A/N: Sorry for making everyone so depressed with my last chapter. Now, enough of these sad and depressing moments! We're moving onto happier times for Sesshomaru, Sakura, Ayame, and Masaru from here on out! That means more sweet/awkward moments, Ichiro being a rejected moron, (not that he wasn't already) and even- *A loud truck suddenly rushes by and honks its horn so my words are inaudible* oops! I shouldn't have told you that last part! Well I hope that it will make up for all that talk about people dying! Now for chapter 21!

Chapter 21

Sesshomaru's POV

That night as Sakura drifted off to sleep in her chair she seemed to be having a nightmare of some sort. She kept moaning and shifting in her sleep (a sleep which did not appear to be very restful) and at one point she let out a squeak that might have been a scream in her dreams. That uncomfortable position she's in while she sleeps in that chair probably doesn't help her get much rest in the first place. I thought. Perhaps it would help her if she could actually lie down. I walked over to her and as I bent down to pick her up she shifted again and I had to catch her before she fell onto the ground. After I adjusted my hold on her I carried her to the sofa and layed her down with her head propped on a pillow. I pulled the blanket over her and saw on her face that she had begun to relax a little more. I turned to leave and possibly take a walk outside, but I stopped when I felt a tug. I turned to see Sakura holding onto the end of my Mokomoko. (A/N: Mokomoko is the name of Sesshomaru's fluffy thing.) She had unconsciously grabbed it in her sleep and was clinging to it as if it were a precious possession of hers that she was frightened someone might take from her. I mentally sighed and sat down on the floor next to her.

As I sat there I gazed at her as she hugged my Mokomoko tightly and pressed it close to her face. She seemed to have calmed down now and the innocent look on her face as she slept was exactly the way Rin looked when she was asleep. Rin... The memory of her last words to me still felt like a stab in my heart. Why couldn't I say it Rin? Why can't I still? You are right here with me in this other time, your spirit and soul in this girl who is so much like you, but I still cannot convey my feelings towards you. Why?

Sakura's POV

I was having a nightmare. I was nowhere and it was pitch black, but I felt heat all around me like I was in the middle of a fire. Slowly, light began to flicker in random places and I realized that I was in a fire. The room I was standing in was collapsing around me and the air was being choked by the flames and smoke. I have to get out! Which way is the exit?! I thought in my panic. I looked around, but I didn't see any windows or doors. The air became more suffocating and I tried to scream, but I only choked on my breath. Somebody help me! I began to fall to my knees in hopelessness when something caught me. I turned to see what it was, but I couldn't make out any details of who it was. Something soft was draped over my shoulders and the person picked me up. Suddenly I could breathe again and I couldn't feel the heat from the fire anymore. I leaned closer to my rescuer and watched as a wall came crashing down and we ran through it to the other side.

Once we were out of the fire, the burning room vanished and we were out in a field in the middle of the night. There was a crescent moon out and a cool breeze was blowing the tall grass. The person carrying me walked forward a bit then set me down gently in the field. That's when I noticed that he had long white hair that covered his face so I didn't know who it was. Then I saw that the soft thing draped around my shoulders was a large fluffy thing that was also white. Soon I could make out everything about him except for his face. His face remained in shadow, and though I felt as if I knew him I couldn't remember his name. He turned and began to walk away from me.

"Wait!" I reached out for him and grabbed the end of the long fluffy thing he was wearing. His head turned to look at me. "Don't leave." I begged him. "I don't want to be alone, so please stay."

"You barely know me. How do you know I won't harm you?" He replied, but I couldn't get a sense of what his voice sounded like.

"I don't know." I admitted and looked down. "It feels like I knew you a long time ago, but I'm not sure when that was." I tightened my grip on his fluffy thing. "If what I feel is right, then I want to get to know you again so I can understand you better." He didn't respond. "Please, stay here with me..." There was a tense silence between the two of us. A breeze blew his hair away from his face and I stared intently, wanting to get a glance at his face.

...

Tamotsu's barking woke me up from my dream. I moaned as I slowly escaped the dream world and faded back into reality. I had to force myself to sit up and I rubbed my eyes drowsily.

"Tamotsu... What's all the fuss about? Is Ayame here already?" I mumbled. Tamotsu would always bark when Ayame was coming, so he had become my alarm clock.

"So you are finally awake?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Yeah..." I yawned. "Good morning." I stopped with my mouth wide open. "Wait, what?" I looked over and saw Sesshomaru sitting on the floor and it was then I fully realized that I was on the couch instead. "How did I end up here?" I asked.

"I placed you there." Sesshomaru replied coolly.

"But- but what about you?" I asked him. "Where did you sleep?"

"I was not very tired last night so I sat here while you slept."

"You were up all night?!" I leaned in a little closer to him, not really believing him, but he nodded and shrugged his shoulders. "S-sorry..."

"What for?" He glanced over at me. "You did nothing wrong. You seemed to be having a nightmare of some sort and I thought it would help if you could actually lay down instead of being in that stiff chair." He explained, but I was still surprised. He doesn't seem to mind it one bit...

"Well... Thank you Sesshomaru." I said. There was a silence between us, and then I heard the door open.

"Hey there Tamotsu! How are you boy?" Ayame's voice made me jump up off the couch. I reached for the brush and began getting all the tangles out of my hair.

"H-hey there Ayame!" I called to her as she walked into the room.

"Morning Sakura!" She smiled and looked over at Sesshomaru. "Hey Sesshomaru." I grabbed my book bag, shoved my textbooks I had been studying in last night, and swung it over my shoulder.

"Well we better be going or else we'll be late." I said. Ayame nodded and we said goodbye to Sesshomaru. As we walked to the bus I noticed that Ayame was eating a giant Snickers bar and her eyes were a little puffy. "Still upset about what happened yesterday?" Ayame nodded as she chewed. She must have been crying a lot last night and even this morning. This whole thing must be really hard for her "Why don't we visit Masaru in the hospital after school today?" I suggested while trying to sound cheerful and optimistic.

"Alright." Ayame replied and smiled weakly at me. I hope that both Ayame and Masaru will be able to recover soon.

…

At school a small, wonderful miracle happened. Word had spread fast about Masaru's house burning down and everyone was thinking the same thing. Everyone was whispering behind Ichiro's back and staring at him. In fact, Ichiro was so busy telling people to shut up and stop asking him about the swollen bruise on his jaw that he didn't have time to bother us. To see Ichiro acting this way lightened Ayame's mood considerably.

"Oh, I wish I had brought a camera to school today." Ayame said joyfully. "Then I could have record this wonderful and historical event in my life."

"I know." I replied. "I never thought I would live to see the day everyone else giving Ichiro a hard time instead of the other way around!" We both laughed as we put our gym clothes back in our bags. "Are you ready to go to the hospital?" I asked. Ayame nodded and swung her bag onto her shoulder.

"Are you going to visit Masaru at the hospital?" I turned around to see who had just spoken.

"Oh! Hojo-sensei!" (A/N: Yes. THAT Hojo!) I smiled at him. Hojo was our Health and Gym teacher and an absolute health nut, but he was still a great teacher even if his lectures did get a little boring at times. "Yeah. We're going to go see if Masaru is alright after what happened yesterday."

"Yeah. That fire seemed pretty bad." Hojo replied. "I wasn't there myself, but I heard about it from people who did see it. Oh yes, could you give something to him for me?" Hojo walked into his office and came back out with and came back out with a small basket with some kind of strange fruit in it. "These are supposed to be good for your health and help you recover faster if you eat enough of them." Ayame took the basket from Hojo and bowed.

"Th-thank you very much Hojo-sensei…" Ayame said politely, but I knew she was thinking the same thing I was. What a health nut…

When we walked out to the front of the school I saw that Sesshomaru was waiting for us.

"Hey Sesshomaru!" I ran up to him and smiled. "You weren't waiting for very long were you?" Sesshomaru shook his head slightly. "Well that's good. Do you want to come with us to visit Masaru?" Sesshomaru shrugged and I heard someone giggling. I turned around and saw some girls in my class looking at us and smiling. I frowned at them and turned to Ayame. "Well let's get going shall we?" Ayame nodded and the three of us left for the hospital.

While we were walking, Ayame and I tried to make small talk and Sesshomaru followed a step behind us. Neither one of us were feeling very chatty, so we eventually gave up and I stopped.

"What's wrong Sakura?" Ayame asked.

"I feel like something's wrong." I said. "Like I forgot something." I lifted my bag up and down to check the weight. It was lighter than usual. I opened it up and looked inside. "Darn it! I forgot my Literature homework in my locker. I'll have to go back and get it."

"Ok, let's go back." Ayame said.

"No." I insisted. "We're closer to the hospital than the school at this point. You go on ahead and see Masaru and I'll go back on my own. I'll meet up with you guys at the hospital once I have it." Ayame nodded and I knew she was grateful. She could hardly wait to see Masaru and make sure he was ok. If I made her go back with me to get my homework her anxiety would only increase and I didn't want to trouble her.

"I'll see you in a bit." Ayame waved to me. I waved back and walked back to school.

…

After pulling my homework out of my locker and stuffing it in my book bag I turned to Sesshomaru and nodded.

"Ok. I've got everything I need." I smiled at him. He didn't have to come all the way back with me, not that I mind. Sesshomaru nodded and followed me. After walking in silence for ten minutes I finally worked up the courage to ask a question that had been nagging at me for a while now. "Sesshomaru?"

"What is it?" He asked and looked down at me. I glanced down nervously.

"Um. Where did you live before I found you?" I look back up at him hoping that he would answer me.

"I wasn't living anywhere." He replied.

"What?!"

"I was traveling around Japan in search of power." He explained.

"Oh. I see. Didn't you have any home to return to?"

"No."

"Well" I continued looking at him instead of where I was walking. "What about-"

"Sakura!" Sesshomaru grabbed my wrist and time slowed as he pulled me towards him. I fell into his arms and he wrapped them around me protectively.

Ayame's POV

I was practically stepping on the nurse's toes as she led me to Masaru's room. I was anxious to see him and wanted to get to him as soon as possible. Finally we reached Masaru's room and I thanked the nurse for showing me the way. After she left, I took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Masaru?" I poked my head in. Masaru was lying on a bed with his left leg in a cast. When he heard my voice he turned his head, sat up, and smiled.

"Hey there Ayame! Come on in!" He said cheerfully. I opened the door quickly and tried with every fiber of my being not to run right to him.

"How are you feeling Masaru?" I asked as I sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'm fine." He replied. "I only got some minor burns from the fire and that's about it."

"So the cast is just for show?" I asked sarcastically as I tapped his leg. He gave a short laugh.

"Oh, that. When I went back in my room to get your necklace, a beam that supported the roof fell down on my leg and I fractured it." He explained. I frowned at him and pounded the top of his head with my fist playfully.

"Moron." I said. "I don't want you to get yourself killed over a piece of jewelry. I'd rather have you than your memory." Masaru smile widened and he looked like he was about to laugh.

"Alright then I promise I won't do it again." He replied.

"Ever." I added. "Don't ever go running into a burning building unless someone's life is at stake or you have my permission."

"Gotcha." He nodded. I smiled and took my fist off his head. Suddenly my nose began itch, tears welled up in my eyes, and I couldn't hold it back anymore. Tears spilled off my cheeks and I furiously tried to wipe them away, but they just kept coming. I felt an arm touch my shoulder and pull me in. I leaned onto Masaru's shoulder and cried as he hugged me.

"I'm sorry Ayame." He apologized. "You must have been terrified when I was in there. I promise that I won't ever scare you like that again." Masaru continued to hold me as I sobbed for another five or six minutes. After I forced myself to stop crying and calmed down a bit, I took a deep shuttering breath in and out and wiped my wet face with a tissue Masaru handed me. "Hey, what's in the basket?" Masaru asked when he noticed the basket I had placed on the floor when I came in.

"Oh." I bent down and picked it up. "It's a get-well gift from our Health teacher." I handed it to him.

"Hojo-sensei?" He asked. I nodded. He looked inside the basket then back at me. "Are they supposed to be good for your health?" He asked.

"Yep. You nailed it." I replied. We both started snickering then burst out laughing.

"He's such a health nut!" Masaru laughed.

"He sure is!" After we finished laughing Masaru looked at me.

"Say, why isn't Sakura with you if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, Sakura? She forgot her some of her homework at school and she went back with Sesshomaru to get it. They should be here in a little bit." I told him.

"Oh."

"Why?" I asked. "Was there something you wanted to talk to her about?"

"Sort of…" He replied. "Well, really I wanted to ask her something about Sesshomaru."

"Sesshomaru?"

"Yeah. It could be nothing, but I wanted to make sure. I'll ask them when they get here."

Sakura's POV

My heart was pounding as my face was pressed gently into his chest. Wh-what?! What's this all of a sudden?! My cheeks became warm and I heard a clatter behind me. For a moment I didn't want to turn my head. I didn't want to pull away or do anything that might end this moment, but curiosity won over and I looked behind me. On the ground there was a metal screwdriver where I had been standing just a moment ago.

"Are you alright?!" I heard a voice call from somewhere above me. I looked up and saw two men on top of a telephone pole. The younger of the two had a look of terror on his face. He must have been the one to drop the screwdriver.

"I'm alright! You didn't hit me!" I called up to them. The younger one sighed with relief.

"We're terribly sorry!" The older one called down. "It's his first day on the job and he's still learning the ropes!"

"It's ok!" I assured them. I looked back at Sesshomaru and was surprised when I met his eyes. He was looking down at me with the slightest glint of concern showing on his face. "Th-thanks for getting me out of the way Sesshomaru."

"Are you sure that you were not hurt?" He asked.

"Y-yeah…" What's this sudden concern he has for me? As the tension slowly died down my hands fell back to my sides and Sesshomaru slowly released me from his embrace. An uncomfortable silence settled between us with either one unable to break eye-contact with the other. I felt myself relax as I fell deeper into his gaze and I felt myself wanting to come a little closer to him. Before I could move towards him, something snapped both of us out of our trances and we looked away.

"W-well." I stuttered. "We're almost at the hospital. Let's go see Masaru!" I turned around and started walking and Sesshomaru followed behind me without a word. What's wrong with me? I wondered. My heart won't stop pounding. Is it because I like Sesshomaru? Does he have feelings for me too? My heart leapt at the thought and I shook my head to clear it. Stop thinking about it!

…

When we entered the hospital room, Ayame was sitting on the edge of the bed by Masaru who had a cast on his leg.

"Hey Masaru!" I said as Sesshomaru and I walked in.

"Hey Sakura, Sesshomaru." Masaru greeted.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"I'm still alive thanks to Sesshomaru." He replied then looked at Sesshomaru who was still standing behind me. "Thank you for helping me." Sesshomaru didn't reply and I saw Masaru's face change. "But… I do have something to ask you about when we were in the fire." That caught all of our attention and we all looked at Masaru then Ayame and I looked over at Sesshomaru.

"What is it?" Sesshomaru asked with slight curiosity.

"Well… I don't really know how to explain it without it sounding really strange." Masaru confessed.

"What?" I asked. Masaru glanced around the room as he thought about what he was going to say.

"Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but when you found me Sesshomaru my leg was caught under a beam from the ceiling. That's how my leg got fractured and you had to move it to get me free."

"What about it?" Ayame asked.

"Sesshomaru didn't move the beam at all." Masaru said. What? What does he mean? "Now I don't know if I was hallucinating because of the smoke or what, but I saw a green line extend from your hand Sesshomaru and it diced the beam to tiny pieces without ever touching me." My eyes widened as Masaru went on. "After you grabbed me we began to make our escape, but halfway through more parts of the walls and ceiling collapsed around us. You stopped and I saw the same green line lash out and break apart the rubble so we could get through." Ayame had a stunned and befuddled look on her face and I assumed that I was the same. "Sesshomaru. Did that really happen, or was I delusional?" We all stared at Sesshomaru, waiting for his answer.

"You were not delusional." Sesshomaru replied.

"Sesshomaru…" Masaru looked like he was nervous to ask his next question, but he took a deep breath and said it. "Are you… human?"

There was a heavy silence as all eyes were on Sesshomaru.

"…No."

A/N: Well, it took them 21 chapters, 118 pages, and 38,613 words to figure out that Sesshomaru wasn't human, but it finally happened! I hope you liked this chapter better than the last two so PLEEEEEEEAAAAAAASE REVIEW!

Important Note!: I've come up with a great idea as a special treat for all you who love my story! For now it will remain a secret, but I will give you a hint: It's awesome. However, in order to put my plan into action I'm going to have a drawing contest! I want to see how you guys picture Ayame/Masaru and Sakura/Sesshomaru. For any of you who would like to participate, I'd love it if you drew a picture of either one (or both) of those pairings and send me a link to it. (No limit to number of entries) If I have enough submissions of both pairings I think I'll be able to pull off what I want to do and I'll announce the winner after I publish the final chapter! Please consider!

Also: For those of you who are also reading my other fanfic 'Spirited Away to Your World' I'm sorry for not having any updates in months. I've been grounded from watching any anime until further notice (not that it's really stopping me) and in order for me to write at my maximum potential, I need to write as I watch clips from the movie and I'm also planning future fanfics to the Ghibli Fandrop Series! *Sigh* I really need to change that name... Thank you for your patience.