Waking up from the japanese-american dream

She remembered violence. She remembered one of her arms broken useless, the other torn off.
She remembered her legs broken and her ribcage stepped on- and then her head was buried under the boot of a muscular VWAT member.
Then all faded to black.

After a long eternity, her dreams returned... she and Rob hooked up, and they had a child together. Integra relieved her from duty to raise it, and they retired together, engaged in marriage....

A scream escaped Mato Kuroi`s lips, but all that came out of it was a loud gasp as she sat up jolt upright, her body clad in a hospital gown that wasn`t tied up in the back.
Every muscle and every bone seemed to itch and hurt, her head spun and her eyes felt out of focus- they hurt immensely due to the light in the room, and she felt like she would pass out every moment- imstead, her head hit the pillow once more as strength left her again- but she refused to pass out and sleep anymore. Not after that dream.
"W...what... what happ..." She couldn`t bring up anything more. For some reason, she remembered how to speak, but it was hard to order her body to actually do it, as if she had to learn it all the way from scratch. Her eyes were blurry and out of focus, and they hurt like hell. All she could see was shapes, grey and white, and her body felt like she was in a deep state of the flu, fevering like crazy- while it was actually a normal temprature.

Rob sat next to the bed, he was a few paces back to allow the Doctors room to get in and out, but he was there nonetheless. He remembered her getting knocked down, hearing her scream in pain, then he remembered blood and he wasn’t sure who’s it was. But his rage hadn’t ended with the American, he had lost it when he thought she was dead, unleashing every ounce of strength he had the human had torn his way through everyone that tried to overrun him. But that had still been painful, his face was contorted with rage still but it was all for naught, there was nothing left for him to do yet things they had whispered about had no chance anymore. Children would be out of the window, as would the chance of a retirement and a normal life, they were bound to Hellsing. Him through her, and her through the technology keeping her going….

“If she died...I wouldn’t be much longer in this world, but there’s still hope isn’t there…?” he sobbed, his head in his hands, what could he do for her now? The answer was as simple as it hurt him to admit it, nothing.

Foreign movement around her- a needle going into her arm- She tried to resist, but found it to be impossible without actually seeing the attacker. Her eyesight got a little bit better, but it still hurt like hell.
And then, she heard a familiar voice.
"Wha... are you.. crying about... Idiot..." She pressed out, looking at the direction where she presumed Rob to be. She couldn´t see a damn thing, just vague shapes, so she was just going to presume that darker spot of something was him.
...near her. Sobbing. What happened?

"My eyes... Why... do they hurt so much..?"

"Because you´ve never used them." Said a voice that entered the room that moment. "Congratulations, Mato Kuroi, you have cheated death.... with significant help of our resources and funds." Said Director Steeler, his hands folded behind his back as he looked at the newest cyborg in their collection. Unfortunely, this one was not going to be theirs for a long time- Hellsing had laid claim on it, as a payback for killing several men and causing damage to their property. A meager price to pay for the information of their real enemy`s name... and this girl`s body provided an excellent proving ground for the new bioelectronic technology.

Bolting upright the Irishman seemed to get out of his daze, a less worried look seemed to cross his face followed by a sigh of relief. He rushed over to the bedside and looked down on Mato, Rob took a deep breath as he knelt down at her side while placing his hand on hers. But despite his relief his eye twitched as he heard Steeler’s voice, then in acid tones he gave a little retort, his voice brimming with barely held back rage.

“So Mr Steeler, now that your men have made her like this you come out and say something like that…Please leave now…before I do something both of us regret.” He wasn’t trying to look tough, but his voice had a slight titter to it that hinted just how tired he was from staying up. I’m in no state to fight, but I’m sure if I surprised him he shook his head, there was no point, his soul mate was more important right now.

“I was crying because you had me worried, I turn my back for one second and you end up like this…never put me through something like this again, I almost lost you once and I don’t want to think about a second time…” the young soldiers voice trailed off at the end, not wanting to put the idea of anything like this happening again whatsoever.

Steelers... well, steel eyes gazed at Rob briefly, dismissingly.
"Your little friend here is alive because of our grace and technology. I think you should lower you tone a bit, boy. But if you think you can explain what she is now better than i can- be my guest. I do have more urgent matters to attend to."
With that and without even giving him the chance to apologize, he turned on his heel and went out, never once making an emotion. The scientists and doctors in the room gave off a breath of relief as he did, but only after the door had been shut.

Mato, on the other hand, only got half of the conversation- something about her being different now- Something about Steeler being responsible. Different? Is that why her body felt like she was living a fever dream? Speakling of which, the syringe they gave her earlier seemed to do its work. The shot was significantly easing her discomfort, and speaking became a bit easier.
"I´m... missing a few days.. but i remember the day that VWAT attacked... i.. lost my arm, broke both of my legs, some ribs... and god knows what else... "
Flexing the fingers of her left hand, it seemed to be fine and dandy. the shape in front of her eye moved and it felt alive. Something disturbed her though. When she applied force to her arm- anything other than simply moving it, for instance, when she tried to push up, she heard a very faint motor noise, like a servo. Was that new arm a fake? Either way, it was a brilliant copy. She felt like it was her own arm, and as she could feel, there was no scar remaining of it.
"So anyway... stop crying.. i´m not dead, so you´ve got something to take home from your.. two hour visit."

One of the doctors chuckled as he was manipulating one of the touchsceen monitors nearby.
"Miss Kuroi, he hasn´t left this institute ever since you`ve arrived. He only left your side whenever we were operating."

Turning her head to the man, Mato`s jaw fell open, and a blurry shape on the touchscreen started to become a word- Benchmark settings. Settings for what? Her arm?

Rob sighed, she was trying to be as difficult as ever. “You never let things be easy for me do you woman, why does it always have to be difficult with you? Well then, when the Docs are done we’ll go and eat and I’ll explain everything” his voice was sombre and his eyes were downcast, he still harboured hopes of a happy retirement and a happy daughter or strong son though they weren’t high.
With a smile he leaned in to stroke her hair away from her face, it was still as nice as ever. “Don’t you leave my side like this again you hear me? No matter what you say I was terrified and was dragged out of here a few times for the operations. Seeing you unconscious and not responding hurt more than the restraining, so don’t do anything stupid ok?”

He leant back into his chair, itching for a drink, though that could wait for now. His mouth was dry but this was more important, he sighed again, it was going to be a few more long days before they were free of the place.

Her hand went up, and gripped the side of her bed- as the doctors, who were still running benchmark tests on her various systems noticed what she was going to do, it was already far too late.
Mato got to her feet, dressed in nothing but a operation garb that left her entire backside bare and barely covered her body up to the knees. She was standing up straight- a bit shakey, and she couldn´t see very well, but that didn`t stop her now- she took two steps, gripped Rob by the scruff of his shirt like he was nothing but a bag of feathers and- gave him a tight hug, trying to make her point through the gesture alone as her speech wasn`t all that well right now...
"Thanks a lot, man..." She muttered in a hoarse voice. "Thanks.. for staying here with me. Lemme find some pants and kick those doctors out, then i´ll treat you one in the caferteria..."

Oddly enough, the tears that were building up in her eyes did wonders for her eyesight, seems like all they needed was some water. Plus, her voice improved the more she used it, but she was still holding on to Rob in order not to fall over.

Going into the hug the Irishman smiled, it was good to see her moving even though the doctors were seemingly worried. Despite their closeness it was still strange to have her get up like that to hug hum, though he wasn’t going to complain…She seems ok at the very least he thought with a relieved grin, his hands were firm but not the point of being painful or uncomfortable against her skin. Rob didn’t want to let go, it was a good moment to say the least. “What’s brought on this sudden bought of tenderness m’lady? Though to be sure I’m not complaining…” he whispered into her ear, he wasn’t sure if he could stop smiling, for the first time in days he had hope again.

His eyes closed, enjoying the feel of her against him it only just occurred to him that she might not have any clothes. “Well, we’ll get you some clothes, though if I am allowed to say so you look marvellous without” he expected a slap though the tone of his voice might mollify her, he wasn’t sure why he blurted it out but it seemed a good thing to say at the time.

Mato grumbled a bit at his teases, seeing the nature of them, but shrugged it off and embraced him until she felt comfortable to let go.
"Dude, we´re partners, but i would`ve never expected you to be this clingy. I felt like that deserved some affection. And i´m getting to that, damnit."
Huffing a bit, she dug into the clothes resting on the table nearby- casual clothes of her size. She didn´t care about the doctors in the room, they probably saw her naked as well as seen her insides, but Rob was a different case- so she sat down and kept her legs together as she slid some panties on.
"White. Pfft. Whatever, it´ll have to do for now."
With that said, she put a bra on, without ever taking the operation garb off until her thigh high socks were also in place and her jeans were put on. Then finally she took that ridiculous thing off and slid on a T-shirt- giving her a very odd, very casual look, almost like a normal person.
Her disinterested eyes went towards Rob, and she scanned his reaction.
"I probably look terrible, but i don´t care. Wanna celebrate my return from hell with me...?"

Rob, the tough fighter and insane swordsman, looked away as she dressed. His face was red as a beet and his eyes were wide with shock, though he was used to blood and guts seeing a woman getting undressed had more of an effect on him than he wanted to admit.
So he kept quiet for a while.
Not wanting to wreck the rare intimacy with being a perv…

He looked back when she addressed him, her question was surprising but welcomed all the same.
“They only sell packeted shit in here Mato but it’s edible, so what is it you’d like to dine on my lady?”

Mato stretched a bit, though to her surprise, none of her bones cracked as she did- his question was answered with a shrug, as she took his arm and went out of the room on her socks.
"I dunno, man. But i need a coke and a newspaper, i don´t even know what day this is- or the current situation of the war."

Feeling too uneasy to walk down the stairs, they took the elevator, which smelled of sanitary cleaning utilites- making Mato feel uneasy for some reason. Hospitals gave her the creeps, to be honest. People lived and died here- guts were exchanged, bones replaced, lives were fought over- this wasn`t a nice place, the people working here were just trying their best to hide that.
As they got to the ground floor, Mato went straight to the cafertera with him, smiling a tiny bit.
"Be a good boy and get us a table- you want a cola too or something else..?

ob looked at her, happy because she seemed to be happy to get out of bed. She had that effect on him, leaving him smiling like a dote and beaming with pride in her. Nonetheless he wasn’t about to just let her get away with calling him a boy, no matter what the situation was.

“Awww, what did I do to deserve to being called boy? Though I can forgive you if you can forgive me for this…” he leaned over and gave her a swift peck on the cheek, winking at her he went to go and get a table for the two of them near a window, it was raining outside…

“I’ll have a cola…and about food, surprise me!” He winked again before sitting down, whistling a little tune as he thought about getting a newspaper, that was the thing he missed about England…Andy Capp, one of the funniest newspaper comics ever…. "Oh I do like to be beside the sea side..."

Mato blinked and widened her eyes, stunned for a second while looking after him- eventually, she just shook her head and shrugged, walking over to the counter. She didn´t think he missed her -that- much, afterall, he could`ve used the time to spend some quality time with their futon bed. But nooo, he had to stay here in this godforsaken place, watching her breath through a tube and bleed through another tube, and have her heart hooked up to a machine as well as being fed tranquilziers 24-7.
As she got to the counter though, she cringed, twice. Once at the appalling collection of "newspapers" which were mostly old women magazines, and about the food situation. Cake, cake, cake and more cake, or pre packaged snacks. Well, she sure as hell didn´t feel like a Snickers, or Mars, or Bounty, or any of that. So after ordering two cokes, she just went with what she liked best.

Walking back to the table, with a little hope he had some luck getting a decent paper, she sat down with two bottles of Coca Cola and six Kinder surprise eggs, not saying a word, but flipping off the bottle caps with her thumbnail- before wondering why and how the hell that worked.

“So Mrs, what do you want to know first?” He said sombrely reaching across the table to grab a kinder surprise. “Crikey, I’ve not seen one of these in years” he said quietly, him and his brother always used to nag their father about them when it was time to get the shopping done. It had been a fun time, but being a child never lasted forever, though this was a blast from his past to say the least. “You know why I stayed here right, we’ve fooled around but up until now I’ve not realised how much I really cared…”
His voice went quiet as he waited for her to speak, he left his drink for a second, not wanting to partake just yet…

Mato also took one of the eggs, unwrapping it to gobble down the chocolate in just a few seconds, leaving the bright yellow capsule. What might be in it? Part of her wanted to know. The rest, grabbed another egg and repeated the process.
"...we are quite close for partners, thats for sure. Maia and Ben don´t sleep in the same bed together, for instance.. and i don´t see Christie and Amy doing that- Though with that SAS chick, you never know." She responded, pretty much avoiding the conversation with that. Rather than going any deeper, she gazed over the headlines of the paper he brought.
"Who the fuck is Kate Middleton and who the hell cares if she dates a royal family member?! Hundreds of thousands are dead since the beginning of this war and they care about some nobody dating the prince?"
Then she felt a tug on her arm.

"Oi, don` be such a pesky brat, tha` Kate ain´t right fer William. He `serves a propa woman."
Some senior citizen, hooked up to a heart rate monitor said. To be honest, Mato couldn`t tell if it was a man or woman because the skin had corroded down to canyons, and the grey hair matched the grey attire. However the other women at the table, writing down crosswords with the person gave her the impression that it was in fact a female being.

Rob sighed, looking at the row of eggs in front of them; this wasn’t going to go well if they were going to get into some sort of argument. “Relax Mato, no need to get worked up about it, especially when people get so easily offended…And lady, don’t lay a hand on her, she’s just gotten out of a bit of a coma and isn’t too steady on her feet…” he said almost timidly, he couldn’t threaten an older person but he couldn’t let Mato get insulted like this…

He sat back and opened his drink, sipping it lightly he stifled a burp before leaning forwards. “So, once we’ve finished these we’ll open the eggs…”

Eating her last egg, Mato grinned back at him, lining up her capsules, before sticking them together through the pegs on their ends.
"Done and done, Sir."
With that said, she gazed over her cola bottle, tracing a finger over it, not quite dareing to touch it yet as too much sugar at once might be harmful to her. Afterall, she still didn´t know all that much about herself...
"Oh that reminds me."
With that she slipped a file out from under her shirt, which was hooked into her belt buckle and marked with her name, as well as a "Top Secret- eyes only" stamp on it. "I dunno what this is, but i nicked it off of the table when we left. Might explain a few things for me..."

“Well, I’m no expert in these things but plans for you more than likely…” his voice trailed off at the end as he swept his hair back, not wanting to ruin the moment at all he kept quiet as he opened his first egg, from the looks of things it was a mini plane, which was more than enough to get his mind ticking away as he absent minded put it together. His smile died, she sounded worried and for once he had no words for her. What kind of man couldn’t comfort her? An idiot that was for sure. “Are we going to take a look or just sit here eh? We can find out more about what’s happened to you…”

Also not dareing to touch the file at first, she picked out one of the three capsules and opened it up- a Ferrari Enzo with a tiny pullback motor. A nice thing, especially since hospitals were extremely boring. Putting it together quickly, she pulled it back and watched it fly off the table, before flipping open the file for the first time.
"...ehh, its all wierd. There´s a list of my injuries and the state my body was in when i arrived, down to the last detail. I didn`t think i was that fat, honestly."
A few pages passed, and she widened her eyes.
"Wha... the fuck..? Titanium skeleton, 20 megapixel cameras smartlinked to the neurocircut,
glass fibre cables substituting for the nervous system, heavy duty servos and pullys to assist nano-augmented, bio-mechanical muscles and tissue?! What.... what.... wh.. So bottom line, i´m a robot now, is that it? A brain in some steel jar that lives for a couple of centuries without aging? Ugh,,,, i... i need a drink, man."
Finally, she picked up the bottle and went to take a sip, before putting it in front of him instead, taking the other bottle from the tray.
"Cheers, Rob. Thanks for staying over, either way." Somehow, she didn`t seem to be in that bright of a mood, though she wasn`t exactly angry either. Something between depressed and shocked, more like.

“Robot or no robot I can put up with you either way, anyway are we staying here much longer or can I take you back to the mansion and a few days under the futon while we recover…?” He said with a little reassuring smile.

Reaching his hand out to hers the Irishman kept a little mirth going, not wanting her to get depressed about the situation. “I’m not going to pretend to know about what you’re going through, but you can still talk to me, just no more jokes about me being some sort of terrorist or anything…it was my brother in the IRA sunshine…” he yawned a little at that point, thinking about all that had happened to them.

Finishing his drink he placed it onto the table and yawned once more, it was time to have a look at exactly what ahd happened to her...then a thought popped into his head "A camera....does that mean we can make home movies now at birthdays and stuff?"

Mato looked up with a snort, and shook her head, a grimace on her face which had been darkened by what she was reading. Why the hell did he want to make home videos out of her perspec- oh, right. That type of joke. She had to admit, it was kind of amusing to think about that.
"No, but i can do other cool shit, apperantly. Gimme your cellphone and i`ll demonstrate.
Despite saying this, she just took it from his pocket and flicked open the USB port cover- her index finger touching the metal contacts, the screen came to life, and the menus were being flicked through without any phyical imput.
"See? Isn´t that cool or what? Says here that works with most modern computer systems."
She then began to type out a text message at lightning fast speed- it was adressed to "Integra Hellsing" and read "Dude Seras Vicotria`s breasts are the most amazing thing since television"

“Don’t type stuff like that, I’ll die when we get back…” He hung his head in shame as he contemplated another drink, except something a little stronger. “You love seeing me in pain don’t ya, especially when it’s a vampire breaking my kneecaps every time I regenerate for a few hours…no fair, you really really hate me” he hung his head in shame as he said this, not knowing what else to say, he wasn’t sure what was going to happen or if she was going to send it….
“If you send that I won’t cook for a month…or wash up depending on how bad a beating I get…” his voice was scared, he’d taken a beating from people numerous times and although it left no marks, he was still allergic to large doses of pain and broken kneecaps, he needed them to walk and do sport. Overall he was attached to his legs, and really wanted to keep them intact…

Still snickering at her own, silly gag, she shut down the phone and handed it back to him, taking another swig of her drink.
"Calm down, man- i don`t know Lady Hellsing´s private number. And even if i did, i don´t remember shit that happened before the attack."
A sly grin appeared on her face, and she looked at him, staring at something.
At the same time, she was playing around with the bottle cap of her cola, flicking it inbetween her fingers line a poker chip.

Rob spoke carefully, his face still looking slightly worried, she had the look again, it was the look she got whenever she did something to get him in trouble… He facepalmed for a second as he gathered his courage together for what was about to happen, he was sure he wasn’t going to like it to say the least. “You obviously have some strange idea from that look you have sweet, something that might serve to get us into trouble…” his voice trailed, awaiting for her to respond, this was going to get interesting to say the least. But he was used to interesting, she couldn’t throw anything at him that he wasn’t used to, they slept together for Pete’s sake.

Mato pouted for a second.
"'What, you don´t like my ideas? Seems like i had a pretty good idea, not shooting you in the face when we first met. No, its not an idea this time."
Getting back into her smirk, she focused on his face again.
"You`ve got chocolate stuck to your lip. It looks wierd."
Then she leaned forward to wipe it off- except when her fingers came over, she just cupped his cheek and pulled, placing her lips on his chocolate flavored ones before closing her eyes for that moment.

Almost spluttering as she moved in closer the Irishman closed his eyes in earnest once he got over the shock, her words calmed him and despite his heart pounding in his chest he felt good…so he just leaned into the kiss and put his hands around her, it must’ve looked strange as he leant over the table to deepen the kiss but it was nice. It felt strange and almost weird, but so right…he pulled away to speak to her “I suppose you do have good ideas my love, not shooting me was a great one and that just now…that was the best idea ever, c..can I kiss you again?”

Mato, a bit breathless after that experience, took her deep gulp out of her cola and gave it a quick nod.
"After we get going. That table inbetween us is really fucking awkward."
Stuffing the two unopened capsules and the Ferrari into her pockets, Mato got up and took her cola along, as well as the file, which she didn´t even read halfway so far. As far as she was aware, she was practically a robot now, a cyborg, though the most perfect one built to date.
"Actually, lets head to the elevator first. Less royal family obsessed seniors there." She whispered to him, moving along as if nothing was wrong while some of the old ladies looked at her wierdly, some muttering something like "youngsters these days, no shame at all."

Rob grinned at her, she had a good idea and for once he was more than willing to go along with whatever she wanted. He put an arm around her and gently pulled her against him, wanting to feel the warmth of her against him the man felt in need of a little intimacy. Mato had taunted him for a while, sharing a room made it difficult to not look at her at all, which always made him go red in the face and get a little embarrassed…”So, what will we be doing in the elevator…got any ideas at all Mato or is it just a case of wait and see?” He pressed the button and got in, a little annoying tune was playing in the elevator…he ignored it as he awaited for the door to close in a few seconds…”We could always stop the elevator if need be…”

It felt a bit wierd for Rob to touch her like this, even though they had their fair share of body contact during their work this was going a bit further than ususal. Still, she didn´t mind as the two were heading back to the elevator.
"Personally i´d just want to pack up and leave this damn place as fast as i can... as for your idea, i... would actually be willing to try.. if it wasn´t for the dozens of armed VWAT members in the building, watching over you and me. Part of the reason why i want to get out of here real fast."
She slipped into the elevator, not making a noise as she leaned against the wall, absent mindly pushing the button of the floor they had came from, before pulling Rob in as well.
"But what we can do is this."
She pulled him closer, her lips parting a bit before meeting his, gently prying his open as well before slipping her tongue inside his mouth, her arms wrapping around both the back of his head as well as his waist.

Leaning into the kiss with light in his eyes Rob felt giddy, life was well and truly good at that moment…the kiss was unexpected like the first and sent shivers down his spine. His hands roamed her back, one ending up just above her butt while the other rested at the base of her neck.
This was too good to be true.
He was a lucky guy.
All that and more raced through his head as he tried not to screw up, he pulled her against him almost roughly. Feeling her boobs press up against him he gave a little smile as he pulled away for a second to take a breath, “I doubt they’ll appreciate this…”

Mato shook her head, sighing a little bit.
"Nope. Besides, we`re here."
With a little ring, the elevator doors opened again and revealed the floor they came from earlier, Mato´s intensive care station not far from this location.
Lets just get my coat, guns, boots and my sword, then we`ll get out of here... whatever they like it or not. If they stop us... well... I`m feeling like making a mess."
Letting go of him, she stepped out, grinning back at him.
"What do you think, Partner?"

Rob put a hand on his sword hilt, a little impish smile formed for a second before he took a deep breath “We’ll get out one way or another partner!” He gave her a wink as he stepped out of the elevator, a sardonic look in his eyes showed his mood. “I’m almost hoping they put up a fight for all the good it’ll do them, nonetheless let’s try and keep it fairly blood free…” his face settled into a cold expression, he was an Irish Ranger; a killer, a man that frightened terrorist and civilian alike with broad shoulders and a slightly greater than normal height belying his muscular body. “In the name of Lugh of the Long hand and his son Cuchulain let none who struggle live!”

"....." Mato stared back at him, sighing a bit before trotting on.
"I should really get a battle cry or something. Some prayer to chant before fighting. Anything. Sometimes it sucks being a goth."
Getting back into the room, she completely ignored the complaints of her creators and flipped over the heavy medical bed, now aware of her physical strength, to discover her belongings underneath it.
"You, quit yapping. I didn´t ask for any of this crap. You could´ve cloned my body or something and brought me back as a human being- instead you deprived me of my humanity, the one thing i held sacred for all intents and purposes. Ergo..."
Having slipped into her high heel boots, she shrugged on her coat and clicked the gun belt shut around her hips, before drawing one of her pistols.
"...if you bastards complain about me trying to figure out my damnable life, i´ll make even with you and take yours. In your own fucking interest, stay where you are, and don´t move a muscle until i´m gone."
With that she left again, a pistol still in hand, while her other hand, now clad in her thick leather gloves, tucked away the file.