Well in response (and hopes of a bonus preventing disaster in the rolls, yes I'm mercenary
) here's the first bit of the Hellsing omake I was working on. Unfortunately I don't know when the rest (IE the action) will arrive since my muse isn't talking to me.
While Sir Hugh Islands had been to many Round Table conferences in his service to Queen and Country, this current one was a bit unusual. Not only had the meeting been called by the young Sir Integra there was an extra person present, Renko Kochika along with two bodyguards. She was the head of Japan's Kōan 9-ka, an organization roughly equivalent to Hellsing in purpose but different in targets. He knew that there had been communication between the two organizations for several years but mostly to the tune of ensuring that one did not accidentally step on the others toes by accident. For her to be here meant that this was definitely going to be an interesting meeting.
Best to get down to the brass tacks then and find out just how bad it was. "Well now... the situation must be impossibly dire if you've got the gall to convene a round table conference so suddenly. Am I right, Sir Integra?" He said.
"Quite." Integra replied. "As you are all aware the number of vampire attacks on British soil has been rising at an extreme rate over the past few months."
At this Sir Wilbraham Swayne interrupted. "We know and can't keep this mess quiet for much longer. There are limits to the information we can suppress. What is going on, Sir Integra?" Islands wanted to sigh. The man really should be able to keep a better grip on his impatience than this.
"We have been investigating the matter and recently came across our first solid piece of evidence." At this, Integra held up what appeared to be a rather battered computer chip.
"And what is that supposed to be?" Sir Penwood piped up as all the Round Table members looked at the piece of hardware. If nothing else Integra had certainly inherited her father's ability to have a room focus on her when she needed to.
"A transmitter and perhaps much more. We've been finding these microchips embedded within the vampires. They seem to relay information regarding the beast's physical and mental state, movements and altercations."
"Good lord." Was the muttered cry around the table. Islands could be sure who said it but he could understand the sentiment. The implications of this were highly disturbing.
Integra continued to explain. "These attacks are not random; there's someone creating these vampires, controlling them, moving towards some unknown purpose. And that's not all, it gets worse in two different ways. For the first it might be best for Miss Renko elaborate."
"Thank you Integra." the soft voiced woman said as she rose the address the seated council. "As you all know these vampire attacks are ravaging your country. What has been confirmed by my people as well as assets in other countries that this is not as local a phenomenon as it might seem. For the past several years Japan and other countries that normally lack any real vampire populations have been getting a steady swarm of these chipped beasts invading our lands. It is possible that you never noticed until recently since the ones that were sent here mixed in with the normal vampires you already had to deal with."
"You said
normal vampires. Care to expand on that?" Lieutenant-General Rob Walsh interjected.
Sir Integra answered him as she lit her cigar. "Traditionally, ghouls come from the corpses of deflowered men and women once they've been drained of blood by a vampire. During these last few incidents, not one new vampire has been created. Even young boys and girls who were clearly virgins have become ghouls instead of vampires. Also, the traditional ghouls we've encountered in the past do not survive the destruction of their host. But during the Badrick incident, Vatican Agent Anderson claimed to have destroyed the vampire well before our arrival. The host vampire had already been dispatched, and yet the ghouls still walked. And from the observations by Kochika's teams it's the same for their vampires."
'Best that we get back to the point.' He thought. "So what does it all mean?"
Integra ground her cigar into the ashtray before speaking again. "We are at war against a conspiracy of vampire experts, and they're displaying remarkable skill."
"Not only in creating their abominations but in tactics as well." Added Kochika. "Not only are the vampires being shipped into countries in secrecy there are two layers to the attacks. While most of the chipped vampires are loud and obvious, some are keeping a much lower profile and attempting to gain access to areas of importance while using the smokescreen created by their kin."
"And how did your people uncover this fact Miss Kochika?" Islands asked. He knew from the records that finding a vampire that went out of its way to be unnoticed could be hell if you didn't know what to look for.
At this the Japanese woman gave a serene smile with perhaps a bit of teeth showing. "There was once a divine beast that said there are 11,750 different kinds of Youkai living in Nippon. Many of these dislike foreign intruders and strenuously and vigorously objected to their presence."
Islands may have been old but he was no fool and could read between the lines. They might not have much information about the creatures that Kōan 9-ka fought but he imagined that at least some were capable of throwing down with vampires and winning. Any further thought was interrupted by a deep, rich and honeyed female voice that seemed to come from the empty center of the table.
"Well of course we helped are going to continue to. Little Renko is just so cutely earnest about her mission to protect all of Nippon and Integra-chan is just far too adorable to say no to."
While most individuals in the room were looking around in confusion, Islands noticed some different reactions. Kochika gave a small sigh and massaged her forehead while her bodyguards seemed to exchange a bit of money, one looking rather smug.
Integra on the other hand, pulled out her pistol and pointed at the center of the table. "Get off my conference table and out of the manor, you depraved beastial harlot." She growled, teeth bared and eyes flashing.
"Mattaku, Integra-chan. You need to learn to relax a bit more." Said the voice again as a reclining form faded into view on the table. One of an
exceedingly well formed red haired woman with a narrow face and high cheekbones wearing an elaborate kimono. Despite 'dressing to the nines' as it were, her posture and the tone of her voice created the effect of anything but polite society. There were also the white tufted fox ears poking out the top of her head along with the multiple bushy tails waving behind her.
"Really the both of you are far too tightly wound. I found the loveliest little spa in London that I can take you both to. The masseurs there can work miracles, you'll be feeling like whole new women." At this the fox-woman gave a wide smirk. "Or at the very least, remove those sticks from y-"
"
Thank you Lady Takauji, we will keep your generous offer in mind." Interrupted Kochika before the sentence could finish. Probably a good thing considering Integra had flicked off the safety catch and was thumbing back the hammer on her pistol. "However there's a fair amount of work and discussions to be done that you would no doubt find rather boring. Maybe you could explore the manor, see if the guardsmen are more alert compared to your last visit?"
The creature tilted her head as if in thought and with a single ear flick replied with a happy smile on her face. "Hmm, true. They were rather fun to spook last time. But don't think I missed your promise to think about my offer." At this her form wavered and turned to rapidly fading clouds leaving only her shining Cheshire cat-like grin that remained for a few more moments before disappearing as well.
"Why?" Groaned out Integra, her head in her hands, composure nearly forgotten. "Why, do you allow that
thing to follow you around? And why in the nine levels of hell did you say we would consider that so-called offer?"
"To the first Integra, no-one has been ever able to figure out a method to stop her from tagging along on trips, be it magic or science. To the second if I hadn't offered something she would have never left. A chance to scandalize not only you but the entire Round Table? Such a thing would be irresistible for her."
AN: My headcanon is that the Kitsune clan is sort of a go-between for the Youkai and us. They work for us sure but their first loyalty is to the more 'civilized' Yokai community. We don't mind since that bunch generally aren't our targets (they generally police their own) and we get more rumors/information this way. Unfortunately Lady Takauji (wife of the current clan leader) loves baiting and teasing Renko and Integra (she thinks they both need to loosen up). Integra's still in the offended outrage stage while we've progressed to resigned acceptance.
