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

Like the Dawn

Chapter Seven

Kagome yawned as she watched one of Integra's men set up an archery target, and she suddenly wasn't so sure if she was actually up to this. Sure, she'd slept some on the plane, but she was still exhausted. And a small crowd was gathering to watch. And they were whispering. Most likely about her. And she was still in her dress. It had taken them a while to dig out any stored archery equipment since Integra's forces were more focused on firearms, but once everything was found, things started happening quickly.

'Okay, deep breaths,' she thought. How bad could it really go? It wasn't like she'd completely set aside her archery. Since returning from the past, she'd used a bow a couple of times. A few years ago. But maybe it was like riding a bike? And it wasn't like she had a lot riding on this or anything. Just her pride and possibly her future. Kagome really needed to stop thinking.

As someone handed her a bow and small quiver of arrows, Kagome suddenly realized that yes, maybe she was a little in over her head at the moment. Was it possible to ask to do this later? Maybe when she was more well rested and had the chance to find a bow more familiar to her?

In her hands wasn't a simple wooden longbow like she'd used for years. It was a sleek but complicated-looking compound bow, all black and carbon fiber. It was also lighter than she expected from looking at it. Giving the bowstring a few test draws, Kagome found that she was able to draw it back easily enough, though she'd prefer a bow that was hers that she'd have time to string and adjust herself. Integra would probably give her the time if she asked for it, but…

Kagome glanced over her shoulder to see Integra, Seras, Alucard, and a small gathering of men who'd been in the training hall when Integra had shown up and called for a bow and target. Integra seemed patient enough, but the others… not so much. The uniformed men were pointing and talking quietly amongst themselves. A few were laughing quietly and shaking their heads. Kagome was well aware of how she looked. Compared to pretty much everyone else in the room, she was very small. She wasn't dressed for training. She'd just arrived and they didn't know anything about her. She'd yet to really prove herself to anyone here or show them what she was capable of. Except maybe Alucard.

Speaking of, the vampire was looming along the edges of the room. Kagome wasn't sure how he managed to loom in a bright, fully lit room, but he did. It was like shadows simply congregated around him. She couldn't see his face very well, except for maybe the faint glow of his eyes, but she could feel his smirk. And it felt mocking, like he was still taunting her even with part of his hand still missing. The low chatter of the human men didn't bother her nearly as much as the feeling that Alucard was still looking down on her. He should've known better at this point.

'Fine,' Kagome thought, narrowing her eyes at the infuriating vampire, Kagome tightened her grip on the bow and moved to face her target.

A few deep breaths in and out and Kagome was pulling her first arrow from the quiver given to her. Looking down, she counted six, including the one in her hand. Six shots to show that she could belong here. Six shots to show that she knew what she was doing. Six shots to wipe that stupid smirk off of Alucard's face.

Nocking her first arrow, Kagome steadied her breathing, drew back, lined up her shot, and released. She cringed when the string caught and drug across the sleeve of her sweater dress, killing the power of the shot and throwing off accuracy. Kagome was a little surprised the arrow hit the target at all, though it was stuck in the very outer edge.

Kagome set aside the bow and set about pushing up her sleeves as far as she could get them. Up past her elbows, she knew that she was stretching them out, but she had bigger things to worry about for the moment.

Drawing her second arrow, Kagome took up a strong footing stance and took another deep breath. Arrow nocked and drawn back, Kagome lined up her shot and released, wincing a bit when the string still grazed her bare forearm. The shot was better, more accurate, though still not anywhere near a bullseye, too low on the target.

Kagome swallowed and tried not to listen to the talk behind her. She just needed to get used to the bow. She'd never used one like this before and it was throwing her off. At least, she hoped that's what the issue was.

The third arrow was high enough but still pulled to the right. Gaining her confidence back, Kagome nocked her fourth arrow and adjusted her aim. She held her breath as she released and watched the arrow fly. Her breath left her in a relieved sigh when this one finally hit the red circle in the target's center. She smiled to herself, proud of the shot until a low voice spoke somewhere behind her.

"That took long enough."

Whirling around, Kagome's eyes were immediately on Alucard. She could see the white of his teeth, his fangs, as he grinned at her. As much as she hated it, Kagome was coming to realize that Alucard was one of those people. People who couldn't have their own fun unless they were getting a rise out of someone.

Feeling her resolve solidify, Kagome turned her back to everyone watching her, but especially to Alucard. Fine. If he was like that, she would just have to show him what she was capable of, wouldn't she?

Kagome had been holding back putting any of her power into her shots while she tried to figure out the bow with a few practice shots. But that was finished.

Pulling her fifth arrow, Kagome nocked it as she drew back, closed her eyes and focused. It had been a while, but the swell of power that lived deep inside her, the power that been buzzing under her skin and rushing through her veins untapped for years, came rushing up to meet her like an old friend as soon as she called for it. Everything tingled as it focused into her hands and traveled into her weapons, manifesting as a soft glow. But once she opened her eyes and took her shot, the soft glow exploded into a show of bright lights, leaving a comet's trail of sparks behind it.

When the arrow struck the target, dead center, the target was also engulfed in a light so blinding it almost couldn't be looked at directly.

Kagome turned back around to face her audience. There were varying levels of shock and several people were talking, but Kagome's eyes were fixed and steady on Alucard, her challenge clear. I have one more arrow if you dare.

Alucard's smirk widened for a brief moment and Kagome would almost swear that she heard a deep chuckle echo around her. But before she could place the source of the sound, Alucard was bowing out, fading back into his gathering of shadows and disappearing into the wall behind him.

Kagome was only snapped from her trance of staring at the wall when Integra's hand fell on her shoulder. Starting slightly, Kagome looked up at the taller woman who was smiling down at her. Kagome couldn't quite place the look, but it was a warm smile, maybe a little fond or proud.

"That was spectacular, Kagome," Integra praised as Seras stood close by, gesturing wildly in amazement with both arms. "Your display was beyond any expectation I could have had."

Unsure what to say under the weight of Integra's gaze, Kagome swallowed and nodded. "Thank you," she finally managed. "It's been so long, I was nervous. And this isn't really the type of bow I'm used to using."

"If the bow is your preferred weapon, I'll track down whatever kind you feel you'd be most comfortable using," Integra immediately assured. "However, if you decide to stay, you'll be trained in how to use several types of weapons. You have to able to defend yourself in any situation."

If she decided to stay. The words echoed in Kagome's mind and she realized that it wasn't already a sure thing. She'd been so skeptical and unsure when first coming to the Hellsing estate, but after just a few hours, after hearing of vampires and the Hellsing family's mission, Kagome was all but positive that she'd be staying. She hadn't even noticed her shift in stance as it happened. All she knew now was that she needed to stay in this house. She needed this in her life.

Kagome opened her mouth to say as much, but before the words would come, a wide yawn took over.

"Oh my," Integra chuckled as she gently squeezed Kagome's shoulder. "I apologize, Kagome. In my eagerness to see what your powers were capable of, I forgot that you've had a very long day with your flight and arrival here." Taking the bow and quiver from Kagome, Integra passed them along to a man standing nearby before she continued, "Go get some rest and take time to think about what you've learned about the organization. We'll speak tomorrow when you're rested."

The air of finality to Integra's words left Kagome's sleep-hazy brain unwilling to put up any sort of argument. Sleep sounded wonderful. Kagome nodded once before Integra patted her shoulder and removed her hand.

"Seras," Integra addressed the remaining vampire. "Escort Kagome back to her room for the evening." She turned to leave the training hall but paused when something else occurred to her. Turning slightly to speak over her shoulder, she said, "And if you see Alucard along the way, tell him that he is to leave Kagome in peace."

Seras gave a snappy salute and Integra was on her way once again. As soon as the Hellsing family head was out of sight, Seras rounded on Kagome with wide eyes. "That was amazing!" She enthused, almost reaching out to touch Kagome before she caught herself. "Ah… is it okay to touch you? Is it dangerous?"

"No, I know you don't mean harm. You'll be fine," Kagome laughed tiredly as she went to tug her sleeves down. It was then that she saw a bruise on her forearm where the bowstring had caught her. But as she watched it, the last of the blues and purples were fading to browns and then greens and then light shades of splotchy yellow. Soon enough, it was completely gone and Kagome finished pulling down her sleeve. There were other things about her body aside from not aging. Things that would need to be brought up with Integra at some point.

Seras continued to talk to her animatedly the entire way back to her room, but Kagome could only partially follow along. As tired as she was, she was having trouble keeping up with Seras's accented English with as fast as she was speaking. Kagome simply smiled and gave a nod when it seemed appropriate.

When they reached her room and Kagome was safely inside, Seras grinned from the hallway, just outside the doorway. "I'm glad you've come," she said. "I think Sir Integra has been worried lately. About the family name, about the organization, about me… about Master."

"About who would inherit?" Kagome guess as she slipped off her shoes.

Seras nodded. "But you're here now," she said. "And from what I've seen so far, I wouldn't mind calling you Master one day too." Kagome was taken aback for a moment, but before she could say anything, Seras was talking again. "Get a good night's rest, Miss Kagome! I'm sure Arthur will have you up bright and early in the morning!" With that she was shutting the solid wooden door and disappeared from Kagome's view.

Kagome scrubbed her hands over her face and sighed. She certainly had a lot to think about.

Several hours after she'd gone to bed, Kagome woke with a short gasp. She sat up quickly, mind trying to catch up to what had woken up her and put her instincts on high alert. It didn't take long to find the source of her disturbance.

Standing almost exactly in the middle of her room was Alucard, just as creepy and menacing as he'd been earlier.

"It's you," Kagome groaned before flopping back down onto her pillows to stretch. Even with just a few hours of sleep, she felt much better than she had. That is, until she looked over at her alarm clock and saw that it was a little after three in the morning. Sitting back up, irritated, she demanded, "What are you doing in here? Ms. Hellsing said you're supposed to leave me alone."

"No," Alucard argued, tone taunting. "She said I'm to leave you in peace. I came here with nothing but peaceful intentions."

"You are…" Kagome gaped, at a loss for words at his audacity. "You are just… so…" Alucard laughed at her, fangs flashing in the dark, and Kagome felt a jolt go up her spine. Quickly reaching for a book on her nightstand, she held it above her head as it started glowing a soft pink. "If you come over here, I'm throwing this at your head."

"You're welcome to try," Alucard smirked. "Unlike an archery target, I won't sit still for you to hit."

Kagome dropped the book onto the mattress and glared at the vampire who hadn't moved from his spot since she'd woken up. Pressing both of her hands firmly to the bed, she pushed out all of the power she could draw up at the moment. Slowly, the bedding and mattress and even the fame itself began to glow. "Maybe I can't hit you," she said, feeling herself already starting to breathe a little harder. She wasn't used to putting so much of her power into something so large. "But I can sure as hell keep you from coming to me."

Instead of irritated or intimidated, Alucard seemed amused more than anything else. His laughter rang out again as he instead walked over to Kagome's small sitting area and draped himself on the chaise lounge. "You're more interesting than I thought you'd be," he confessed as he removed his wide-brimmed hat and dropped it on the small coffee table nearby.

Kagome could only stare as her powers sputtered out and she had to brace herself from falling over. She felt a little light-headed from using so much power, but she couldn't take her eyes off of Alucard. That's what he looked like?

In the moonlight filtering in through the gauzy curtains, there was no denying that he was anything but handsome; short black hair that framed his finely angled face where glowing red eyes stood out in the dark. Somehow, the fact that he was attractive just seemed to irritate Kagome all the more.

"What do you want?" Kagome finally asked. "I was trying to get some sleep and I assume you weren't looking for a repeat of earlier." After a short pause, she added with no small amount of sass, "How's your hand, by the way?"

Grinning broadly, Alucard lifted his damaged hand. It was better than when he'd first taken Kagome's attack, but it was still far from fine. "It's on the mend."

"That's a shame."

Again, Alucard laughed. "That," he pointed at her. "The lack of fear is… refreshing." Alucard propped a cheek in his hand as though it were completely normal for them to be having a casual chat in Kagome's dark bedroom in the middle of the night. "I haven't seen the likes of that since your mother."

"My…?" Kagome paused, confused, until she realized who he was talking about. "Ms. Hellsing isn't my mother," she corrected.

"You came from part of her," Alucard said. "For a human, that's close enough."

"No, it's not," Kagome insisted. "My mother is the person who raised me."

Alucard hummed. "Then what is Ms. Hellsing to you?" He asked, still not quite dropping the mocking tone he seemed so accustomed to using.

"I…" Kagome hesitated in answering. "I don't know. I'm still figuring that out." After a beat of silence, she asked, "What is she to you?" It was something Kagome was curious about. Who was Integra to Alucard, a human woman who was able to control a being with as much power as he held?

"She is my beloved Master," Alucard answered easily. "Much as you'll be if you continue to prove entertaining and worthy."

As much as it irritated her to be considered a source of entertainment for Alucard, she could understand needing to be worthy of someone like him. But the phrasing used made her uneasy. "What do you mean by "Master"?"

"The one who holds my reins," Alucard said with a wave of his hand. "It is at her word that I protect or attack. She calls and I come, she commands and I obey. I've belonged to the Hellsing family for generations, under contract to whoever the family head is at the time."

There. That was the implication that made Kagome uncomfortable. "You… belong to them?"

Alucard nodded. "My fate was sealed and bound to this family some time ago. And if you stay, I will be bound to you until your death and after that to any spawn you might have."

"I don't want to… own anyone," Kagome said, voice soft as her stomach turned. This wasn't what she thought she was getting into when she'd come to England.

Alucard's smile spread slowly across his face, bright white even in the dark and fanged. Tone devious, he asked, "Then you're in the wrong family, aren't you?"

Kagome swallowed. She had a lot more to consider than she'd originally thought.