Lyra didn’t know how long she had been sitting in the shrine. She cried and cried until she could cry no more. Her heart and mind had become numb from the pain and she couldn’t even tell if she was still breathing or not. But she knew she was somehow still alive. Barely.

Soon, she heard someone's voice in the distance.

“Sota!” It sounded like Kagome's mom, Mama. “Come inside quickly. It's raining.”

“Coming, mom. I need to put my bike away before it gets rusty.”

“Be quick!”

“Okay!”

A few seconds later, the wooden door of the shrine creaked wide open. Lyra glanced up and saw Sota standing at the door with his raincoat on, his hood covering his head. Behind him, the skies were grey and the rain was heavy. They both stared at each other in silence, only the rain falling on top of the building and outside making any sound.

“Lyra?” Sota said in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

She gulped and sat up slightly. “Oh... I, um...” She cleared her throat. “I wanted to see Kagome in the feudal era but I think she’s somewhere with her friends.” Lyra couldn’t believe how good she was becoming with her lies. She was pretty much fluent in it now.

Sota walked in with his bike, leaning it against the wall to shield it from the rain. “Yeah, she loves it there.” He went down to her with a big grin. “Come on. Mom's gonna be so glad to see you.”

He took her hand to pull her up. She smiled at his enthusiasm and stood up before they both made their way to the door. The rain was already quite heavy and Sota stuck his hand out as they stood at the doorway. Lyra didn’t even have any sort of coat or jacket with her.

“Hey, you can borrow my raincoat if you like,” he offered her.

“No, I'll be okay.” She smiled again but it was blank. “Don’t want you getting a cold.”

Sota laughed. “We’ll just have to run in quickly then.”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her outside. Within a second, her clothes and hair were completely soaked. But she didn’t mind. At least the rain would wash away the dry tears that stained her cheeks. Once they made it inside, Sota closed the door and quickly took his shoes and coat off before putting them away and running inside to call his mom. Lyra stayed standing by the door, not wanting to make the floor wet. Seconds later, Mama had rushed towards her with Sota beside her.

“Sota, go and get some towels,” she told him before smiling at Lyra as he ran off. “This is such a nice surprise.”

Sota had returned with a couple of towels and handed them to Lyra.

“Thank you.” She began to dry off as much as she could from her clothes and hair. “Yeah, it was last minute.”

She gave her aunt the same lie she told Sota before her aunt told her to go up to Kagome's room and borrow her clothes. Apparently Mama wanted to hear all about the engagement. Lyra was not keen about talking about it but she knew she didn’t have a choice. Going up to Kagome's room, she grabbed the first jumper and jeans she could find. After changing, she hung her clothes on the chair to dry. As she straightened out her wet top, the shine of the diamond ring caught her eye.

‘Hm. A few mere trinkets is all it took to sway your heart.’ Sesshomaru’s words echoed in her ears making her close her eyes tightly.

‘I'm sorry, Sesshomaru... I don’t care about money or jewellery. I would give everything up just to be with you. Just not my father’s life...’

Opening her eyes, she looked at the ring, her anger at her father slowly rising again. It didn’t remind her of Kanda. It only reminded her of the words her father had said to her. She may have forgiven him, but she was still upset. Those words he spoke was all it took to trap her in her web of lies, which only wrapped around her tighter and tighter. She was imprisoned by those words and that ring. That ring was nothing but a lie. Cuffs that imprisoned her to a life that would slowly break her.

With nothing but hate for it, she snatched the ring off her finger, clutching it in her hand and storming over to the window before swinging it open. She lifted her hand up, ready to throw it out of her life and run back to Sesshomaru.

‘If you don’t agree to this marriage you’ll come face to face with my dead body.’

She froze. Suddenly, all of her resolve had vanished and washed away with the rain. Silent tears fell from her eyes, drops landing on the window sill. She used to love the rain. The smell as it hit the earth. The sound as it pattered against the window. The rainbows that would appear after the clouds had gone. It rained the day she made love to Sesshomaru. Looking out at the grey clouds and the rain now...it had become a curse. Whenever it rained now she would only remember her lost will and hope.

She brought her hand down and fell to her knees. As she sobbed quietly into her hands, the ring dropped to the floor.

***

“Look, Jaken! Lord Sesshomaru’s back!” Rin exclaimed with joy.

Jaken jumped up, excited that his master had returned and he no longer had to babysit. “Finally!”

Sesshomaru walked towards them. Although the rain had stopped, the sky was still dark reflecting his own heart. Rin and Jaken ran towards him but Rin giggled because Lyra would be with him. That is why he had left them after all. She couldn’t see Lyra but she simply thought she was hiding behind Sesshomaru.

Rin ran straight past Sesshomaru. “Lyra! Huh?” There was no one there. “Where’s Lyra?” she asked, her smile fading.

Sesshomaru simply side eyed the girl but continued walking. “She's gone.”

“What do you mean?” she asked turning to look at him.

He stopped and closed his eyes. “She's never coming back. She means nothing to us now.” His eyes opened again but his gaze was lowered. “It will serve you well to forget about her. Let’s go.”

Sesshomaru continued walking. What he had just told Rin were more for himself. He had to forget about her now. She had made her choice. Rin still stood on one spot, unable to understand what was happening. Lyra wasn’t coming back and Sesshomaru told them to forget about her? It must have been a nightmare. But it wasn’t.

Tears began to well up in her eyes. “Lyra’s not coming back?”

“It’s about time!” Jaken exclaimed. “This is the best news I’ve heard since we first found her.” The little imp clutched onto his stick as he followed after his master. “She was nothing but a waste of Lord Sesshomaru’s time and strength. Now come, Rin! Don’t fall behind because we won’t be coming back for you!”

Rin used the sleeves of her kimono to wipe away her tears before running after them.

For the rest of the day, everything was silent. Sesshomaru didn’t want to hear anything. He blocked everything out; Rin's questioning to find out what happened, Jake’s constant yacking that he was right the whole time, even the sound of the birds which he learned to enjoy with Lyra. He wanted nothing.

When night fell and Rin and Jaken had fallen asleep, Sesshomaru stood alone on a field. The future he had envisioned to have with Lyra was over. He had never thought so much about the future until she came into his life. And now everything had been lost. A home. A family. A wife. She had crushed it all.

***

Lyra was sleeping in Kagome's bed for the night. She was tired but she couldn’t sleep. Her aunt wanted to know all about the engagement, apologising that they weren’t able to make it on such short notice. The conversation itself was tiring with both Mama and Sota being excited about the whole thing. However, Grandpa kept on saying arranged marriages were too old fashioned and people should be with the ones they love. It was as if he knew the truth in Lyra's heart but she denied it. Since she had to drive the next day, she forced herself to get some sleep. The last thing she wanted was to fall asleep on the wheel on her way back.

After breakfast the next morning, she tidied Kagome's clothes away to get ready to leave. Just as she was leaving the room and closing the door, she suddenly stopped. She quickly rushed back in, grabbing the diamond ring off the bedside table and placed it back onto her finger. She almost left without it having completely forgotten about it.

By the time she arrived back to her house, it was around mid afternoon. Renji greeted her as she entered but she didn’t hear it. She went up to her room and closed the door before flopping down onto the bed. Clutching onto her pillow, she stared blankly at the ceiling.

Renji stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up to where she had disappeared off to. He figured she must have said her goodbye to the feudal era and Sesshomaru. She was bound to be upset. Trying to think of ways to cheer her up, he decided to make her favourite meal and serve it in her room. It was the least he could do for putting her in such a position. He still hated himself for forcing her into the marriage. But there was no way he was going to allow her back to that world. He couldn’t risk her getting killed.

A couple of hours went by. Lyra was now sitting up against her headboard looking out the window. All she could think about is everything she had left behind. She was sure that Sesshomaru had told Rin about her decision but she didn’t want to imagine how hurt she would be. Rin had asked her to return soon because she would miss her. Lyra wished she could see her again so she could give her a big hug and see that adorable little smile again. And Sesshomaru... The anger in his eyes and the hate in his words, all directed at her. An anger and hate she never thought she would be at the receiving end of. But it was what she deserved.

A knock came at the door but she ignored it.

“Lyra honey?” Renji called through the door. “I made you some food.”

Her stomach began to rumble. “I’m not hungry.”

Renji looked down at the dinner he had made for her and sighed. He had made her a steak with vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy, just the way she liked it. He put his hand on the handle.

“I’m coming in,” he told her.

Opening the door, he saw her sitting on her bed staring outside. He looked at her hands in her lap. The ring was off as she fumbled around with it absentmindedly. He let out another sigh before walking in and sitting on the edge of the bed. He held the plate of food up to her and the delicious smell itself caused her stomach to grumble again.

“It’s your favourite.”

“I'm not hungry,” she repeated, unmoving.

Renji breathed out quietly and put the plate down onto her side table. “Lyra...” He placed his hand over hers and she stopped fumbling with the ring. “I know this is hard on you and I’m sorry. It's hard for me to see you like this. But you’ve made me proud that-"

“I told him yesterday,” she cut him off as she continued to stare out the window. “Sesshomaru... I told him that I'm never going back. He was confused. I told him I’m marrying someone else. He asked me if I was being forced. I wanted to say yes but I said no. To save you.” As Lyra spoke, Renji looked away sadly unable to bear the hurt in her eyes. “I told him it was my choice. And now he hates me. The one I love with all my heart now has nothing but hate for me.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “I may have forgiven you, dad.” She turned her head to look at him as he met her hurt filled eyes. “But I can’t help but resent you now. And I'm not sorry. I'm glad you’re proud of me and that you’re happy. But it has cost you my heart. Because it's no longer here.”

Renji felt like his world was slowly falling apart. But the resentment she felt for him was worth it just to keep her alive.

“And I’m not sorry that I’m doing this to keep you safe. You’ll understand one day.” He stood up. “Make sure you eat. It's not nice when it gets cold.”

With that, he left her room and closed the door. Without even looking at the food, Lyra turned her back to it and lay down.

A few hours later, Renji returned to check up on her. He called her name but was met with silence. Quietly opening the door, he saw that she was fast asleep. He entered the room and pulled the blanket over her so she wouldn’t get cold.

“I'm sorry, Lyra,” he whispered.

His eyes were caught by the untouched plate of food that he had brought up earlier. He sighed and picked it up to take it but he paused, doing a double take as something else caught his eye. The necklace that Kanda had given her was left on the table and beside that, her engagement ring. He looked back at Lyra. She was sleeping peacefully. As long as she rested, it didn’t matter. He left the room.

***

The next morning, Lyra woke up to the sound of a text message notification on her phone. She groaned and blindly searched around for her phone before finally finding it. There were a few messages from work and friends, just general conversations and her manager asking if she could work some shifts. She replied to them before coming across one from Kanda. He had text only about an hour ago.

I miss you.

He had also added a heart emoji. She typed back, each tap feeling like a chore as she did so.

I miss you too. Got back yesterday and was really tired from the journey.

A few minutes later, he replied back.

That's understandable. Rest it out for now and how about I take you to dinner this evening around 7?

Lyra breathed out softly.

That sounds perfect. I'll see you then.

Another message tone a couple of minutes later.

Great. I'll call you later.

She put her phone down and forced herself out of bed.

***

That evening when Kanda called her, he said he was going to take her to Aragawa, one of the most expensive restaurants in Japan. She did some research on the place and quickly learned that they expected their guests to be dressed for a proper fine dining experience. She wanted to cancel the date right then. Unfortunately, she couldn’t.

She quickly pulled on the first outfit she found that was classy, elegant and looked expensive at the same time. Whilst making sure she had her necklace and ring on, she heard a knock at the front door. She heard Renji open it and greet Kanda. Grabbing her heels, she left her room and made her way down to the front of the house where Kanda and Renji were still standing and talking. Kanda saw her and smiled.

“Hi,” she greeted him as she put on her shoes before walking to him.

“Hi.” He looked at her properly, including her outfit. “Wow. You look-" He suddenly noticed that Renji was still present and cleared his throat, holding his hand out for her to take. “Uh, ready to go?”

“Yes,” she replied taking his hand as he lead her out.

Kanda bowed respectfully. “I’ll have her home before it gets late.”

“You two have fun,” Renji waved with a smile.

“Thank you, sir.”

Lyra didn’t say anything, keeping her head down. Not even a ‘see you later'. Kanda could feel the slight awkwardness and soon left with her. On the way to the restaurant, they made small talk about family. She told him about her aunt, Kagome, Sota and grandpa and that they were going to make it for the wedding. He also told her about his family and all of his cousins, aunts and uncles. His family was so much bigger than hers. It only ingrained it more and more into her mind how opposite they both were.

He was wealthy, she was not so wealthy. His family was big, hers was small. He had an expensive taste in food, she preferred takeaways and junk food. The list was endless. They were worlds apart. Her and Sesshomaru were physically worlds apart but they shared a connection. There was something that drew them together. But now that something had been cut and she would have to try and get used to being in Kanda's world.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, Kanda parked up in front of it. They had valet parking. The man standing outside in a tux opened Lyra's door and helped her out. She could have gotten out herself but she didn’t want to refuse his kind gesture. Kanda came around and gave his keys to the man before holding his arm out to her. She held his arm and they both entered. Everything seemed so luxurious, just like the hotel. The place was filled with so many high class people chatting away and eating. Soft music played in the background and there was also an open kitchen so people could watch their food being made.

“Right this way, Dr Hideki,” the maître d' spoke in a posh accent. “Your table is waiting.”

“Thank you.”

Kanda and Lyra followed behind the man to their table. It was a private area and there was a beautiful waterfall feature opposite their table. Beside them was a huge fish tank with an amazing aquarium inside, the most beautiful fish swimming around. The maître d' pulled out Lyra's seat and tucked it in under her as she sat down. Everything about this place she wasn’t used to. Even when she went to restaurants she would never expect them to help her sit. It felt odd.

The man began spewing out information about the array of wines and champagnes, the specials of the night and all the other offers that were going on. She was glad that at least Kanda understood him because everything sounded like gibberish to her. Once Kanda had ordered their drink, the man left them to view the menu.

“Wow... This place is really something,” Lyra spoke as she looked around.

Kanda chuckled. “I know this isn’t exactly your thing but I wanted to treat you.”

She smiled at him as she rested her hands on the table. “Thank you, Kanda. I really appreciate it. I’m sure it’s something I’ll grow used to eventually.”

“You’re welcome, Lyra. Besides, after this we’re going somewhere else for dessert.”

“Where?”

“Somewhere of your choice.”

She rose her brows slightly and dropped them again, laughing awkwardly. “Yeah... About that. The places I know are all takeaways and junk food.”

Kanda placed his hand over hers. “That’s why I’m telling you it’s your decision. I want to see the places you like to eat at and try the things you love to eat.”

“Really?” she asked, surprised.

“Of course. I think you’ve seen enough of my world, especially after tonight. So, I want a little taste of yours,” he told her with a smile.

She couldn’t help but smile at his generosity. “Very well. I already have a place in mind but I’m not telling you until we get there.”

He laughed with a small shrug. “That's fine with me.”

As Lyra looked through the menu, she felt like she was reading another language entirely. She felt embarrassed about having to get Kanda to help her out but he didn’t mind at all. It was all just steak and noodles but it seemed so much more complicated than it needed to be. When the food arrived, she had to admit it was presented beautifully and it did taste good. But you definitely needed a more refined palette to eat that sort of food. However, she definitely preferred the more warm, flavourful and rich cooking at the cheaper restaurants.