Princess Mononoke Fan Fiction / Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Singing Mountain ❯ Chapter 8: Uncertain Hearts ( Chapter 8 )

You've seen one disclaimer, you've seen em all! I'm tired of writing them! So there! :P

Kuririn and 18 trekked up the steep hill and towards a nature trail. They had tried following the dragons, but they sensed something in those woods that forced them to leave the armada behind. After about half and hour, Osa Gami had retreated from his cliff, and left for a place further up the mountain. They were following his trail to keep from being spotted.

"What happened over there, anyway?" Kuririn wondered aloud. "Where did the dragons go?"

"Whatever happened, it was anything but good." 18 shrugged. "We have to find out."

"Y'know…we could have just asked them what they were doing here? They could have told us."

"If I was one of those weirdoes, I wouldn't be so trusting of strangers that were sticking their noses in my business."

"You're right…as always." Kuririn sighed. "But I really think we could have asked instead of…"

"Kuririn! Look!" 18 pointed at the trail ahead. She saw a few strange women dressed in long, fur coats and red masks over their faces limping foreword on the trail, using each other as braces. They were covered in strange, purple marks that looked very gruesome.

"Whoa!" Kuririn gasped. "What happened to them?"

"I'll bet it was those dragons…" 18 growled. Then, something else walked along the trail with the women. 18 was in frightened awe. "Whoa…what the…"

"That…" Kuririn tried to begin, but he was captivated too. They were both looking at a gigantic, white wolf the size of a tour bus walking along with the women. Something was in its mouth, and it was about the size of a human. Walking along side that wolf was a smaller one the size of a horse at the shoulder. It carried another fur-coated woman on its back. Then came another wolf, and more women, most injured and sick leaning against each other in support.

"That…is a huge wolf…" 18 gasped.

Then, Kuririn spotted Piccolo among the crowds of wounded women.

"Hey!" he called out to the Namekian. "Piccolo! Hey man!" He ran to Piccolo, a little relieved to see something familiar in this strange place. "What are you doing here, man?"

"Kuririn?" Piccolo wondered in shock as 18 also came to join him. "And Android 18? What are you two doing here?"

"It's a long story." 18 decided not to answer Piccolo's question. "What happened here?"

"There has been an ambush." Piccolo explained. "These women are Mononoke, and they belong to the wolf clan. They were going into battle with the dragon clan, but a demon attacked instead. Four priestesses are dead, and the dragon clan warriors and their gods have been destroyed."

"Oh my God…" 18 breathed.

"So these are Mononoke…" Kuririn wondered, looking around at all the cute girls. "Hey, uh, is there anything we can do to help them?"

"Certainly." One of the girls answered, walking to them. "We have some sick and wounded that can't walk on their own. Can you two help us carry them?"

"Well…" 18 hesitated.

"Sure!" Kuririn agreed, blushing. "Take us to them! We'll be happy to help them!" 18 glared at her short husband hard enough to shatter glass, and he grew nervous. "Oh, and, uh, I'm Kuririn, and this is my lovely wife, 18."

"I'm San Miaka." The priestess introduced, shaking Kuririn's and 18's hands. "Right this way."

/|\

The sounds of soft marching rumbled in Masquerade's ears. She was barely conscious, and she couldn't open her eyes without giving herself a headache. She felt herself floating on a soft fur mat, and snuggled her nose into it. It smelled and felt like a wolf, and she tried to make herself comfortable. She felt sore all over, like she had been burnt in a fire, or every bone in her body was broken. It hurt to move.

Her slight movements caused her to fall off the fur mat, and land on her back on hard ground. A rock stabbed slightly into her neck, making her yelp in more pain than she was feeling already. She felt a wolf's cold nose gently poke and exhale on her forehead, and she heard worried whimpering. It sounded like Ghen. Then she heard footsteps running towards her, and someone crouching next to her.

"I'll help this one." an unfamiliar voice of a woman volunteered, and Masq felt arms cradle her neck and backs of her knees and lift her up next to a warm body.

"Okay." A faint San Miaka agreed. "Thank you, Miss 18." Then Masq felt the warm body move, and she groaned.

"Are you alright?" the voice named 18 asked with little concern.

"Yeah." Masq croaked. "But I feel terrible."

"Hold on." The voice didn't even try to encourage. "You're going to a hospital where your wounds will be treated." There was silence as the woman walked along with many wolves and wounded priestesses. Masq's head slowly cleared, and she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the woman's face. It was fair, clean, with short blond hair, blue eyes, and a flat mouth indicating a neutral mood. Pretty… Masq thought, then she moved her head to see where the woman was taking her. She saw Ghen, a group of priestesses she didn't know, and Moro-sama trotting by her son's side. Masq tried to call out to her.

"Moro-sama…" her weak voice squeaked as she tried to shout. "Moro…" Ghen's head turned towards her, and panted with relief.

"San…" he sighed. 18's neutral face became a face of fear.

"It…talked…!!!"

"I'll talk for you as much as you like," Ghen bargained sternly, "after the women are healed. Please, take care of San Masquerade…"

"Oh my God…"

"Moro…" Masquerade tried to call out again, reaching out with her hand. "Seru…"

"Seru is going to be fine." Ghen assured his priestess, nuzzling her hand with his giant, black nose. "Don't worry, we're on our way to the Shishi Gami pool now."

"I can't believe this thing can talk…" 18 said in surprise, shaking her head in disbelief.

"They all can talk." Masq explained with a weak smile as Ghen lifted his muzzle away. "They're gods. What's your name?"

"18. Your name must be San."

"Masquerade. You can call me Masq if you want."

"Alright. Do they all have names? Who's the big one?"

"Moro-sama. She's the alpha female, the leader of the pack. I must speak with her." 18 looked from Masq's barely awake face to the giant wolf practically taking the lead with other priestesses. A look of doubt crossed the android's face, but it was replaced with determination, and she quickened her pace until she arrived by Moro's front leg.

"Uh, excuse me? Moro-sama?" 18 caught the wolf's attention. Moro barely tilted her head to 18 as she walked to look at her. Moro's eye caught sight of Masq and the priestess began talking.

"Seru…I must…is he…" Masq tried to explain. However, she was starting to fade and she grew sleepier by the minute. Her burns were starting to really hurt…

"Cell is badly wounded, but he will survive." Moro assured. "Don't worry, San. We will do everything we can to help him recover. Please try to rest."

"Okay…" Masq moaned. 18 was in such fear that she almost stopped walking. She quickly got a grip on herself, hoping that she just mistaken, and grabbed a tuff of Moro's fur to keep up.

"Excuse me again, Moro-sama," the android began, "did you say…Cell? As in…the Cell?" To answer that, Moro swung her head around fully and revealed what she was carrying in her massive jaws. It was the limp body of the most feared man in the world…especially feared by 18. "No…"

"It is a long story." Moro said simply. "I'm sorry if this man caused you any pain in the past, but he has done nothing to us during his stay here. Now please hurry, many priestesses must be healed before these wounds begin to grow."

"He has caused me more pain that you could ever imagine…" 18 began to sob as she stared at his all-too-familiar face. Moro turned her head away and did not answer. 18 kept walking, her eyes were beginning to well tears and her heartbeat quicken. A horrible laughter of pure evil erupted in her head: the laughter of the man who killed her brother…

Singing Mountain: Chapter 8

The stars shone brightly over the Son family house at night. The quiet of the night was slightly pestered by crickets and hunting owls. The peace tucked Chi-chi and Gohan into a blissful sleep and beautiful dreams. In his room, Gohan turned over in his bed and snuggled his head deeper into his down pillow. He sighed deeply in his sleep, and followed it with a comfortable moan, then breathed silently. He was dreaming.

… … …

"Hello? Is anyone home?"

"Huh?" Gohan looked up from his book and looked outside his window. He could not believe who he saw at his doorstep. "Dad?"

"Hey Gohan!" Goku greeted with a large grin. "How are ya doing, big guy?"

"Daddy!" Gohan happily cried, jumping out of the window, and running into his father's happy arms. "You came back! You came back!"

"I'll always come back, Gohan." Goku promised, snipping his grin into a small smile. "I would never leave you and your mother behind forever."

"I missed you so much!" Gohan sobbed into Goku's orange shirt. "Please don't leave me again, dad!" Finally, Goku's smile disappeared and he picked up his son in his muscular arms. They looked into each other's eyes, Gohan's full of happiness and Goku's with seriousness.

"I'm only here for a while." Goku explained. "Sorry, Gohan. Something horrible is going to happen…"

"What do you mean?" Gohan asked with worry. Suddenly, Goku and the world disappeared and left Gohan in darkness. "Dad? Daddy? Where did you go?" Gohan panicked, looking around as he floated in the endless black around him. "Dad?!" Then, the world came back, but Gohan found himself in a strange place he had never seen before. It was a beautiful forest of gigantic trees that surrounded a still lake of dark water. Gohan walked to the edge of the lake, awed by the beauty of the world around him. The water reflected the stars in the sky perfectly, as though the lake was a mirror.

Suddenly, something moved on the other side of the lake. Gohan looked up, and saw a boy his age and a slightly older girl walking on the water towards him. Their walk was slow and casual, and they moved in perfect sync. Their faces were expressionless, and their eyes were fixed on nothing at all. They looked like twins…

Images began flashing before his eyes at a blinding speed!

…a deer-like creature with the face of a man…

…a monster made of a clear liquid with tiny lights that shone like fireflies…

…an ancient battle mask followed by snow-white fur…

…a giant green monster lunging towards him, baring its fangs…

… … …

He was jolted to a sit as he woke up. He gasped in surprise, then slowly calmed himself down. Reminding himself that it was just a dream, he laid back down into his pillow and tried to close his eyes. But in the darkness behind his eyelids, he could see Goku standing next to him.

"Something horrible is going to happen." Goku reminded. "Go to the Wolf Jaw."

Gohan opened his eyes again, and found himself staring up at the ceiling of his room. The image of Goku disappeared.

"Dad…" the boy whispered to himself. "What are you trying to tell me?" The last words ran in his head as Gohan tried to go back to sleep.

"Go to the Wolf Jaw…"

/|\

The precession of wounded priestesses and wolves moved through several villages and towns and well into the night. They passed through the capital town, Eboshi, and every hospital regretted not being able to take in one patient because every bed was full and every healer was busy trying to cure them of their demon burns. In several of the smaller towns, a couple priestesses were emitted to the healer to be cured, but only that much. No healer would accept Cell into the hospitals.

Moro-sama led the rest of her wounded tribe to the Shishi Gami pool where Miaka took point and led them to a secluded island on the other side. Rhapsody swam beside Aman, holding the injured dragon priest under one of her arms. As she steered and paddled with her free arm, she spotted Akimo in the distance. He was standing by a tree, surrounded by strangely quiet kodama, and he looked horrified. Rhapsody gave him a comforting glance, and a polite bow of the head to assure the spirit that everyone would be alright. Akimo continued to watch, his fears unwavering. Rhapsody turned away from him and kept swimming.

18 held Masquerade's head above the water as she floated with the rest of the priestesses. Kuririn and Piccolo were walking silently next to the giant brown wolf named Amaroq. Cell appeared to still be out cold. 18 wondered how he came back, and why he was here. If he came back for her, she would fight him with all the strength she had! … Or would she run away to protect herself, like she had done before? Well, she knew that she wanted to live. She had to live; she was going to have a baby in eight months! And if Cell tried to take the future little one away from her, then she would kill him!

Finally, they reached the island. Most of the wolves shook themselves dry, sprinkling large drops of water everywhere. Moro-sama gently set Cell on the ground before drying herself off. Most of the priestesses shrugged off their wet fur shrouds to loose the extra weight of water. 18 helped Masq out of her shroud carefully, then began to ring out some water in her hair.

"So where are we going?" 18 asked no one in particular.

"There is a secret pool here that is only for near death emergencies." Miaka began explaining. "Since all the hospitals on this mountain have no vacancies, and we would all be dead by the time we got to the nearest hospital on the Tatara Mountain, we must go here."

"And what's so special about this pool?" 18 wondered to the priestess, taking a few steps foreword so that she could look around the Shishi Gami realm.

"It is a pool of Sacred Water." Miaka answered with a smile.

"Of course." Piccolo butted in from a short distance away. "The Sacred Spring, I forgot all about it."

"What is it?" Kuririn wondered up at Piccolo.

"Kami-sama would frequently visit this mountain, because he had a student here who was studying the ancient Namekian battle arts. The gods of this mountain were very respectful to him, so he repaid their kindness by creating a pool of Sacred Water within a perfect circle. This mountain is abundant in the water because of Kami-sama's kindness, but it is only found in one spot."

"That's all correct." Miaka nodded. "Some of the Sacred Water has seeped into the lake, therefore making the water healthy to drink. The spring is just over here, let's get going."

"Right." 18 nodded. Before she could take a step, she felt something on her ankle. She looked down to see one of Cell's hands grabbing her foot. Fear made her heart jump and she would have screamed if the sound didn't instantly latch to her throat. Cell slowly raised his head, and looked up at his fellow android. Their eyes met for an instant, and then Cell lowered his head at the sight of Masquerade's face. He let go of 18's foot, and tried to reach for the sleeping priestess.

"Thank…you…" he murmured, then his hand relaxed and he lowered his head back to the ground, closed his eyes, and breathed deeply in sleep. The fear in 18's heart slowly faded away as Cell made no further movements towards her. She took a couple of steps away as Moro-sama gathered Cell in her jaws and lifted her head.

"We continue." She announced, walking away. The priestesses followed her, and 18 ended up taking the rear. As Moro-sama passed her, 18 thought she heard Cell mumble:

"Moro…we've got to…stop…meeting like this…"

/|\

The pool was indeed a perfect circle, filled with a sparkling water. It looked like a pot of diamonds in 18's eyes. She had hardly seen such a beautiful sight of nature. Rhapsody and Miaka went to the pool first, cupped their hands in the water, and took long drinks. They motioned for the others to do so. Rhapsody took out a bowl she normally used for eating rice in, dipped it in the water, and helped the dragon priest drink the healing water. Other priestesses and wolves stooped by the edge and drank the Sacred Water.

"You should drink too." Miaka suggested to Piccolo and Kuririn, handing him her bowl of water. "Demon burns spread through touch." Kuririn accepted the bowl while Piccolo insisted that the demon marks didn't affect him at all.

Moro-sama set Cell down next to the pool, but he made no movement towards it. She nudged him a few times, and he moaned in sleepiness.

"Cell, drink the water." Moro-sama urged. "It will stop the burns from infecting and growing. Hurry."

"It hurts…to move…" he moaned, slowly opening his eyes.

18 helped Masquerade drink the water from her hands, and the priestess opened her eyes. Masq looked around, and saw 18's still unconcerned face looking at her. Masq looked around, hearing a wolf whimpering in worry. She looked at Moro-sama, who was nudging Cell's sides. Cell wasn't moving. Masq panicked, and jumped out of 18's arms to him. The android made no move to stop Masq. 18 was reluctant to go near Cell again.

"Seru!" Masq called in worry, feeling pain shoot her around her stomach and neck. It really hurt to move around quickly. "Seru! Are you alright! Answer me!" She landed by his side on her knees, and shook his shoulder as hard as she could. "Seru! Seru!"

"San?" he asked quietly. Completely full of hope, Masq cupped her hands in the water, and put it up to Cell's mouth.

"Drink, please!"

"I…can't…"

"Yes you can!" Masq shouted at him, splashing the water in his face. He winced and covered his face as the Sacred Water stung the burns on his face. Masq tugged on his shoulders until Cell was on his hands and knees. That was when she noticed…

"Seru…you're perfect again…"

"Yes…but…" he moaned with a sigh, "…how long…will…it last…this time?" Determined not to let him give her that attitude, she cupped her hands in the water, and let him drink out of it. After he had sucked in what he could through his lips, he collapsed on the ground again with a grunt. Masq lightly put her hands on his arm, trying to keep him awake through her voice.

"Incredible." Rhapsody smiled. "She really does care about him."

"I know." Miaka nodded. "He seems to care about her too."

18 couldn't help but listen to their conversation. She thought what they said was wrong. She knew Cell, and she knew there were two people he even gave a damn about: 17 and herself. He didn't care if anyone else lived or died. Now that she heard that he possibly had feelings for a human, she had serious doubts. If he was caring about a human, she probably had something he wanted. He had to have a plan of some kind or something…

I'll keep an eye on him…but I don't want to get to close…

She had learned her lesson about getting too close to Cell…

/|\

After each priestess and wolf had their healing drink, each one was ordered by Miaka to go back to their homes and get some rest. She hopped on Tori's back to go do so herself. Rhapsody ordered two healthy wolves to go fetch the bodies of the four dead, and she would give them the proper funeral at the Dead Grassland. Moro-sama was about to head for the temple to tell the evacuated to return to their homes when she noticed San Masquerade lifting Cell up to his feet by his arm.

"San?" Moro-sama called to the girl. Masq seemed to have ignored her.

"C'mon, Seru." She encouraged. "Get up. We have to get back to the house."

"…" Cell was too weak and tired to even speak. He collapsed on the ground again, wincing. Masq then looped his arms through hers and lifted him on her back and started walking. Moro-sama was alarmed. Cell was much bigger and heavier than Masq, and she was severely weakened by the pain of the burns she had. Carrying him the whole two miles to her house would most likely kill her!

"San!" Moro-sama barked at her. "Don't you dare! Let me carry him!"

"It's alright…Moro-sama…" Masq grunted under the weight of the monster. "Don't worry…ugh…I got him…"

"Have someone else carry him!" Moro-sama suggested, baring her sharp teeth. "Someone…Piccolo-san, come here and help Masquerade!"

"No! No!" Masq insisted, shaking her head and heading for the pool. "It's okay!… Really, Moro-sama… He's not that heavy…I can carry him…"

"San…" Moro growled. Ghen walked to his mother's side, and nudged her under her chin. Moro calmed herself and headed for the temple as Ghen trotted behind Masquerade.

"San, could you put him on my back?" Ghen offered his friend. "It would save you the strain."

"Would everybody…not worry about it?!" Masq growled as she walked on. "I got him…I'm fine."

"I'm right here if you need me." Ghen bowed his head and walked by Masq. She smiled at him, and kept her pace. Cell didn't make a sound as he was being carried. He had fallen asleep.

/|\

It felt like forever with the weight on her back, but Masq reached her house at last. She was just a few steps from the door when the constant weight she carried finally got to her knees, and she fell to the ground on her face. The sudden impact on the ground woke up Cell, and he slowly pushed himself to his knees.

"San!" Ghen barked in alarm. Cell looked below him to see Masq collapsed on the ground, and he quickly turned her over on her back. He loomed over her, and saw her eyes close and her breathing quicken. She had fainted again. Cell rubbed his hand over his forehead to nurse a headache as Ghen ran up to the fallen priestess.

"She's alright." Cell assured. "She's just asleep." He looked up at the wolf as he remembered something. "Tell me something."

"Yes?"

"Did a young woman with blond hair join you? She's an outsider who goes by the name 18?"

"I believe so." Ghen nodded. "Why?"

"I thought so…" Cell muttered with a smile. "So she's here…" He slowly stood up and looked himself over. Most of the burns were fading away or growing smaller like they were being sucked into his skin. Masq's burns were doing the same. His eyes suddenly caught sight of the house. "How did we get here so fast?"

"You don't remember?" Ghen wondered. "San Masquerade carried you the whole way here, against all advice."

"What?" Cell blinked at the wolf. "How did she… Why?"

"I don't exactly know. Perhaps she was repaying you for saving her life, Cell."

"That makes sense…" Cell analyzed, closing his eyes in thought. "She couldn't have had the strength to take me all that way…"

"Enough talk." Ghen barked, then grabbed the back of Masq's shirt and dragged her towards the door like a fresh kill. "Open the door for me." Cell walked ahead of Ghen, and quickly turned the doorknob. Ghen was barely able to fit his head and neck through the doorway as he set Masq on the floor. "Get her to her bed, and you to yours. I will come back to check on you at midday."

"Fine." Cell accepted, walking inside. Ghen pushed the door closed with his muzzle, and Cell watched the wolf walk away into the woods. Cell stared down at Masq, then stooped down to her. Her breathing returned to normal, and her eyes were slowly opening.

"Seru…"

"Why did you do that for me?" Cell demanded her. "The weight of my body would have crushed you."

"You couldn't have walked back by yourself, so I carried you."

"What about the wolves?"

"What about them?"

"Couldn't you have one of them carry me instead?"

"I think they're growing tired of that. I know Moro-sama is. You're probably tired of it too, I'd think."

"Are you trying to be funny?"

"Not really."

"Good, because it's not working. Now get up." With that, Cell stood up and started to walk away.

"I…can't…"

Cell stopped dead in his tracks and looked over towards Masq.

"What?"

"I can't move…" Masq moaned, turning her eyes up to him. "Help me…please…"

Suddenly, a lost memory flashed in Cell's mind…

… … …

"Wait…" she called out to him, lying on the floor. "I can't move…"

"Well, isn't that too bad?" Cell spat at her through his beak. "Would you rather I'd kill you?"

"Please…help me up…" The girl stretched out a hand towards him. He glared at her, and huffed.

"Hmph." He turned from her, and left the house.

"Wait! Please!" the girl pleaded, probably crying. He didn't look back at her, but he did hear her desperate cries. "Help me…please…"

… … …

"…Please?" Masq pleaded. Cell closed his eyes with a sigh.

"I'm still weak. I don't know if I can help you."

"Sure you can." Masq encouraged. "Can you please help me up?"

"Alright." Cell gave in, walking to her.

"Thanks." She mumbled as he reached down and grabbed her hand. He carefully stood her up. Suddenly, she grinned in his face. "Got ya!" Then she started laughing. Cell made a strange face. He was tricked into helping her up when she didn't need it.

"You are a very strange girl." He sighed. She smiled at him.

"You couldn't have said it better." She laughed as she started walking towards the bedroom. Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed in her lower leg, and she jumped in surprise. "Ouch!" She started to fall, but propped herself against the wall. "Ow, oh son of a bitch!"

"!!!!!" Cell was taken aback by that remark completely. Masq lifted up a leg of her pantaloons, and found a large bruise on her ankle.

"Sprained." She sighed. She looked at Cell. "Seru, could you help me to the…"

"Hmph." The android turned his head away from her, not to be duped again.

"I'm not tricking you. Look at this. You think I would do this to myself on purpose? I musta got it when I fell…I don't remember much about that…"

"You hit your head rather hard too." Cell pointed out, then put a finger up on his right temple. "Right here." Masq touched it carefully.

"Ow. You're right. Well, that's alright. C'mon, let's go to bed." She tried limping over to the bedroom, but was in such pain that she collapsed by the table. "Ow…" Cell rolled his eyes and sighed. He walked over to her and picked her up into his arms. She gasped in surprise, then looked up into his face. He looked at her and smiled simply. Masq instantly looked away, feeling her face gather heat. She was probably blushing. Cell carried her into the bedroom without a word.

As he walked to her bed, he lowered her legs to free one hand so that he could pull back the covers. Masq almost lost balance and fell, so she wrapped her arms around his neck to keep herself upright. Cell froze, and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Masq looked at him, blushed, and quickly looked away.

"Why do you keep doing that?" he wondered, pulling back the covers.

"Sorry." Masq tried not to giggle. "But…I've never been this close to a guy before."

"I can't say I understand…"

"That's alright." Masq smiled as Cell gently lowered her to the bed. "You've probably never been this close to a girl before."

"…" Cell gave her a flat face. Masq couldn't help but laugh.

"Sorry." She apologized behind her hand. She started blushing again, and Cell noticed.

"What's wrong with your face?" he asked her. No girl had ever blushed around him before. Masq looked into his eyes.

Pretty…such pretty eyes…

"Seru…" she began, then suddenly stopped herself. Should I say it? I don't even know if it's for real…

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, looming over her face. Masq started shaking. He was so close to her…

"I…I, uh…"

"Yes…"

"Well…" Masq's whole face turned red and her eyes started to water. Oh God, I feel so scared and embarrassed. My heart's beating a million miles an hour…I think I'm gonna scream or something…

What is wrong with this girl? Cell wondered. Does she remembered what happened that day I first met her in the woods? That wouldn't be good…

"Please tell me, San." Cell pleaded, clutching one of her hands. That was all it took for one tear to roll down Masq's cheek. Cell leaned a little closer, trying to figure out the girl's problem. Masq put a hand on his cheek, and stroked it gently. Cell closed his eyes and leaned so close to her their foreheads touched.

"I'm so sorry." Masq whispered, about to cry.

"Please don't cry…" Cell was about to order. He leaned closer still, his lips inches from hers…

He quickly stopped himself.

What am I doing? He realized. I was going to kiss her. I should be killing her, I hate her!

Is he going to kiss me? Masq wondered. Oh God, my first kiss! From the most handsome man I had ever seen! Well, here it goes… She positioned her neck up and puckered her lips for the big moment she had been waiting for ever since she was twelve…

Suddenly, the door flung open and hit the wall with a loud BANG! Both Cell and Masq were startled and turned to the next room. No one was outside, and no one entered.

"Heh heh…" Masq chuckled nervously, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. "Just the wind." Cell stepped away from the bed to close the door while natural color returned to Masq's face. "Damn. So close…"

"What was that?" Cell asked as he closed the door.

"Oops." Masq gasped, clutching her hands over her mouth. "Nothing. Don't worry. We should get to sleep."

"You're right." Cell nodded, heading back to the bedroom and to his bed. "Good night, San."

"Good night, Seru." Masq wished, pulling back the covers and resting her head in the pillow. She closed her eyes and started slipping into sleep. Suddenly, she remembered something and opened her eyes. She saw Cell sitting on the edge of his bed with his folded hands positioned just under his nose. "By the way, Seru…"

"Yes?" He turned his pink eyes to her.

"Thank you for saving my life."

It was Cell's turn to start blushing.

"You're welcome." Then he added: "By the way, Masquerade…"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you…for carrying me here. That was very…courageous of you."

Masq smiled at him.

"You're welcome. No problem." She pulled up the covers just up to the bridge of her nose to hide her blushing face from Cell, and she started to sleep.

I can't believe it… she thought to herself. It's love! I'm in love with Cell! I know I am! I can't believe it…but I love it!

Such a strange girl… Cell thought to himself as he watched Masq fall asleep. She treated me badly and talked to me harshly…but now I understand that she meant well all along. She really does care about me, all she wanted was for me to be healthy. She is an annoyance…so why can't I stop thinking about her?

Is she the same girl from the woods? Was she the girl who knew about the androids?

Such a strange girl…

((A special thanks to all you ff.n authors, readers, and Cell fans for reading and reviewing this story. Another special thanks to my biggest critic, whom I shall call Mama Washu! Thank you, Mama! I just wanted to say thanks to you guys for your inspiration and criticism that helped make this story enjoyable. However, it's not done yet, and I've got a big surprise for everyone in future chapters. So, anyway, yeah, thanks for reading! ~Masquerade))