Hello everyone. The Motoko/Keitaro saga continues. This story is yet another sequal in my series which consists of my stories Compassionate Swordplay, Love's Sharp Blade, Moving Forward, You Have Me, Song of the Nightingale, and Night Shadows. This story is the seventh installment and will pick right up from the end of Night Shadows. If you haven't read Night Shadows yet, I highly suggest that you do before continuing, or you'll be missing a lot of needed info to understand the plot. That being said, I hope you enjoy my latest story:)

Disclaimer: Love Hina is owned and created by Ken Akamatsu.

Thirst

Chapter I:

For Want of a Drink…

Over the mountainous wastes of Siberia, the strongest of winds blows thick with heavy snow. Some call it a blizzard. Others call it the White Demon. As we look below us, we see The Demon showing no mercy, punishing the two battling warriors as they leap back and forth in the deep snow.

As we get closer, their heated, fury filled words become loud and clear.

"Despite your newfound strength, I still have the advantage!" One said.

"Don't count on it." The other shot back.

The darker one then pinned the other down with her relentless, ironclad strength. She raised her head in the air and opened her mouth wide, revealing a pair of fangs that grew longer as she formed a devilish smile. She then sank them deep into the neck of the other with the ferocity of a starved wild animal. The other warrior screamed out madly as she tried to free herself, only to find that her struggles were futile.

"NOOOOOOO!!" Motoko screamed, quickly sitting up in her bed, her hand pressed tightly against the side of her neck. She panted heavily as she tried to catch her breath. Her heart was running a mile a minute in her chest. The dream was terrifying and horribly vivid. She could still feel the sharp pain of her flesh being bitten into. After calming down somewhat, she quickly looked next to her, hoping that she didn't wake her love as she realized her scream must have been quite loud.

Keitaro was stirred for only a moment before he rolled over and fell back asleep. Seeing this, Motoko let out a breath of relief. A somber expression befell her as she slowly moved her hand away from her neck, revealing two tiny round scars about an inch apart.

The only difference between this nightmare and all others is this one really happened.

She keeps trying to reassure herself, attempting to dismiss the matter through apathy.

'It's just one bite. Just one bite. It doesn't mean anything.'

But this simple tactic of avoidance does little more than offset her worries. Even so, her mind still counts the hours.

'48 hours. It's been almost 48 hours since I've been bitten. A short time after, Tataku said. How short? Days? Weeks? How long does it take to become a vampire from a single bite?'

There are tons of myths and legends concerning vampire bites and symptoms, but when it comes down to solid fact, there is even less scientific data on the subject than there is actual proof. This unfortunate truth served as no consolation to Motoko. The only one person she could have asked on the matter is now a pile of ash, due to her own Dragon Heart powered bout of temporary insanity.

All was quiet on the Aoyama Estate, as she was only one still awake. Moving over and sitting on the edge of the soft king size bed, she glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. 2:14am. It has only been three hours since she fell back to sleep. She felt strange. It seemed as if her body didn't want to sleep. Like there was some sort of restlessness inside that she could not describe, compelling her to seize the night.

Even so, uneasy feelings of worry and anxiety still ate at her. Motoko's thoughts have never been so preoccupied over a single thing before. MotokodaWorries of infection from something she had never even believed existed before she came face to face with it in Tataku. But all these worries she kept to herself. She never once mentioned it to anyone. Not even to her best friend Naru as she updated her on the Tachibana situation during her flight from Tokyo to Kyoto the day before yesterday, nor did she even tell her own lover during their most intimate of moments. Still, she kept it to herself. Why? She wasn't certain. Regardless, she prays it's nothing to be concerned about. That maybe it will indeed turn out to be nothing and she will be free to move forward with her life together with her soon-to-be husband.

But is it just a foolish superstition keeping her silent about it? The notion, that if she tells someone about it, it will come true? Or was it something else? She wasn't sure, for she has never been in this situation before. Every time she thought about it, the tightness in her chest would get worse. Her heart would race. And her body would shake. She hated these feelings. Knowing there is nothing she can do but wait. Just wait…and see what happens.

She got up from the bed and stood there in the darkness as she silently looked out the window into the moonlit night. The cold December wind blew the powdery snow about, making it dance in the air as it sparkled in the light of the moon. She blankly stared along the tree line of the bare Sakura trees, her eyes tracing the thin branches that stretched out into the night air. Then a terrible realization occurred to her. Was she contagious?

'Oh, my God. Am I? Keitaro and I have already made love tonight. Is he in danger of being infected?! No, no. It can only be transmitted through bite, right? But even so…Ohhh, this is driving me insane!'

Frustrated, she threw on a night robe and stepped lightly but quickly out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her.

Despite her lack of sleep, she was surprised at how fast and energetic she was as she moved quickly through the halls of the house. Not only that, even though it was the middle of the night and no lights were on in the mansion, she could still see perfectly fine. Though there were no visible light sources, everything around her seemed bright and clear, washed in gray tones.

She slid open the glass door leading to the wooden walkway outside that ran along the edge of the courtyard. She stepped out into the brisk frigid air and closed the sliding door behind her. Also to her surprise as she walked out into the wide courtyard, Motoko found that the biting cold night air did not affect her at all. Though surrounded by white, powdery snow and frozen ponds, it felt no different to her than an early spring day. Her breath was white in the moonlight as it formed tiny clouds that were lightly swept away by the gentle wind.

Motoko hesitated at first, then reached down and calmly untied her night robe. She opened it up and let it slide over her shoulders, down her arms, until it fell, lightly, to her bare feet. As she stood there in the open air of the winter night in nothing but her black lingerie, she felt no cold, only the comforting feeling of the gentle wind on her bare skin. Her body did not shiver, nor did her teeth chatter. She was comfortable, completely comfortable. The appearance of her porcelain-like fair skin illuminated by the light of the moon as she was surrounded by the white snow of the courtyard…she could easily have been mistaken for an angel in the night.

She slowly held up her hand before her eyes and looked at it.

'What the hell is happening to me? …is this how it begins?'

"Sweat lord, Ojou-sama!" Motoko heard behind her.

Motoko slowly turned her head to see Miss Hasegawa running up to her from the house.

Hasegawa grabbed the night robe at Motoko's feet and hastily wrapped it around her.

"What were you thinking, Ojou-sama?!" Hasegawa exclaimed as she carefully led the apathetic Motoko back towards the house. "You'll surely catch your death if you stay out here like that!"

As she walked, Motoko's dispassionate eyes moved slowly from the ground to the house.

"Catch…my death…" Motoko said in a monotone voice. Her mouth formed a smile, but in her eyes an intense sorrow became evident. "Maybe I already have…maybe…I'm already dead."

"Ojou-sama…" Hasegawa said. "Please don't say such things. You're scaring me."

Motoko snapped out of it and looked over at the worried woman who was holding her so carefully.

"I…I'm sorry, Miss Hasegawa. I don't know what came over me. Could you please help me back to my room?"

Hasegawa's worrisome expression lightened somewhat as she said,

"Certainly, Ojou-sama."

Hasegawa then carefully led Motoko inside.

The next morning, Motoko awoke to the feeling of someone shaking her.

"Motoko! Motoko!" She heard.

Her eyes slowly opened. The light stung her eyes for a long moment as they tried to adjust.

"Motoko!"

She then looked over next to her as her eyes became focused on the person who had been shaking her for an amount of time that she was unsure of.

It was Keitaro, with a terribly concerned look in his eyes as he stood over her.

"K…Keitaro?"

Keitaro then sat down on the side of the bed and let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank god." He said, looking back at her.

Motoko then slowly sat up and put her hand to her forehead.

"Are you okay, Motoko?" Keitaro said, laying his hand on hers.

"I…I think so. What happened?" She sleepily asked.

"It was getting late so I tried to wake you, but no matter what I did, you just wouldn't wake up. I've been shaking you for ten minutes now."

"Ten minutes? Getting late? But it's only…" She then looked over at the clock on the nightstand which read 11:50am. "It's almost noon? But why do I still feel so tired?"

She turned her eyes to the sunshine outside, but then quickly closed them and turned her head away as the pain of the light in her eyes was just too much.

"Do you want me to call the family doctor?" Keitaro said, laying a hand on her forehead to check for fever. "Actually, you don't feel warm. If anything, you feel cold." He added.

As she slowly looked around the room, she remembered the night before and all of her agonizing worries.

"No, don't call the doctor, Keitaro." She said.

"Are you sure??"

"Yes…" She said, throwing the covers aside and sitting on the edge of the bed next to him. She laid her head in her hands and rubbed her face. "I'll be fine, just don't worry, okay?"

"But Motoko, your skin is freezing and you look so pale. It could be a serious case of anemia." He said, standing up and taking her by the shoulders.

'Anemia…' She thought. 'Oh, God if he only knew.'

She then looked up at him with a tender smile and said,

"I said I'll be fine, so please don't worry, my love. Okay?"

A look of frustrated concern came over him. He then turned his head away and let out an uneasy grunt.

"Alright, Motoko."

Seeing how obviously worried he was about her now, she gently placed her hands on his cheeks and turned his face back to hers. He looked into her warm, loving eyes, those eyes that lead to the very source of his happiness.

"Kei…" She said, showing him a tender smile as she lead him down to her. "…come here."

He slowly knelt down and eased into her loving arms. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.

"Motoko…" He whispered. "I love you so much…if there's something wrong…you can just tell me."

"I know, I know." She whispered back.

Her eyes then faltered as the look of angst washed over her features.

"Kei?"

"Yes?"

"Let's…let's go home…to Hinata." She said. She then buried her face in his shoulder, hiding her painful expression.

"Sure." He whispered before giving her neck a gentle kiss.

About an hour later, we see the two walking out through the main entrance towards the black Mercedes waiting out front. Clouds had since moved in overhead, making the skies overcast. Even so, as soon as Motoko walked outside, the light was more than her eyes could bear.

She immediately turned to one of the guards and said,

"Yusuke, could I borrow your sunglasses? This light is hurting my eyes."

He did not question her, despite the fact that it was pretty dark and gloomy out. Nor did he even raise an eyebrow. Without hesitation, he simply said, "Certainly, Ojou-sama." removed the glasses and handed them to her.

"Arigato." She said, quickly putting them on.

Her eyes felt such relief from the dark lenses as the stinging pain was finally shut out from her vision.

"Are your eyes still bothering you, Motoko?"

"Y-Yeah, they just can't seem to adjust, that's all."

"Really? Well, that's kind of strange."

The two got in the back seat of the car and off they went. As they travelled down the long highway that ran through vast snowy valleys, Keitaro took a moment to look over at Motoko who was sitting silently, staring out the window at the world passing by outside. Her sunglasses were still on, despite the tint on the car's windows.

"So," he said, attempting to draw her attention. "Are you hungry, Motoko? I figure you must be, since you haven't eaten yet today. We can stop at a restaurant on the way home. Does that sound good?"

Motoko just slowly shook her head as she said,

"No, I'm alright. If anything, I'm thirsty."

"Oh. Well here, take this." He said as he handed her a bottle of water from the slot inside the door next to him.

"Thank you." She said, taking the water.

She twisted off the cap and took a few sips. She then looked at it as an expression of disappointment came over her.

'It's no good. I'm still thirsty.'

"Is there something wrong with the water?" Keitaro asked, noticing her discontent frown.

"Oh, no, it's fine."

She then twisted the cap back on and set it aside.

Her eyes wandered back to the passing scenery outside the window. Keitaro began to stare out his window as well. Dark silver clouds moved along the horizon of the wide snow covered fields that passed by so quickly. Motoko laid her hands on her lap and folded them. She still felt so tired, like she's been awake for so long, which made no sense to her because she had just woken up from an apparently long sleep just an hour ago.

The clouds started to grow thin in a certain area in the sky above them. An opening formed, allowing the sun to shine a ray of light down onto the area. The light then shown in through the car window and onto the skin of Motoko's hands. With a loud gasp, she snapped her hands back as she felt a hot, burning feeling on top of them. This drew Keitaro's attention, making him turn back to her.

"What? What happened?" he asked, now alarmed.

"Oh, the, uh, road sign that just went by startled me. That's all."

"Oh…well they do seem to come out of nowhere when you're riding in the back seat, don't they?"

"Heh, yeah." She said, bringing herself to show a clumsy smile.

The ride home after that was a silent one. Keitaro would look back at her every so often. He tried to figure how to start a conversation, but would then become disheartened by the distant look on her face and thus retreated by continuing to look out the window himself. He didn't like this silence. He wasn't used to it. Especially with Motoko, as they can usually talk to each other for hours about the most trivial of things.

He knew something was bothering her, despite what she says. He couldn't see her eyes through the sunglasses, but he was sure that there was a look of anxiety there. Anxiety over what, though? What could be so bad that she can't even tell her own lover? These questions swirled in his head as he watched the bare gray trees of the forests that quickly passed his window.

'It's strange,' He thought 'she was perfectly fine last night, before we fell asleep. She gave me such a scare when she wouldn't wake up today. Then there's her appearance.' He looked over at her features. Her skin showed a snowy whiteness. An icy purple discoloration showed through on her lips. 'She looks ill because of how pale she is. Maybe she caught a 24 hour flu bug and she's just too embarrassed to say anything. No, that's not like her. Motoko never holds back and she always speaks her mind. So why isn't she telling me anything? Could it be something really serious? Maybe I'm looking into this too much. I trust her. If it is something serious, I'm sure she'll tell me when she's ready.'

Keitaro eased back in his seat, trying to relax as he continued to watch the scenery go by.

An awkward two hours had passed until finally they had arrived at the seaside town of Hinata. The car came to a stop at the foot of the tall steps leading up to the apartments. As Motoko was helped out of the vehicle, she felt grateful that the clouds had followed them all the way there.

They both turned to the driver.

"Thank you very much, Hige." Motoko said.

"It was my pleasure, Ojou-sama." He replied. "Both of you take care."

He then returned to the vehicle and the car drove off down the narrow streets.

Even though she appeared so tired and exhausted, Keitaro was surprised at how quickly Motoko climbed the stairs. He was actually doing his best to keep up with her.

Motoko had reached the top, with Keitaro panting heavily behind her.

Stepping up behind her, he said catching his breath,

"I…I don't think I've ever seen you climb these stairs like that before. Are you sure you're tired?"

"Y-Yeah. Um, sometimes tired people have quick bursts of energy, that's all."

"Oh, I see. I suppose that makes sense." He then took her hand and said, "Well, shall we go inside?"

"Yes." She said, showing him a lovely smile, mostly in an attempt to put his worries at ease.

On they walked, through the front doors of the apartments and into the main lobby. After closing the doors behind them, Keitaro called out, "Everyone, we're home!" Motoko took off her sunglasses as the light inside was agreeable to her eyes.

The first to appear was Shinobu, who peaked out from the kitchen. Her eyes lit up with happiness as she rushed over to them, a silver ladle still in her hand. The next to appear was Naru, who quickly came down the staircase, carrying a textbook with her. The last ones were Kitsune, emerging from the dining room and Su trotting along close behind her.

Naru immediately ran up and hugged Motoko and Keitaro.

"I'm so glad you two are home. If Motoko hadn't called me the other day, I would have been worried out of my mind. Welcome home, you two." Naru said with a bright smile.

"It's good to be home, Naru." Keitaro said.

They were then met by the eager hugs and welcoming words of everyone. After giving her a big hug, Kitsune then pulled back and noticed Motoko's complexion.

"My goodness, darlin', you look as pale as a ghost. Are you feelin' okay?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine, Kitsune. I guess all those battles just took their toll on me. It's nothing to worry about."

"Well alright, but you should probably get yer self some rest, sweetie."

"I am pretty tired. I think I will, Kitsune." Motoko said, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

After all the welcoming was over, Motoko gave Keitaro a light rub on the shoulder. He saw the tiredness in her eyes and gave an understanding nod. She then slipped away and retreated to hers and Keitaro's bedroom on the second floor.

Closing the door behind her, she walked over and closed the sliding paper doors in front of the windows, closing out most of the light from the outside. She brought out the futon from the closet and rolled it out on the floor. She knelt down on top of it and smoothed out the covers with her hands. After she flipped the comforter to the side, Motoko sat down on the pillow, hugged her knees to her chest and became still. The silence that surrounded her was deafening.

Motoko then started to cry. As the tears started streaming down her cheeks, she covered her face with her hands.

Now crying out loud and her body shaking like the last leaf ready to fall in November, Motoko thought,

'I know what's happening to me, I do. It's just that I still can't believe it. I can't believe that something like this can destroy my hopes, my dreams, my entire future! I want to get married. I want to someday have a child with Keitaro. I want us to spend the rest of our lives together. Those are my most cherished dreams.' A vision flashed in her mind of the menacing expression on Tataku's face as she reared her fangs in battle. 'If I turn into something like that thing I fought, all my dreams will disappear forever. I love you, Keitaro. I love you so damn much! Will you hate me? Will you find me repulsive? I don't want you to shun me away. I don't ever want to be apart from you. Oh, what will I do? What will I do?'

She couldn't tell him. How could she tell him the words that up 'til now, she could barely say to herself.

'I'm…becoming a vampire.'