the documents, there is the information about our possible trade routes, possible allies, and new territories you would allow us to deal with or allow us to possess. In certain ways when we discuss buying new land, we will meet again instead of just taking it." She adjusted her gloves before taking a sip of tea. "I would prefer to talk and bargain when we want new lands."
The Youkai turned the pages and looked through the content for a while. It seems the information and details of the queen's granddaughter's business document was quite accurate and convincing. After a while of looking through the documents, he looked back to Meredith. "May I ask if this has been notarized?"
"Yes it has, and from the UK finance minister. I had sent this document to him for notarizing, a few days being taken for him to make the necessary adjustments." Meredith replied neutrally, nodding her head.
A couple moments of silence passed through the room, the man weighing his options before he finally came to a conclusion. "Then I can only say this, where's a pen and where can I sign?" the ferret Youkai finally stated, much to Meredith's joy. He took out his own pen when he made his own agreement of the business transaction.
Meredith smirked at him before taking out her own pen. "I always carry a pen with me whenever some occasions like this, for example, require it." she replied to him before showing him where to sign and making sure he read the terms and agreement.
In contrast to the pleased woman, Theseus shook his head while slumping a bit on his couch. Noble antics and their weird habits, another reason he would rather swim with the sharks or piranhas. He'd even kiss a dude if it can get him out of here, Theseus hated it THAT much. Restraining his inner beast proved to be an increasingly difficult task for him especially when he'd first laid eyes on those guards, images of him beating the living crap out of them flowing through his mind.
He glanced at the guards, they seem to be focusing on their guard duty but he can see one of them being tired of this already. He can see he wants this to be done already. Hopefully after this they can just go home and forget about this whole thing.
"Now let's talk about other possible deals."
…..God fucking dammit. This was gonna take all day, wasn't it? Restraining the groan which DESPERATELY wanted to leave his lips, Theseus had to pull out all the stops while cursing his rotten luck. He'd been pretty sure he'd break down and just run away the first chance he'd get if he had to listen to all this mediocre shit for much longer Meredith's words be damned. He needed something to help him relieve his stress.
So with that mind, he got up from the couch and glanced towards his superior when she aimed a questioning look at him. "I'll be getting a cup of water, I'll be back soon."
Meredith would have said something like demanding him to stay, when she decided to do a backtrack. Just by looking into his eyes she could tell what he needed to do, to which she honestly couldn't blame him despite her previous anger against him. After all, no matter how much she could have prepared him via training Theseus was still not used to the aristocratic style. It wouldn't be right to expect him to restrain himself for the entire meeting's duration. Not to mention that she could tell for certain he wouldn't mess this up when he had been quiet for a couple of hours. He deserved a small break for his efforts. "I'll be waiting till then, don't take too long."
Theseus nodded his head, not making any snarky comments for a change before leaving the room.
Theseus walked through the halls of the building for a while, looking for something to drink. Some of the examples of drinks he'd accept were things like water, coke, Soda, hell, even a beer could help him.
A while of searching passed before Theseus' eyes laid their gaze upon a water fountain with plastic cups beside it. While the male felt a huge surge of relief flow through him at the sight, there was also some building frustration in there since now that he had found a water fountain he'll need to get back to the meeting or else Meredith will have his ass, big time.
He walked towards it, passing a worker before attempting to get a cup of water. Just as he was about to do so, his instincts screamed at him to dodge. But it was too late.
STAB!
"ARGH!" The male screamed in pain while turning around to notice the person who stabbed him, a man of a rather stocky build.
Although that was all the male allowed himself to observe as his reflexes kicked into overdrive. He kicked the man away from him while still holding his neck, a faint burning sensation being present there. Something was stabbed on his neck just now, he knew it thanks to this sensation and the feeling of being stabbed earlier. Fortunately, he had managed to wrestle the makeshift stabbing tool from the man during their brief tussle, which allowed Theseus to look down at what it was. It seemed to be a medical syringe of some sorts, it's contents being empty and the mechanism on it's rear end indicated that it had an injection function.
'Okay, who the FUCK did this?! They'll be tasting my fist soon enough!' the outraged male thought Theseus looked up on the person who injected this mysterious syringe into him.
There was a man who was wearing a hoodie before something ripped his jacket. He was shown to possess mechanical equipment with additional robotic arms and mechanical legs which he seemed to have lost, but had replaced them with robotic ones instead.
The blond-haired boy narrowed his eyes before throwing away the syringe. It seemed that this was one of those attempted assassinations he'd warned Meredith about, that being the only conclusion he could make concerning the situation at hand. "Who the fuck are you?" he demanded, wincing while rotating his neck about to try and distract his mind from the burning sensation present there.
Instead of answering right away however, the man mockingly laughed while crossing his arms over his chest, though the robotic limbs were slightly slower than a human one. "Well you seem to have some good instincts, but it won't be long until you hear my name in the afterlife boy."
Theseus brought his hands up together before cracking them together, preparing to unleash his power to beat this asshole up but remembered the magic circle Meredith had on him. He growled in agitation. He would rather not get into deeper shit and instead spoke to him. "Well if you're trying to find some nobles to kill, I'm afraid I can't let that happen. I would be in deep shit if that happens." he declared with a snarl.
A snarl which seemed to amuse the man more rather than unnerve him, the man sneering while spreading his arms out like he were a presenter. "Hah! You think we're after those assholes? No." he shook his head in denial before pointing with his right robotic arm… towards Theseus himself. "We're after you instead."
"Me?" Theseus became confused for the moment, wondering who could order someone to kill him. Though this didn't last for long since he remembered how Hellsing had a lot of enemies across the many factions and even in the human world, so it would be natural for someone to try and kill them one by one. An old antic veteran would say.
Other than that, he knew the man doesn't have anything more to say from the look of his eye. Theseus knew what was going to happen, so rather than speaking they decided to get closer to each other. Slowly they walked and walked until the cyborg ran to him and Theseus did the same.
The cyborg attempted to land a jab with his right robotic arm on Theseus's face, but he dodged it by leaning back. Avoiding the first blow, his left arm shot up to attempt to grab the robotic arm and hold it in place. However, the cyborg proved to be quicker than Theseus had anticipated since he pulled it back into a boxing stance before Theseus could grab it.
After the two hopped backwards, the man began to swing his right robotic arm around like a wheel, Theseus preparing for his own defence. They stared off for a while, Alucard's student knowing that if he needed to win this battle, he would need to use only his fists and martial arts skills for this.
Just before he could make his first move, the cyborg beat him to it. His robotic arm made up for his long distance between him and the man when he launched a jab again. Upon this happening, the fist promptly shot forwards like a projectile, connected by a long thick cable shaped similar to a rope.
'The fuck?!'
Theseus grunted before bending backwards nearly at 90 degrees to avoid the limb, which retracted back to it's owner's arm seconds later. The moment he got up however, a sharp grunt escaped his mouth when he was hit by the man's left robotic arm on the face in the form of a left hook, making him stumble back a couple steps.
"Hah, that's all you got?!" The man bellowed, a mad grin on his lips while he slid on forwards and repeatedly jabbed at him, launching different hooks and elbow strikes against the other male's defences. Defences which fortunately for the blonde held up firmly against the barrage now that he knew what to expect a bit better, but it wasn't completely perfect since some strikes did hit their mark regardless.
POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-SMACK-SMACK-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-SMACK!
"G-Guh...!"
Theseus gritted his teeth while blood started dripping down his chin, knowing that he needed to get the upper hand in this fight and fast.
While his defences received a pounding from the enemy, a thought occurred to him which made his eyes slightly widen and his jaw drop a bit. 'Thinking about it, isn't this the best time to try and test out my martial arts style?' he wondered, recalling what had been told to him on the journey with the Kane siblings revolving around his incomplete style.
Even after all this time it still wasn't perfected yet, but Theseus could still sense that it was close to reaching that state. If he were to guess, he'd say it was about 80% complete at the moment, but that should be MORE than enough to warrant its use on the battlefield.
Whelp, no time like the present.
With that in mind, Theseus eyed the quickly approaching metallic fist aimed at giving him a black eye, his form shifting in a flurry of motion that took the cyborg by surprise. Like flowing water mixed with the agile movements of a bug, Theseus swished his arms about to slam his right palm into the arm's side and divert it away from him. Briefly, the man swore he saw some kind of energy trail flowing forth from his hands but figured that was just some illusion or something to fool the senses. "The fu-?!"
POW!
"Gah!"
Now it was the Cyborg's turn to grunt in pain when Theseus almost slid across the ground and slammed an elbow into the man's abdomen with a strong burst of force, following it with an upward palm thrust that impacted his chin and knocked his head backwards. Theseus capitalized on this opening he made by twisting around the unbalanced cyborg and delivering a downward slashing chop onto the man's face.
BANG!
The side of Theseus's hand slammed into the center of the cyborg's face, right where his nose's bridge was which sent him crashing down into the floor. The man gasped at the impact, his eyes wide and trembling at the force applied to that blow, not having anticipated such a move from him nor such a massive comeback. 'The fuck is this shit?! Am I fighting a person or an insect…?!' the man roared in his mind.
During those moments of combat, the man had noticed the change in his opponent's movements and attributed them to a bug moving on water. However, there was a bit more to it than he'd first thought the more he briefly thought about it, those movements actually reminded him of one of the world's more dangerous and insidious insects, an insect which was known to kill and eat spiders, scorpions and the like.
Centipedes.
Just when Theseus made to stomp on the guy's chest with enough force to kick a hole through him, the lad had to bend backwards to once again avoid a propelled fist that the man had launched at him. This distracted him long enough for the man to get back to his feet while retracting the fist back to it's connected arm.
Again, not wanting the lad to regain control over the battle the man promptly charged at him with a haymaker being launched at him. Theseus however, proved to be much more agile than him as he quickly managed to grab the robotic arm before it could land it's blow. He used this opportunity to twirl himself before landing an elbow blow to his face in retaliation. Following up on this Theseus allowed his arms to move like they were like whips, more of that strange light show being present over his hands. "Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist!"
BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM!
...Thus, Theseus began wailing on the Cyborg by unleashing his own fury attack. He punched, right/left hooked and launched all kinds of fist attacks in one successive motion like a single stream of blows that flowed with the flexibility of a centipede. He would also keep the barrage up while encircling around his foe giving him little space to move or to get away from his assault, the male moving fast enough that he left afterimages behind him.
"Heh, not so tough are you?" He taunted the cyborg, a mocking sneer escaping his lips.
The man growled before he got up and both of the robotic fist shot towards him. Theseus managed to grab both of them, stopping the attack but the moment he did.
CLING!
A metal iron bar was shot out from his right arm, almost close to his face, making the blond hair eye widen. Just before he could get a hold of himself the cyborg used this moment of distraction, adjusted his steps before landing a kick on Theseus's chest.
Theseus was flown back and impacted at the wall behind him, making him fall. Just before he could get up, he was stabbed by the iron bar on his right shoulder.
"GUH!"
The cyborg landed another jab towards his face. Theseus managed to stop the attack, grab a hold on the fist while the other was stabbed on his shoulder.
The man smugly smirked again and taunted him. "What's it going to be now, boy? Are you gonna cry to your mommy or better yet your sister?"
Theseus strained a lot, he took a step forward while straining, eventually finding the strength to get back to his feet while maintaining the deadlock between them. The man looked surprised at this before he attempted to stop him, but he wasn't fast enough. Taking a step forward Theseus managed to break off the deadlock by kicking him on the chest, grabbing a hold of his chest before punching him in the face. This made him slide off the ground and hit the elevator door behind him.
Now knowing he needed to press the advantage, Theseus broke into a mad sprint straight towards his opponent as the cyborg just got up. Upon colliding with the cyborg, the strength and speed were enough to break the elevator door open and send them plummeting down through the elevator shaft, all the way down to the ground. The cyborg attempted to grab a hold of one of the iron poles but Theseus grabbed a hold of him, stopping him.
Fortunately falling to their deaths would not be happening today, for they both landed on top of an elevator that was just fortunate to be there, stopping their rapid descent into the darkness.
BAM!
Their impact caused the whole structure to shudder and tremble, several groaning sounds emitting from the mechanics keeping it in place. The whole thing could have very well snapped it's cabels between the sudden pressure and force, sending it down to the bottom of the shaft had it not had an emergency lock, which kept it in place.
CLINK!
Theseus quickly got up and tilted his head back while cracking it.
CRACK!
"Now there isn't any distraction. Let's dance!" Theseus announced before he grabbed a hold of the man's vest from behind and lifted him to an iron pole.
The cyborg groaned at the pain before he looked down, noticing how far it was. He quickly got up and used his robotic fist to dodge a stomp from Theseus. They had a little stare off before they began to run at each other.
Elsewhere
The moment after the tremble, Meredith raised her eyebrow when she felt the building shake and looked at Retsuza, her gaze questioning him on what could have caused it. On the other side however, the politician merely waved her off. "Don't worry about that. It's just a small earthquake, what harm is there?" he rhetorically asked Sir Integra's apprentice.
In response, she acknowledged his little sarcastic tone which she was not affected by, a hint of ridicule being brought up within her. Clearly, it was a fact that sometimes all aristocratic people would have moments where they'd be sarcastic for their own pleasure and humor.
She then became a bit nervous when he said the following. "Which reminds me, do you know where your bodyguard is? It has been a while since he left." he questioned while looking at the empty couch behind her. The spot which had once been occupied by said Bodyguard who had left the scene previously.
She didn't respond to the ferret youkai, still retaining her stoic expression and not giving any of what occurred inside her mind out to the world. As for what lay behind her calm exterior...
'Where the hell is Theseus? That blond hair freak should've been here 3 minutes ago! If I find out he ran away I swear to God I will-'
BAM!
"Sir! Sir!"
Fortunately before Meredith could internally descend into a profanity rant that would make any fanfiction's M rating look inadequate, someone burst through the door looking like they had run a marathon. That someone turned out to be a male rat youkai judging by the shape of his head, the yokai wearing a business suit and some glasses like those cliche secret agents. He didn't look very composed however, his forehead drenched with sweat while his mouth hung open as he breathed in and out haggardly. He was holding a laptop on his arm, his expression looking like he was worried and scared at the same time.
Retsuza narrowed his eyes to the rat youkai. "What is it? This better be important if it warranted you interrupting us." he demanded of the Yokai, not looking pleased by this interruption. His tone was harsh, even while not showing his emotions on his face, though that didn't really matter since his tone spoke everything, making the rat youkai sweat and shake violently.
Nevertheless, the yokai called upon his training and managed to speak some sentences. "I-I-I'm sorry! I-I-I know that I-I-I'm not supp-p-posed t-t-t-to be h-he-here! But this is important!" he ran to him, quickly typing some of his laptop keyboard before turning it around, showing the cameras. "Look!"
Meredith and the ferret youkai leaned forward a bit before, to Meredith's shock, they saw Theseus in the flesh standing on the elevator and he is not alone. He seems to be fighting a cyborg that explains the robotic features and arms.
"What?!" The ferret Yokai bellowed while shooting up from his seat. His eyes shrunk to the size of dots while the footage of the two playing the game of who can kill the other first atop the elevator played out on the laptop's screen. "What is the meaning of this?!" he bellowed again, glaring at the rat yokai first before he looked towards the Hellsing representative.
Whatever he made to demand of her, Meredith didn't listen or rather she didn't even acknowledge him at the moment. Nope, her confusion and shock-wracked mind was currently focusing on more important matters as she slowly processed the dangerous footage before her. To be more specific, the male in Hellsing's payroll's unusual behavior. 'What the hell? Theseus shouldn't be having such a hard time against this guy. He's one of our best agents only being surpassed by Alucard, so why is he not utterly smashing that guy to pieces. He doesn't look very powerful, although those cybernetics may need investigating in the future…' she thought to herself, struggling to keep her emotions in check while trying to decipher the situation Theseus had found himself in…
That is, until the answer came to her and in that moment it took all her willpower not to let her horror show.
'SHIT! The seal!' she screamed inside, dreaded realization filling her like a jug under a fountain tap. The woman had placed a seal on him before as a means of restraining him for this meeting, but what she hadn't accounted for was for an attacker to come along and try to wreck their shit and thus, she hadn't put in any contingency loopholes for Theseus to use to fight this attacker off without destroying the building.
Now the male was currently being forced to pay the price for her blunder while she had been here sitting leisurely and living off his misfortune! Just like the nobles before the french revolution!
'Hold on Theseus, I'll lend you some aid!' she shouted mentally, raising her right hand and clicking her fingers. This wound up causing the seal she placed on Theseus to disperse into nothingness, though only she could have seen it since only she and Theseus (who was still in battle) knew where it was. For now, that was all she could do for the male until she arrived to reinforce him. She could only hope Theseus felt the seal that was placed on him was gone.
Hopefully.
Back to Theseus
BAM!
"AH!" the cyborg screamed in pain when Theseus finally got him into an interlock. He was on the elevator roof, the blond-haired boy having planted his foot on his face while keeping a strong grip on his cybernetic arms.
"Hurts huh?" the blond haired boy taunted before stomping the man's face again with an increased amount of force compared to previously. He can hear the man's skull cracking beneath his shoe to the Shark king's delight. "There's more where that will come from. Now tell me who the fuck sent a kill order on me or else there is a lot of pain coming!"
He stomped his face again, making the cyborg groan in pain. Grinding his teeth as he began to bleed on his head and mouth, the man nevertheless still did not answer Theseus in a show of defiance, making the blonde male narrow his eyes in a 'so you've chosen death' kind of way. That is, before Theseus began lifting his leg with incredible flexibility and preparing for his supernatural strength to crush this man's head.
Just as he was about to...
BAM!
"Now wha-GAH!" Theseus's ears twitched a couple times upon hearing a loud bang sound behind him. The male turned around when he heard another one land beside the first on the elevator.
Opposite him was another man in a similar getup to the one he'd pinned to the elevator roof, minus the robotic arms. Additionally, there was a difference in weapons being used by these two. This one had what looked like a pair of Kukri Knives that had sheathes strapped like an X on the back of his waist, whereas the one he'd pinned seemed more on the fist to fist combat side of things.
'Great, more annoy-'
Before Theseus could react, he grunted after being slashed diagonally down his body by the on wielding the kukris knives, the male quickly leaning to the left a couple seconds later when the other one tried to follow up on his partner's success. he leaned to the right avoiding the knife slash before quickly grabbing the assassin's dagger and slamming him behind the wall.
CLINK!
This also had the consequence of cutting the emergency lock of the elevator, which then proceeded to start falling to the ground below taking the trio along with them.
Neither of the trio cared, however, for they quickly began to resume their fight with it now being two against one. Once Theseus slammed the other assassin away from him, he showed his fanged teeth while releasing the following comment through a snarl. "Two against one huh? Seems a bit unfair." he commented, he was about to kill the other assassin with his enhanced kick from the position his leg was in...
Unfortunately before he could do so, Theseus' instincts screamed at him to duck, which he did, avoiding a fist that was directed at his head. He turned around and gazed at the mechanical arm wielding assassin, thrusting his fist forwards but the cyborg blocked his fist with his robotic arms.
A couple seconds passed before this assassin was pushed back, Theseus was about to direct his attention to the assassin behind him but he heard him grunting, at the upper corner of his eye he saw he threw a knife towards the cyborg in front of him.
Had he not shifted his gaze to the man behind him he would've been injured deeply but his remaining focus on the cyborg in front of him saved him from it. When the man caught the knife with his cybernetic arm, he was about to stab it into Theseus' neck had he not ducked which caused him to hit the iron bar, forcing him to lose the grip of the knife.
When he was about to make a move against the assassin, he was suddenly grabbed by the assassin behind him grabbing a hold of his arm and the cyborg took his head, forcing Theseus to slam against the glass as the elevator slowly increased it's descending speed.
"Guh! Guh! Guh!"
During the rapid descent, Theseus' skin got gradually scraped off at the left temple each second thanks to hitting several 'bumps' like ramps on a road. Theseus grit his teeth in the pain, quickly becoming aware that if he didn't do something then his skull was likely going to be exposed to the world, which would be a major problem. He quickly punched the glass using his supernatural strength, making the glass crack and giving him enough momentum to step back as the assassin lost their grip on him.
Right now Theseus looked terrible now due to multiple injuries he was inflicted by the assassins, but nonetheless the fighting continued. The one in front of him attempted to thrust both of his robotic arms at him, but this time Theseus caught both of them by their robotic hands, keeping him from releasing the iron bar. Theseus added more pressure to the cybernetics making it creak with some sparks becoming visible from the strain the arms were put under.
"RRRAH!" Theseus roared out and lifted the assassin, leaving him surprised before he was slammed into the wall behind him. The male then went and turned to the other assassin behind him, making him be pushed to the glass interior behind him. He threw him to the side of the elevator where there is no elevator coming up or down, but it didn't matter to Theseus, who knew he'd quickly be back.
In the meantime, the male quickly grabbed the Kukuri assassin and trapped him in a deadlock with the focal point being his neck. He kicked him on the left leg for good measure, hard enough for the robotics to be destroyed and torn off.
"AHHH-GUH!"
The assassin screamed in pain before his voice was caught by Theseus when he added pressure to his neck lock. He then spoke in a low, dark tone to the assassin. "If you told me who was after me I would've spared your life but now I'm all out of small mercies." he adjusted his hand on his neck. The kukri knife man widened his eyes as he tried to get out of his grip but Theseus held firm against him and was about to twist and break the captive's neck, had he not gotten surprised attacked by the returning cybernetic arm wielding assassin when the elevator emergency lock finally returned again, making him lose his grip to the cyborg in front of him.
CLINK!
"GAAAAAAAAAH!"
Theseus was pushed off the rails of the elevator and fell to his doom. The cybernetic arm man looked where Theseus fell before facing his fellow mercenary. He offered his hand to the now crippled-looking man which he accepted, he stood up and leaned to the glass interior while also looking where the blond hair boy had fallen off.
"He was tough wasn't he Tibbs?" the cybernetic man remarked to the now named Tibbs who was adjusting his standing.
He answered to his fellow mercenary. "He was Dalton. Even without his magic, he tore off my leg and held against us for a long time." he looked down to his destroyed leg before hopping to the iron rails.
The robotic arm named Dalton snorted while still looking at the other side of the room. "Lets see him survive this-"
WHOOSH!
Turned out fate felt especially bitchy today, for before that sentence could be finished the speaker got interrupted by a rapidly rising elevator like some sort of plot convenience. Crouching atop it's roof, was Theseus who currently and literally looked down on them, eyes wide and shining with bloodlust amidst a sea of fury.
Seeing that they were not done yet, Dalton groaned in frustration before walking to the elevator wall. "Oh goddammit this kid just won't fucking die!" he bellowed, using his robotic arms to leap through the elevator, jumping back and forth trying to keep up with their stubborn target.
The blond-haired boy stood up and jumped from the elevator, falling rapidly towards Dalton who managed to catch him by the shoulder. That soon turned out to be a bad idea when Theseus managed to get him into another necklock him, to his dismay as Dalton tried to get him off, to no avail.
'Shit, how the fuck does this kid have such strength at his age?!'
Getting the feeling he had just been insulted, Theseus growled and kept his grip while choking the living out of his prey. Seeing black spots starting to form in his vision, Dalton swung his feet for a bit before he positioned them by the iron rail by the wall and leaped, slamming Theseus into the glass behind him, cracking it. This also wound up making Theseus lose his grip and fall to the elevator below them.
"Hang on Tibbs!" Dalton warned his partner when Theseus was falling to the elevator.
Soon Theseus was slammed to the elevator hard.
BAM!
Making the whole elevator crash to the glass interior from the momentum and gravity force. The elevator now began descending much faster than before, destroying the glass below them as Theseus and Tibbs tried to keep their balance and having to put in an extravagant amount of effort.
Soon the elevator stopped when Tibbs grabbed the side of the elevator, keeping him from falling and Theseus had his hand stick to the elevator, making sure he didn't fall as well. Just as he was about to climb towards Tibbs the elevator suddenly slipped making the blond hair boy slide to the edge had not he crush the metal on the elevator with his strength, making him get a grip of the elevators edge, Tibbs in front of him was not lucky as he was slowly slipping from the elevator while desperately tried to hang on the elevator.
Dalton slid down with his robotic arms by the elevator's iron rope. Dalton looked at the struggling Tibbs and his target's hand. He thought about the situation for a few quick moments before he made up his mind. He adjusted his glove while the robotic hand was slowly crushing the iron rope, causing Tibbs to widen his eyes.
"Dalton what are you doing?! Help me!" Tibbs told Dalton as he tried to get a grip of the elevator but was unsuccessful.
Dalton ignored his plea and still crushed the metal rope before the elevator iron rope was no longer connected, making the elevator slip once again. Theseus had his grip on the elevator but not so much for Tibbs as he slid off the elevator and fell outside of the building.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Tibbs' voice echoed till it vanished into nothingness, as Theseus looked at where Tibbs had fallen off as his head dripped blood on his side of the face.
"I did say hang on!" Dalton's voice echoed to Theseus. Of course, mercenaries were always in it for the money. To the point where they would even kill their own partner to get the whole payment instead of being divided.
Theseus then lifted himself back onto the elevator as Dalton already began to crush the iron rope. Theseus ran towards him as quickly as possible before jumping just in time for Dalton when he crushed the iron rope causing the elevator to finally fall as nothing was supporting it to hold in place.
He managed to grab the cyborgs vest and the iron rope in just under 4 seconds of his quick reaction time. Making the both of them fall once again as gravity took a hold of them. Theseus kept his grip on Dalton as he tried to hold something like the iron rail but Theseus stopped him multiple times, making sure they both fell.
Once Theseus was a few feet away from Dalton he began to speak to him for the last time. "This ends now!" Theseus declared before reaching out to Dalton's cybernetic arm and tore it off with his enhanced strength, he tore off the second one and grabbed his vest as Dalton looked shocked and terrified before Theseus punched him on the face, increasing his gravity pull to the ground, finally ending the mercenary's life.
Though not so much for Theseus as he began to fall as well as he was facing the sky and said. "This is gonna hurt." he declared before being slammed to the ground, breaking multiple bones of his body.
BAM!
C-C-CRACK!
"Ugh!"
He landed on his back gasping briefly before letting out small, minute groans from the pain that flowed through his system. All around the surrounding area could not be made out thanks to the smoke blanketing the area, mixed with horrendous flames. Theseus laid at the ground for sometime now before he forced his body to roll to the other side, something he'd regret in the next moment.
"BLEAGH!" Theseus vomited blood, staining his now tattered noble clothes. He ignored the immense pain, he put his hand on the ground as his arms were shaking, telling him he can't move but he ignored the pain. He put his foot forward and slowly stood up.
He shakily walked around, almost losing his footing had he leaned on the iron bar, grasping it with both of his hands. He weakly looked at his clothes and winced at how desecrated they looked, already dreading meeting his superior in the near future. "Meredith….will kill me if she sees me like this." he commented to himself.
Theseus ripped out the iron bar and used it as a walking stick. He walked out of the elevator area and looked at his surroundings before stopping by in front of the building. He looked up at the building before sighing. "(SIGH) great, how am I supposed to explain to her what happened to me, where I was and why am I in a complete mess…?" He whined a bit since it's the aristocrats. They don't care what happens around them, only want to know why you're late and why you're a complete mess. Always focusing on their reputation and money.
"You won't have to." A feminine voice was heard behind him, causing the male to grapple with the urge to curse the world for messing with him. Nevertheless, he already knew who it was but did not turn around and face her.
"….am I in deep trouble? I did not use my magic or my sacred gear so don't try to argue the fact that I disobeyed your orders." Theseus questioned, tired from the previous battle but resigned to what he believed to be a scolding from his superior. Once he finished asking his question, Theseus slowly turned around to come face to face with Meredith seeing that she had a stoic expression. "So don't try to lecture me about my failure."
Meredith still kept silent as she stared at Theseus for a moment, running her gaze up and down his form before she spoke in a slow, measured manner. "I dispelled the magic circle a while ago. You could've used your abilities." She told him.
This made Theseus blink his eyes while still trying to process what she just said before growling and snorted in agitation. "For Christ sake. How the hell did I not notice this?" He wondered, putting his hand on his face before making the bleeding stop via his limited healing abilities, eventually no longer losing his blood but the wound and injuries were still there. "I need water, a fucking load of water and booze. I'm getting tired of this shit."
Meredith watched her subordinate when he threw the iron bar away while properly getting a better stance. She didn't say anything for a while, just watching her subordinate vent his frustrations. After a small while, she finally spoke something that stunned Alucards protégée. "I'm sorry."
Theseus froze for a few seconds, his eyes wide with disbelief and wondering if his ears had been playing tricks on him. Those words sounded more like an alien language he was only hearing the first time. Slowly, he raised his head to look at Meredith, still trying to get what she just said. "What? What did you say?"
"I said I'm sorry! Do you know how humiliating it is for me to say that?" Meredith yelled at Theseus' stunned face.
In all the years they've been together not once did she say ANYTHING like 'I'm sorry', not a single time. It just wasn't something that happened, not at all and for a plethora of reasons. One of which being that her being sorry didn't paint a good picture of her as the potential next head of the Hellsing organization, something Integra had hammered into Meredith during her education. In politics one had to be tough, both physically and mentally with a will of iron that could navigate the minefield that was the country's politics, hence having any form of weakness would be a disaster for a politician.
Yet Meredith was daring to showcase such weakness before him… and he didn't know what to feel about it.
Unaware of his thoughts but having a few good guesses based on watching his expressions, Meredith shook her head and placed her hand on her hat. "If I hadn't placed that damn magic circle on you, this incident would have been nowhere near this dangerous for you." Her hand slid off while she looked down at the ground with a guilty expression. "I acted irrational and didn't think of the consequences of a future attack. You're paying the price of my actions. I…." She tried to think of saying something but stopped when there were no words but she forced herself to think. "I should've known this would've happened, I shouldn't have placed that seal on you. I…...God help me. Why did I act so immature?" she whispered, annoyance combining with the rest of the things she felt inside. Thanks to this whirlpool of different feelings, an equally resigned-looking Meredith placed both of her hands on her face while trying to deal with a whole swirl of emotions inside of her.
She knew she disappointed Sir Integra and all of her teachings with this incident. 'No matter how much you are in a designated location, you should always be weary of your surroundings and make sure to not expect an ambush because then they will have tides over the battle.'
That had been one of Sir Integra's quotes.
One should always make sure to expect potential enemies or assassins because people will lay out a plan to ambush the bodyguard before taking out their defenseless main targets
After a moment of silence as well as some mental deliberation, Theseus opened his mouth before truly realizing what he was saying, spurned on by the expression on his superior's face. "Normally, I wouldn't say this since it pains me to do so. Literally." Theseus began, gritting his bloody teeth still reeling from the recent ambush. He turned his head left and right before gazing at Meredith. "We're not perfect, no one is. Even me, you tried your best just to mold me into a proper person. Something I couldn't be…" he admitted, looking to the side and refusing to meet the gaze he could feel on him. This resulted in him not seeing what kind of gaze it was, but still. "To be frank, I actually kinda respect your dedication and determination to try so hard for a shithead like me."
Meredith slowly uncovered her hand and looked at Theseus with confusion on her expression, watching how he seemed to be struggling to say what it was that he wanted to say judging from how he trembled in discomfort, since she couldn't see it on his face. "... ugh, fuck how the fuck do I say this without brutally blunt? Oh what the hell, you're not to blame for this whole mess. Though obviously those assassins were tracking us and heard our conversation, taking this chance to try and get rid of me before they get to you and the others."
Theseus left out the part where those cyborg assassins had stated to his face (quite stupidly at that) only after him, not the rest of the nobles, because if he did then it would actually become a bigger mess than before. The blond-haired male shook his head before looking seriously at Meredith. "The point is to not blame yourself. For this." he stated strongly.
Sir Integra's student did not answer him as Theseus took this silence as a means for answer for Meredith because he already knows what she is feeling now. He was walking past her, not looking in her direction. It was obvious he was heading home and Meredith, this time she was not stopping him. She also did not face Theseus, her stoic expression. In her mind she was trying to process what Theseus said to her, before accepting the fact she is not a perfect person. No one is perfect, not even Sir Integra.
Meredith was about to turn and follow Theseus since the meeting with the Shinto was over, they already signed the documents and that's all they needed.
Or was it?
"Look at all this mess you bloody curtains made! I should've figured that Hellsing was always a fucking slaughterhouse!"