It was early in the night, the sun had gone down some time ago and the moon had not yet reached his highest position.
Seras stood in front of the door to Ranma and Nabiki's flat. She was chewing nervously on her lower lip and bouncing from foot to foot. The blonde Draculina had raised her right arm towards the doorbell several times already, only to let it drop back to her side as she was overwhelmed by doubts and fear.
She had been briefed on her new mission by Walter and Alucard. Their report on Ranma's fight with a horde of thirty ghouls, followed his victory over the vampire that had spawned them wasn't really filling her with confidence for her continued existence should the pigtailed vampire decide to attack her. Especially if she took into account that he had only been armed with his bare hands and a sword, while the English vampire had been using a revolver big enough to kill an elephant.
Calm down, police girl, her Master's voice sounder in her head. You're a Draculina now, one of the most powerful creatures in existence.
I'm sorry, Master, Seras answered telepathically, lowering her gaze to the floor in shame.
You have no reason to be afraid, they will not be able to kill you. Especially not with me watching over you.
Reassured by her Master's words, the blonde Draculina readjusted the skirt of her Hellsing uniform, before she reached out with her right hand to ring the doorbell, her jaw set determinedly.
As Seras stood in front of their door fretting, Ranma was sitting on his bed with his legs crossed under him while he had his eyes closed. He was inhaling and exhaling evenly in deep meditation, trying to further improve his control on the twisted chi that was now coursing through his body.
He had made great progress since the day he had saved Nabiki from a fate worse than death, and was now almost at the point where he could manipulate his internal energy as easily as he had been able to do before that day.
When he heard the doorbell ring, Ranma slowly opened his eyes, then he stood up and stretched his muscles.
He walked over towards his wardrobe, the only furniture in his room beside the bed, and took out a simple black cotton shirt. Inspecting the piece of clothing in his hands, Ranma frowned slightly. Their budget was tight and they hadn't been able to afford another silk shirt to replace the one that had been rendered unwearable during the fight with Oliver Wilson.
He quickly slipped on the shirt, noting how tightly it clung to his torso. He decided then and there that he would never wear this shirt outside of their flat. Just imagining how his cursed form would look in this shirt after it had gotten wet and the looks he would attract from horny boys caused him to shiver.
Now sufficiently dressed, the pigtailed vampire went to greet their visitor.
When Ranma opened the door he was quite surprised to find a young woman standing outside their flat.
She was blonde and quite pretty and couldn't be any older than twenty at most. She was dressed in a yellow uniform consisting of a skirt and blouse. The blouse was quite tight, clinging to her impressive figure almost like second skin and doing nothing to hide her impressive bust-size. She had rolled up the sleeves to just above her elbows and was wearing brown gloves. The skirt was equally as tight as the shirt, outlining her hips and the curve of her shapely bottom nicely. It ended at about mid-thigh, followed by a few centimetres of smooth flesh. The rest of her long legs was encased in brown stockings.
Ranma had to admit the young woman was pretty cute, the way she was chewing her lips and nervously playing with the hem of her skirt doing nothing to weaken that impression.
“Yes, what can I do for you?” he asked her politely, putting to use the lessons on proper behaviour he had learned during his stay in Nerima. Nabiki had reminded him that they didn't need to draw attention to themselves by Ranma behaving like some uncivilised brute.
The sound of the pigtailed vampire's voice interrupted Seras' own observations, bringing her mind back to the present and the matter at hand.
When she had been briefed on this mission, they had neglected to mention just how ruggedly handsome this Ranma was. She found it almost impossible to meet the young man's eyes and not stare at his well-trained body that was almost put on display by the tight shirt he was wearing.
So you think he's handsome, police girl? Alucard asked her via their telepathic link, his voice filled with amusement. I hope you're not thinking about fraternizing with the enemy.
Not now, Master.
“Oh, uhm, hello,” Seras began shyly, before remembering her mission and continuing with a steadier voice, “I'm Seras Victoria and I'd like to talk to you and your companion. Can I come in?”
Ranma eyed her intently for a few moments longer, his eyes glazing over, then he simply shrugged. “Sure, I guess,” he said, stepping aside. “Come on in.”
Seras followed the other vampire as he showed her to the kitchen, calling out to his companion along the way.
She inspected the small flat and noted the absence of everything but the bare essentials, a sign that they didn't plan on staying in London for very long.
Seems like Walter and Integra were right in assuming that these two have some ulterior motive for their stay here.
“Why don't you take a seat?” Ranma said once they had reached the kitchen, nodding towards a wall to their left where a small table surrounded by four stairs stood. “Would you like something to drink? Though I'm afraid I can only offer you tea,” he said with an apologetic smile.
Seras sat down in one of the chairs with her back to the wall. “Tea is fine, thank you,” she replied, smiling back at her host.
The following minutes were spent in silence, Ranma busy preparing the tea and Seras simply observing him.
The tea was finished just as Nabiki finally joined them. Ranma quickly filled three cups with the steaming brew and carried them over to the table.
As soon as the Tendo girl had entered the kitchen, the eyes of each woman fixed on the other female present, intently scrutinizing.
Seras looked at Nabiki, who was dressed in a pair of short blue shorts and a loose white shirt. The clothes accentuated her stunning figure quite nicely, as the Hellsing vampire noted with some envy. The thought of her handsome host living together with such a beautiful young woman troubled Seras for some unfathomable reason and she felt slight anger rising within herself. She quickly squashed the emotion again, however, forcing herself to remain calm. The Draculina couldn't allow herself to lose focus, this task was too important. And besides, she was being irrational, there was absolutely no reason for her to get angry.
The sound of her Master's amused chuckle reverberating inside her head told Seras what his thoughts on all this were.
Nabiki similarly sized up the other woman as she made her way over to the table, where she took a seat facing Seras. Nabiki took in the uniform, noting that it wasn't from any police or military force she was familiar with, and came to the conclusion that the other woman had to be working for some private military organisation. Taking into consideration her counterpart's nature, which a quick look at her chi had revealed to be of the vampire kind, only one such organisation came to Nabiki's mind. She had up to now only heard rumours about it, a private fighting force dedicated to fighting vampires and other monsters that threatened England's population. Now there was no longer any doubt in Nabiki's mind that this Hellsing organisation did indeed exist.
Ranma put a cup down in front of Seras, interrupting both women's thoughts.
“I think some introductions are in order. I'm Ranma Saotome. This,” he said, indicating Nabiki, “is Nabiki Tendo.”
He caught the Tendo girl's gaze and tilted his head slightly, his eyes flickering from Nabiki to their guest meaningfully.
The mercenary girl nodded almost imperceptibly, having caught her Master's wordless warning.
For a few moments she marvelled at the extent with which she and her Master were able to communicate without words, a thing she never would have thought possible before her transformation. It was also hinting at a familiarity between them that she found a little frightening in its implications.
“And this is Seras Victoria,” Ranma finished the introductions with a nod towards the blonde woman, causing Nabiki to focus back on the matters at hand.
“Now that we all know each other, would you mind telling us who you're working for and what the purpose of your visit is?” Nabiki spoke up quickly, putting pressure on their guest and getting her off-balance.
Seras was a little put off by the aggressive tone in the mercenary girl's voice. “Uhm, well, I've been sent here by my commander.”
“I figured as much,” Nabiki interrupted quickly, narrowing her eyes and leaning forward. “What I want to know is just who your commander is and why you've been sent here.”
Now Seras was growing increasingly worried, the aggression in the other woman's voice and body language impossible to miss. If things went on like this, she was sure the other woman was going to attack her, and Seras had no illusions about whose side Ranma would be on, if a fight between her and Nabiki broke out.
Haven't I told you not to worry, police girl? Alucard spoke to her telepathically, You're still relying on your human senses. Use your third eye to analyse the situation, police girl, and you will see that this is all an act put on by this Tendo girl to frighten you. There is no real aggressiveness involved.
Seras took a deep breath to calm down, trusting her Master's words. She concentrated like she had done during her first mission as a Hellsing operative and used the abilities given to her by her Master.
Seras could feel some curiosity coming from Nabiki, but it was almost overwhelmed by distrust and extreme caution, which didn't really surprise her.
Turning her supernatural senses towards Ranma, Seras' eyes almost widened in shock. He was as cautious as his companion, if not even more so, but there was also some concern for her! It was almost undetectable, but it was definitely there. Knowing that the pigtailed vampire felt concerned for her, made the Draculina happy for some reason.
“I have been sent here by Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, head of the Hellsing of organisation, to find out why you are here in London.” Seras said, all traces of nervousness and anxiety gone from her voice.
“You mean the Hellsing organisation that's responsible for fighting and destroying vampires in England?” asked Nabiki with an edge to her voice.
“Yes, exactly,” admitted Seras. Feeling Ranma tense up in preparation for a fight, she quickly added, “But we only kill those monsters who are a threat to the English people. That's why I'm here: To find out why you're in London and if you're a threat!”
“And what if we are?” challenged Ranma. This sounded an awful lot like blackmail to him: Tell us why you're here, or you'll be killed. If we don't like your reasons for being here, we'll kill you regardless. And he'd had enough of being blackmailed and manipulated to last him a lifetime.
“Then I'm afraid you'll be destroyed,” Seras mumbled quietly.
“Yeah right,” scoffed Ranma. “And who's gonna do that? You? No offence, but you're way too weak to beat or even destroy me. And although I don't like beating up girls, I'd make an exception in this case.”
“No, the pleasure of destroying you would be mine,” a new voice spoke up, preventing an angry response from Seras. It seemed to be coming from all around them, the voice bouncing off the walls of the flat. Only seconds after that announcement, the wall next to Seras turned black and seemed to shimmer slightly, before a tall man dressed in a red suit and wearing a red hat floated through it.
When Alucard was fully inside the flat, he smirked at Ranma. “And I assure you, I'm strong enough to kill you without trouble.”
Ranma looked the new arrival up and down, then answered with his own smirk. “I wouldn't bet on that. I've taken down plenty of opponents that were more powerful than me. I wouldn't go down without a fight.”
Alucard's smirk widened. “I don't doubt that.” His hand went inside his jacket, closing around the grip of his Casull in preparation for a fight, when Nabiki suddenly spoke up, cutting the mounting tension between her room-mate and the Hellsing vampire.
“All right, that's enough! We're not looking for a fight,” she said, shooting Ranma a look. She thought he had changed from the brash cocky young man he had been before their transformation, but it seemed like he was still the same old Ranma in certain aspects.
“That's a shame,” commented Alucard, who nevertheless relaxed.
“We're here because we're looking for help with certain things,” Nabiki answered Seras inquiries vaguely.
Alucard could guess what those things were. “If you're looking for a cure for your 'vampirisim',” He pronounced the last word with an almost mocking tone, “Then I'm afraid you won't have much luck. There is no cure for that.”
“No, it's not that,” said Ranma, “It's something more personal,” he finished, his cheeks reddening.
“If you're not looking for a way to become normal humans again, then what is it you're looking for?” Seras asked.
“Like Ranma said, it's personal. We don't want to talk about it,” Nabiki answered harshly. “But we can assure you that we're not here to go on a murderous rampage. As soon as we find somebody to help us with this ... problem, or if we're convinced we won't be able find somebody who can help us here, we'll be going back home.”
“I see,” Alucard said. Then he turned towards Seras. “We'll be on our way then. Come on police girl, we're leaving.” When he saw Ranma about to get up, he added, “Don't bother showing us out.”
Ranma and Nabiki remained sitting at the table, watching the two Hellsing vampires as they left.
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(Posted Sun, 09 Dec 2007 21:08)
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