Saki panted as she ran through the woods. She had to get away; she could not allow the man she loved to see her like this: the dreaded monster she had become. The trees were thick, she should have lost him by now but, no, he was too stubborn to give up and leave. He was catching up with her. She was too weak from not feeding; her red hair had turned white, and her green eyes were now sickly yellow. She would not allow herself to give into the blood thirsty monster she had become. She was losing strength too fast; she was immortal yet he was still mortal and he was keeping up with her. She tripped over a tree root and before she could scramble back to her feet, she heard him say her name. "Saki!"

She froze at his voice, 'Hataru?' He ran up to her, his black layer hair and blue kimono waving in the wind. His piecing dark eyes looked at her with pure concern. He reached for her as he asked, "Saki-kio, are you alright?"

"GET AWAY FROM ME! DON'T COME NEAR ME! Please don't come near me." She sobbed. She could hear his heartbeat and smell his blood; he smelled so good. He paused for a moment; his eyes betrayed a look of hurt in that moment. He continued further as she got up and backed away from him. He whispered, "Saki… I won't leave you out here alone. I've been worried sick about you. So has your father and brother…we want you back home. I've come to take you home."

"I-I can't! I no longer have a home. It's-it's too dangerous for you to be here. Please stay away from me! I don't want to hurt you." Saki pleaded with him as she leaned against a tree for support. Her legs were almost too weak to support her and his scent was too alluring for her to leave. She slumped to the ground feeling so weak from the thirst. She faintly said, "Leave…forget about me."

"Forget about you? How could I possibly do that?" He asked in surprise. He knelt in front of her to look her straight in the eye and took one of her hands in his as he spoke, "I know that I have changed a great deal since we were children but I've always believed in what you once told me…that my life is yours and yours is mine."

Saki slightly whimpered at that; a fresh trail of tears ran down her cheeks. She knew that he still loved her; he wanted her to come home with him and be his wife. But she knew that dream was over for whatever demon turned her into this monster had stolen any chances for them to share a life together. She bit her lip hard enough to bleed but she was to low on blood and she was unsure of what to say to him. Her heart ached and her body hurt, yet his presence made it slightly better. He swiftly moved for to embrace her. She struggled fruitlessly to get out of his grip and tried to push him away, "LET ME GO!"

"No," He said when she stopped struggling, "I won't lose you again. You are my heart, and can't be without you. I love you. Please return with me or we can build a life together out here…You chose and I will be by your side until time ends."

Saki could not speak as she melted against him. He was so warm and she was so cold. She had missed his touch, his presence, his voice…everything about him these last few weeks. Her nose was buried in the crook of his neck when…his heart beats became louder and the smell of his blood became stronger. Her eyes became red and she blacked out…

Hataru was waiting patiently for her answer. He had searched for her these last three weeks, and he would not return to the village without her. He did not know what had happened to her or why she was so scared but he was just happy to have found her alive. He gasped when he felt a sting in the crook of his neck. He knew she had just bitten him; he now knew what she was and…he did not care. He still loved her. He could tell that she was in pain and that she needed blood to ease it; he knew the legends well. He sighed contently as he felt the blood drain from him, just happy to be able to hold her again.

Saki regained her senses; blood flowing freely was the scent in the air. She gasped in horror as Hataru slumped forward lifelessly in her arms. She gently laid him down and saw the bite mark; she knew she had lost control again. She sobbed as she looked at the peaceful and slightly happy look on his face, "No, no, no, no, NO! Hataru! Hataru…I am so, so sorry…Hataru…"

She sobbed into his chest for hours. Each time she stopped crying; she would look up and see him, and start crying even harder. Now she was dry sobbing since her tears had run out. She did not want to leave his side but she knew that he would not want her to look at him in this state. Her hair was red again and her eyes had returned to green but she still felt so weak.

"Hey there, wanna share that meal?" A voice she did not recognize scared her. She turned and saw a pale man, a vampire like her, dressed as a priest standing in front of three grey priests; they were ghouls: undead, ravenous monsters. She looked at them in horror as the vampire spoke, "My ghouls haven't had a decent meal in quite some time and it would be a shame to waste such a…delectable looking corpse."

"NO YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM! GO AWAY!" Saki shouted and held Hataru closely to her chest. She was prepared to use herself as a shield. The other vampire growled, "Very well then. Meet your doom."

"Strong words…for a worthless maggot." A deep voice came from the woods behind Saki. She turned and saw a man in strange clothes (a grey suit) with wild black hair and red eyes that frightened her to her very core. Saki's mouth opened in a silent scream as five frightening dogs (hell hounds) emerged from his body. She threw herself onto Hataru as the hounds charged; she peeked over her arm to see them surround the vampire and his ghouls as the taller male vampire scoffed, "You aren't even worth the effort. Good riddance."

Saki closed her eyes and covered her ears as the hounds attacked and blood curdling screams filled the night's air. When they stopped, she opened her eyes to see the black haired vampire looking in her direction. She trembled as he stalked over to where she and Hataru's body were. She was surprised when she was grabbed by the sash of her kimono and tossed aside. She watched him kneel next to Hataru and when she saw him touch Hataru's neck, she panicked. She picked up a large stick and ran towards him as she screamed, "STAY AWAY FROM HIM!"

She wacked the raven haired man as hard as she could and the contact with his head caused the stick to break. Saki panted as the man did not move for several moments. He slowly turned and looked at her. She stumbled backwards from him and stepped on Hataru's sheathed sword. She looked down at it, 'He must have dropped it when I wasn't looking.' She quickly picked it up and unsheathed it. Aoyagi (Young Willow), Hataru's katana, gleamed in the moonlight as she aimed it for the vampire in front of her and he got up and walked over to her pinning her to a tree. She lost all her fear when he looked at Hataru's body. She glared up at the vampire she guessed came from the continent (by his clothes), and snarled, "Demon, leave him alone! I will not let you disgrace my husband any further by harming his body! I swear that I will protect him with my last breath, you monster!"

He stared at her for a bit, she was unable to read his emotions, then he let out a long maniacal laugh. Saki was trying to keep her mind free of fear but…he was too powerful and she knew it. He chuckle, "A true vampire…out in this remote part of the world? HAHAHAHA! You make my blood boil! He created you, didn't he?"

"I don't know what you're talking about…but I refuse to allow a kappa (demon) like you to push me around or defile my Hataru's body!" She growled and sliced his arm off with Hataru's sword. He looked down at the severed limb; Saki gaped in horror as the arm turned into blood and regenerated back in its proper place. She froze for a moment but she cried out as she swung the sword again. He caught it in his hand and held it still, proving that he was much stronger than her. He laughed, "This sword won't work on me…little samurai girl."

He stared down at her horror stricken face for a while before he said, "But your spirit is noticeable; you are your father's child. So much potential in such a small body; you've been abandoned by your sire yet you have not given into bloodlust insanity, even after three weeks. Interesting."

He took the sword from her hands and cleaned the blood from the blade. She stood frozen in place so she watched him gather up the sheath and place the sword back in it. She was astounded when he placed it in Hataru's hands and pulled out a piece of cloth from his pocket (handkerchief) to place over Hataru's face. He then turned back to he and said, "Your spirit is strong; I can make it stronger. Yield to me, and join me. I can teach you how to live and bear this curse. Will you accept me as your master or…should I just kill you as well?"

Saki stared into his eyes for what seemed like ages; they were no longer cold or frightening yet they were sincere. For the first time in weeks she felt hope and her samurai instincts told her she was not yet ready to die. She sighed and bowed to him, "Yes, I will go with you…my master. But please allow me to return Hataru to our villa-"

"No need; a pair of servants from his father's house are following his trail. They will see he gets a proper burial." Her new "master" snapped. She jumped a bit before nodding and apologizing. He asked, "I am called Alucard by my human master; what are we to call you?"

"S-Saki. Himura Saki is my name, Alucard-sama." Saki could not even remember thinking before she answered. Alucard smiled almost wickedly before he grabbed her by the shoulders. He smirked, "Remember this, Himura Saki: You chose this path. Once the threads of fate are tangled they cannot be undone just like our blood shall be after tonight."

Saki did not speak or make any sound as he bit her neck. She felt unbearably weak as he drained her; everything spun and she did not even notice that he had offered his hand for her to drink from before she passed out.

She woke hours later and she could see the sun light coming from the behind a curtain (they are in a horse and buggy carriage); she could tell they were moving in the strange cart. She would have blushed when she realized that she was wrapped in Alucard's coat and sitting in his lap if she had not felt so weak. He noticed her looking back up at him and softly said, "Go back to sleep, samurai. It's the middle of the day and you're still weak. Sleep."

She nodded and let herself drift back to sleep, wondering what was in store for her life now.