Chapter 1: Brush With Death

-Untamed Wings-

Based on my other fic, The Other Path, but with a lot more content placed in-between

-Hellsing-

The recent death of his parents had shaken Minato Arisato, in the time between the bluenette was taken in by the Kirijo Group for temporary care.

"..." the little boy looked up, seeing a girl around his age, perhaps a little older and he decided to wave at her.

"Hi," the girl said with a sweet tone in her voice, "my name is Mitsuru Kirijo, my daddy is the big boss of this company, but don't be fooled by the eyepatch, he's a really nice guy at heart."

"That's enough Mitsuru," a man with an eyepatch groaned, "Mister Arisato here has suffered a terrible loss."

"Really," the redhead said with a shocked expression on her face, "does he need our help to find it, the thing that he lost?"

Patting his daughter's head, Takeharu Kirijo motioned for her to wait for him outside the office.

"I'm sorry about that," the man apologized, his tone was grim, "she means well."

"I know," the boy replied.

"About what happened that night..." the President trailed off.

"I dunno," the bluenette looked sullen, "I remember the car crashing then blacking out soon after...I don't remember anything else."

"I see," the adult pondered.

Suddenly, one of Kirijo's bodyguards burst thru the wooden doors.

"Sir," the man announced, "some people have come here for the boy."

"People?" Takeharu needed more than the vaguest of descriptions.

"My apologies," the body guard bowed, "they're from England, they call themselves-"

"The Hellsing Organization," a dark skinned blonde interrupted with a slight smirk on her face, "we came as soon as we heard the unfortunate news."

"May I ask how you are related to young Arisato-kun here?" the man gazed with his remaining eye.

"His parents were members of our group," the woman answered, "it was written in their wills that should anything untoward happen to them, that he be placed in our care."

"Is that so?" Takeharu eyed the woman and her butler suspiciously.

"I see," the woman groaned before snapping her fingers, "Walter, the paperwork please."

"Yes Sir Integra," the butler bowed in respect to the order as he swiftly and neatly searched the briefcase in his hands.

"I understand your concerns," the blonde smiled, "but I assure you, all the paperwork is already filed and quite legitimate."

"Here you go sir," the raven-haired butler handed the paperwork to the company president, "I do so hope that we can finish this business soon, we have much work to do back in the motherland."

The meeting had finally concluded, Integra and Walter were making the preparations to leave Japan for London, Minato said his goodbyes to the little redheaded girl who tried to cheer him up. Upon their arrival at the airport, the youth stared with wonder at all the varieties of flying machines. Being on the private jet was the bluenette's first time on an airplane since he was a baby, Minato thought to himself, his parents would go on trips and leave him with his grandfather at times, although the circumstances behind this current trip could have been better.

"Are you certain that you had nothing left in Japan?" the kindly gentleman asked politely.

"Nothing," the bluenette answered succinctly.

"I'll run this by you now so that Walter and I may answer any questions you may have," Integra said with a scowl, not out of disrespect, but as the natural setting of her face, "you will be staying with us at the Hellsing manor."

"All your meals, clothing, education and personal finances will be taken care of," the butler continued with a smile, "by the generosity of the Queen and the Royal Treasury."

"The Queen?" the boy asked in awe, "Of England?"

"Yes," the blonde woman suppressed a chuckle, "of course we do have some ground rules when we arrive."

"There aren't any other children on the grounds," Walter began, "we've taken you in because your parents have done a lot of work for us, any trouble you might've been in otherwise would be our responsibility and we wouldn't want that."

"You are to stay in your room at night," the blonde fixed her glasses, "and you are free to explore the grounds during the day."

"Except, of course," the raven haired man interrupted, index finger raised, "the basement."

"Okay," the bluenette agreed, "mom and dad didn't like me wandering off. What's wrong with the basement?"

"A lot of old things are being kept there," the butler said, pouring himself a fresh cup of tea, "we wouldn't want you breaking anything now would we?"

"I guess not," Minato understood the reasoning behind it.

After a short flight which felt like an eternity to the young lad, they were picked up by a fancy black car that proceeded to take them to the biggest house that the boy had ever seen. Walter then escorted the boy to a room that was furnished for a child his age, a comfortable bed, a television and clothes to his size, surprising since he had arrived just hours earlier.

"Mister Arisato," the butler addressed the boy politely, "if there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask the maids for assistance."

"Walter-san..." the boy spoke with what little English he knew, "will I see my parents again."

"..." the butler froze before he could leave the room, "I'm sorry, but I don't know, I wouldn't know, and if I could know then I would tell you, but I do not have the answer."

"Thank you," the bluenette said gratefully before taking his first rest in a foreign land.

-Meanwhile-

...Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, Head of Hellsing's Office...

There was a single person in the room, a bespectacled woman who took a fancy to smoking a cigar to keep her mind off of things. Eventually, she was joined by her butler who seemed rather distraught.

"Sir Integra..." the butler addressed his master.

"I know what you're thinking," the woman cut him off, "but you also know the answer to your own question don't you?"

"Knowing doesn't make it any easier," Walter countered, "it never does."

Suddenly, an unearthly presence entered the room. From the shadows, a figure in red walked out into the moonlight room.

"Those two knew what their decisions could lead to," the man in red pointed at a photo of Minato's deceased parents, "they chose this path and brought him along with them."

"Lest he fall prey to our adversaries," the blonde woman held her hands just under her nose, "the world we take part in is fraught with such things after all."

"Well said sir," the butler smiled if only to lift the ache that scowling had left him, "though I feel that this boy will see far more than he should very soon."

"Millenium?" the man in red raised an eyebrow as she recalled the message she received from Enrico Maxwell, "They have been making more noise lately, haven't they?"

"We'll be meeting with Iscariot's head in a week's time," Integra stated, "tomorrow, our new security team should arrive."

"I'm looking forward to that," the man in red's voice echoed, "and meeting our new ward."

"Alucard," the woman set her cold gaze at the man, "do try your best not to traumatize the boy."

"As you wish my master," Alucard bowed before sinking back into the shadows.

-The next day-

The bluenette took the stern woman's words to heart and stayed in his room until the sun rose, he did have his first bout of jet lag after all. Minato then shifted his gaze to an antique clock and realized that he hadn't had anything for breakfast.

"So hungry..." the boy thought aloud, "I wonder if mom can fix something..."

A sharp pain shot through his mind, causing him to clutch his head.

"That's right...They're dead," the boy reminded himself.

In his silence, the now stoic child walked to the nearest maid, asking her where he could get some breakfast. The girl escorted him to a large dining room, but suddenly left just as soon as she had dropped the boy off, wary not to lock eyes with the blonde seating at the table.

"Why'd she leave so fast?" Minato wondered, "There's a girl here."

Staring at the dining table, the Japanese boy saw a lavish spread, bread, smoked ham, sausages, omelets, fruits, vegetables, soup and just about any food one can imagine. At the edge of the table sat a blonde woman, fairly young, who seemed to be having difficulty on what to eat as she had barely touched the food on her plate.

"Ex-cuse me," the boy said in his accented English, "can I join you?"

"Hm?" the blonde shifted her gaze from her plate to the young lad, "Oh, er, of course."

Quietly, the boy took a few loaves of bread, buttered them and ate them in peace. Afterwards, he took a small serving of omelets and ate them with a few slices of ham. Looking up, the boy noticed that the girl was staring at him, as if in envy of something.

"Sorr-y," the boy apologized as he set his fork down, "I didn't me-an to di-sturb you."

"No, not at all," the girl said sheepishly, "I'm just very busy, thinking about work and all."

"Oh," the bluenette replied plainly, his face expressing little to no emotion, "I'm Minato Arisato by the way."

"I'm Seras, Seras Victoria," the blonde introduced herself with a cheerful smile before bidding farewell to the child, the light of the rising sun had made her uncomfortable.

"She didn't even finish her food," the boy said, looking at a nearly full plate of omelets and bread that were at most, partially chewed.

-Later that day-

The boy was not exactly adventurous, instead, he had taken up the exploration of the estate as a means of taking his mind off of...recent events. So far, Minato had been everywhere except the library, the basement, and Sir Integra's office. Since two out of three were off-limits, the boy decided to search the library, a good book could help him kill time.

*Creak*

The wooden doors that lead to the library were clearly aged, making sounds as they were pulled from their state of rest. The room itself was fairly large, around nine times more spacious than the bluenette's room. Looking around the room, it was obvious to the youth that the library was still well maintained by the staff of the manor.

"Where do I look for a nice book to read?" Minato thought to himself, "I don't even think I can reach the third row of the shelf."

"I recommend that you read the works of Tolkien, perhaps Pratchett if you're willing to invest the time." a deep voice boomed from the corner of the room, "good literature is so hard to find nowadays, soon, the children of the future will be fawning over pathetic vampire wannabes that sparkle in the sun."

The boy was paralyzed at the sight of the man, it was so familiar, like the presence of the 'thing' on the night of the crash,so dark, so filled with evil.

"..." the boy covered his mouth, about to scream, ignoring the urge to speak at the absurdity of sparkling vampires.

"What's wrong," the man in red raised an eyebrow at the child's reaction, "cat got your tongue?"

"What in the world are you?" Minato asked, his instincts telling him to run as fast as he could.

"I see," the man scowled, not angry at the boy, but himself "Sir Integra calls me...Alucard."

"Alucard..." the boy filed the name in his 'Names to Run Away From' list.

Strangely, the man in red took a single book and laid it on the table before leaving the boy on his own.

"?" the bluenette kept his sights on the man until Alucard disappeared into the shadows.

Looking at the strange book that was left on the table, the young lad reached for it and opened the piece of literature as it was quite old, not even a title in its cover.

"The Lord of the Rings, this looks like a nice book," the bluenette read, "maybe that man isn't as bad as I thought."

-Elsewhere, moments later-

Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing wasn't really much for sports, she learned fencing and shooting, but for self defense purposes due to the nature of her occupation. As such, the woman would stay in her office during the day to look over the bureaucratic headaches that managing her family's 'dark secret' often resulted in.

"Good afternoon," a deep voice said, coming out of nowhere, "my Master."

"What are you doing awake in the middle of the day?" Integra complained, "If it isn't obvious enough to you, I'm dealing with the damages that we suffered at the hands of the Valentine Brothers, not to mention the cryptic message they left us."

"How goes the search for our new security then?" the man in red asked, ignoring the comment about the fake vampires.

"Since when is a vampire concerned with a human security detail?" the blonde raised an eyebrow.

"When the security detail in question is designated to keep his coffin intact," Alucard said matter-of-factly.

"I suppose that is an acceptable reason," Integra sighed.

"Oh," the vampire snapped his fingers, "and I've met our young guest."

"What did you do?" the woman said with a tone that made it clear that she was not pleased.

"I've given him a reading assignment," Alucard sighed, "Tolkien seemed appropriate."

"You know what I'm referring to," Integra fumed.

"Oh that," the vampire feigned ignorance, "I did nothing of the sort, my Master, the lad managed to figure it out on his own."

"Really?" the woman said mockingly, "You expect me to believe that?"

"Since you returned from Japan," Alucard spoke, his glasses coming off to look his Master in the eyes, "I've been feeling something, and meeting him has only confirmed my suspicions."

"Is he a threat?" Integra asked, the conversation turning serious, the woman placed a paperweight over the documentation.

"That isn't the right question," the vampire removed his hat, removing some unsightly wrinkles, "it's how much of a threat he could become."

"Explain yourself, vampire," the blonde did not have the liberty of immortality, her time was precious.

"There are two options," Alucard gestured lifting his hand.

"Two?" the woman scowled, "I don't like the lack of choices you're giving me."

"One," the man in red grinned devilishly, "we keep him away from Japan, and allow whatever unholy existence is there to prevail and grow like an annoying itch that never leaves."

"When you say itch," the blonde lit a cigar and puffed twice, "you're implying that there would still be a problem, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes," Alucard answered, "people would probably fall ill and some may die."

"The second option?" the woman rested her head on her hand, struggling to take in the information of how a small boy could be the center of so much trouble.

"Two," the vampire's grin grew wider, "we allow him to go back, with two possible outcomes, cutting of this accursed tumor, or making it spread like a cancer."

"The second would involve judicious use of violence wouldn't it?" Integra groaned.

"Yes, my Master," the man in red agreed, "so much, that the blood of his enemies shall flood the streets he chooses to walk in."

"Now may I ask how you know all this?" the head of the Organization huffed.

"The feeling I've been getting is quite nostalgic," the vampire's grin died down to a neutral expression, "you could say I haven't felt it since I was a man, a man on his last days, to be executed by his enemies."

"You don't mean..." the woman looked down, she hated when the monster would stop wearing the mask of immortality, when Alucard would reveal the tortured existence of a man pushed to the brink.

"Yes, the entity that made me into what I am today," the man's voice boomed in the small office, "that which made me a Nosferatu! It lingers near him."

-That Evening-

The bluenette could hardly get any sleep, it seemed that a rowdy bunch of men have found their way to the mansion. Opening the window, the boy was quite annoyed by the noise, he might as well listen in, it should be fine, he wasn't English after all.

*Creak*

The windows were just as old as the library door, well maintained by the staff, but there was a certain charmed to its age, still too noisy for the bluenette in the end.

"I wonder what they're talking about," the boy thought aloud.

The boy first heard a man with a French accent, accompanied by the laughter of what could possibly be a battalion. Later, the familiar voice of Sir Integra Hellsing seemed to be chiding the men. Next, a feminine voice, one Minato heard not too long ago, that of Seras Victoria, who was strangely followed by what could only be gunshots of some kind, and grown men seemingly cowering in fear.

Then...

His voice echoed in that room, the man in red who filled the boy with a fear in the library. The one who wasn't human. And everything fell silent.

"That's weird," Minato sighed as he turned his back on the window to reach the light switch, ready to turn in for the night.

"Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to eavesdrop?" the deep voice said unusually near, "And didn't Walter tell you to keep the windows closed at night?"

"Gah," the boy fell on the floor in shock.

Alucard was standing outside the bedroom window, with no balcony that could possibly support him, his raven hair flowed in the night sky.

"Get used to it kid," the vampire scolded the youth, "your parents entrusted you to us to keep you safe, but they also knew that what we do would put your life at risk, so imagine how much worse it could be had you been anywhere else."

Shaking at the sight of such supernatural power, the boy kept his silence.

"..." the vampire sighed as he removed his glasses and looked the boy in the eyes, "Go to sleep now, child, you have a long Journey ahead of you."

With some psychic assistance, the young child was able to sleep peacefully that night.

-End Hellsing -