A/N: Written during a phase of madness. Only read if you're prepared for anything. And I mean anything. AxI (can't write anything else, sorry.)

By: t5ur-t51d

ALPHA

A gunshot.

It was a loud sound.

Her shoulder bled and hurt. But she did not tremble.

One shot was all it took.

The empty shell fell down with a sharp noise. Strangely, Richard fell down quietly enough.

So was the beginning of the leadership of Integra Wingates Hellsing, the righteous sword.

1.

Even though Alucard had saved her life, Integra still felt uncanny having the monster following her on her way to the house doctor. Asking about what he was doing didn't seem much of an option either. Perhaps vampire servants have to do this all the time? She knew Walter did not do such a thing, but then Walter got paid, did not call her 'my master', and his service agreement was something every other butler in the whole England did. She'd never known what a vampire as a butler, er, a servant, did. Taking bullets meant for the master was one of it, obviously.

She reached the door leading to the doctor's room and wondered what Dr. Seward would do if he saw Alucard. She decided to keep her new servant out of sight and spoke, "Alucard, you better..." As she turned, the vampire was no longer visible. Her eyes widened. He'd been just behind her, she was sure. Exactly a few seconds ago, right here. She stared down the corridor, trying to spot dusts, mist, bat, or whatever she'd read that vampires usually turned into. There was nothing, even after she strained her eyes.

She tried to preserve her composure, but she couldn't help beaming and thinking, cool!

As she walked inside the doctor's room, somewhere in the shadow Alucard broke into his first hearty grin after 20 years.

- - -

After doctor Seward treated her, Integra decided to go to her father's office, in spite of the doctor's entreaties that she got some rest to make up for the loss of blood and to prevent complications that might come up. But Integra was determined to find out any information about Alucard as much as possible. It was not as if she were afraid of him; all right, she felt fascination mixed with dread, but it was not out of place, she supposed. After all, vampires are not some agreeable chap you spend your leisure time with. But her beloved father had led her to him. He must know what he was doing, and for that part Arthur Hellsing's vouch was a better guarantee than anything else could be. Now she had to find out just what the scope of her protection was.

"Integra..." the good doctor started again.

Integra got up and made for the door. "Thank you for your care, doctor Seward. I have to go now. I have work to do."

"Very well then," the doctor sighed, getting up to open the door for the lady of the house. "I take it your work will not involve something dangerous or harmful to your already wounded arm?"

"I'll see to it, doctor."

The doctor smiled at her and closed the door. He'd known Integra since she was just a little girl and had always been amused by her dignified manner of carrying herself. He supposed it was something she'd inherited directly from her father. It was sad that she should spend her infancy without mother and now without father. And her uncle's plan to kill her, which he only found out just now, was simply outraging.

Dr. Seward turned around, intending to work on the data entry of Integra's latest treatment. He gasped involuntarily at what he saw. From his monitor about twenty red eyes winked at him. "A new sort of screen saver?" The eyes disappeared as he walked closer to the monitor. "Oh no..." he groaned. "Must be some virus..."

- - -

Integra rummaged through everything that she could find in her father's desk in his office. She'd been doing so systematically for at least five hours but still she found nothing. There were a lot of interesting and important things she learned, but not what she was looking for.

She was so sure there must be something about it in the office. Her father couldn't have put something so secretive in the library, could he? Uncle Richard could have found out about it, and Alucard wouldn't have been her protection. But then, Richard had never been a diligent reader. While Integra and her father could enjoy the quiet library for hours, he was never longer than half an hour there, and even so he would always be trying to engage them into conversation.

She remembered how she'd always made him stop by pointing to a book and asking seriously, "Uncle, have you read that book? It is very interesting." Uncle Richard would mutter something about doing it later and get out of the library, which she would only notice after she was done with her book. Her father would lean deeper into the chair and put the book higher as to cover his lower part of the face, his eyes twinkling. Integra used to think he'd just found something amusing in his book.

Father...

She stared at the nearest pile to her. It was very late. She was tired. But she was determined to continue with her research. She must find out more of her father's legacy to her. There were too many riddles concerning the vampire. Why, did an institute that eliminated the undead actually have one stored in the basement? Was Alucard too strong to be destroyed at once? But if it were so, why did her father tell her to seek protection from him? So he couldn't be thoroughly, in a mundane expression, bad. It seemed there had been quite a complicated case involving Alucard, whom, for now, she didn't even know where or how to find.

But she did know that she was tired and needed a break. Yawning, the girl stretched her arms upward and pushed the chair backward with her feet against the desk. The chair hit something solid and stopped moving.

Integra looked up and found a pair of red eyes above her. "Oh, it's you," she said, not displeased.

Alucard stepped from behind the chair and stopped at her side, kneeling on one knee so that the difference in height did not have to strain Integra's neck while she maintained eye contact. "How is your shoulder, master?"

Integra appreciated his obliging attention very much, but replied in her matter-of-fact tone, "Dr. Seward treated it, thank you. He doesn't know about you, does he?"

"No."

"I thought so. And the other servants?"

"Only Walter knows me."

"Then, the others don't need to know about you either," she decided and then noticed his new suit. It matches his eyes.

Alucard grinned. "Yes, my master."

She still looked at him. Incredible. A vampire at my command. Alucard would definitely have come in handy when a long time ago she had to go to school every day. Some of the teachers made it their habit to run her down at every opportunity. Alucard has only to bare his teeth, she thought and grinned to herself, imagining how those teachers would tumble pell-mell and return with perhaps the police only to find Alucard gone.

The girl jumped down the chair and paced in the room, hands behind her back. "Tell me, Alucard. What is exactly the content of your servitude to my family?"

Alucard's voice was simply purring with delight. "I won't deny you anything, my master."

Integra stopped and turned to face him. "Great! Now tell me where I can find information about how a vampire came to serve the Hellsing family."

Alucard got up, still grinning, and looked at the papers on the desk. "You won't find it here. The oldest of the papers here are not old enough to tell anything of me."

"But they're dating 200 years back!"

"I'm much older than that."

Integra looked at him, trying to comprehend the meaning of being older more than 200 years, and felt very tired at once.

"And what was the reason of your imprisonment?"

"That I'll leave to you to find out by yourself."

"Why? You said you won't deny me anything."

"Everyone has to make their own distorted version of the truth."

She sighed, dismissing him, "Good night, Alucard."

"Pleasant dreams, master."

- - -

tbc