Another week went by. Kanda and Lyra's relationship had gotten stronger ever since he asked her to be his girlfriend. She finally moved into a new apartment and Sesshomaru volunteered to be her guarantor. She found it odd that he wanted to do it but he wouldn't take no for an answer. He still became agitated whenever she would hear speaking to or about Kanda but he tried his best not to show it.

He had been a lot kinder to her that week. Again, she found it strange but she wasn't going to complain. It was nice. But it only made Hokori hate her even more. Lyra knew she was the one who played that prank but she never ratted her out. She simply didn't see the point in it. She kept her distance and focused on her work. It bothered Hokori that she wasn't getting a reaction out of her and that was probably the best revenge.

It was Friday. Hokori was on her lunch break and Lyra continued her work. As she was going through the system, something didn't make sense to her. She would have asked Hokori but since she wasn't there, she decided to ask Sesshomaru. She got up and knocked on his door and waited for his call to enter.

She poked her head through the door and looked at him. "Can I borrow you for a few seconds? There's just something I don't quite understand."

He cursed himself. He would have to be alone with her and at close proximity. With a curt nod, he got up and followed her to her desk.

She sat down and pointed to the monitor. "How do I access these files? They keep coming up blank."

He stood behind her seat before leaning over and taking hold of the mouse. He clicked a few things as he also tried to open up the files. They were both so engrossed on trying to figure it out that they didn't realise how close their faces were.

"See, I did that, which usually works," she said. "But I don't know why I can't open that one."

"Hm. Did you try extracting the files?" he asked before glancing at her.

It was then that he realised how close her face was to his. All he could see was her beautiful skin, her cute nose, those plump lips. He almost didn't even hear her answer.

"Yes, I did do that but-"

She glanced at him and suddenly became frozen. The way he was gazing at her so intently made her heartbeat uneven. She couldn't seem to look away from his eyes. It was as if she was trapped within them. She watched as his eyes darted to her lips and then back to her eyes again. She gulped and lowered her gaze, unable to look directly into his entrancing golden eyes.

Suddenly, she felt his thumb brush across her cheek. Her skin tingled at his touch and her cheeks instantly became warm. After he moved his hand away, she lifted her gaze again.

He coughed awkwardly. "Your hair was stuck to your lip."

"Oh... Thanks..." she said, feeling surprisingly disappointed.

The elevator dinged and Sesshomaru stood back up straight behind her chair. The doors of the elevator slid open and Hokori walked out and across the corridor to them. When she saw Sesshomaru standing behind Lyra, her brows raised slightly. Sesshomaru acted as his usual, stoic self and Lyra's eyes were glued to the screen as she clicked on random things, pretending that she knew exactly what she was doing.

"What's wrong?" Hokori asked Sesshomaru.

"Lyra needed a double check on a document before sending it," he replied flawlessly. "Lyra, you may go on your break now."

She gave a single nod. "Yes, sir."

Sesshomaru returned to his office and closed the door before going to his desk. He sat down, leaning back as he breathed out deeply. Closing his eyes, he thought back to what had just happened. Or rather what almost happened. Her hair being caught on her lip was a lie. At that moment, all he wanted was to touch her. Even though it was just a slight touch, it provided him with a moment's satisfaction.

When he arrived at the staff room later on, he saw Lyra talking to one of the friends she had made there. He sat himself down with his laptop and as always, he listened to her voice. She wasn't talking to that man but it didn't stop her from talking about him. He didn't know what annoyed him more but he still couldn't help but eavesdrop on their conversation.

"So, how's the doctor?" her friend asked as they sat on one of the couches.

"He's well. Things are really going great," she smiled. "He wants to take me to some super fancy restaurant tomorrow."

Her friend squealed. "Ooh! Where to?"

"Aragawa."

Sesshomaru raised his brows a little as he typed away on his laptop. They continued to talk.

"Oh, wow! It's so expensive there!" the friend exclaimed. "Have you got something nice to wear?"

Lyra sighed. "No. But he's made reservations at 7 since he's working until 6 so he's going to pick me up at 6.30. I thought I'd go out during the day to find a dress."

Her friend clapped her hands together excitedly. "That is so cute!"

Lyra laughed quietly. "If you're free, can you come with me? I wouldn't know what to buy."

"Of course, Lyra! This is going to be so much fun!"

When their hour was up, they both got up and left the staffroom. Sesshomaru sighed deeply and closed his laptop before rubbing his temples. It was growing more difficult but he needed to force himself to get closer to Hokori.

At the end of the day after Lyra had left, Sesshomaru went to his girlfriend. He took her hand and lifted her up from her seat, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into him. She was surprised by his sudden affection.

"Sesshomaru, what are you doing?" she asked.

He pecked her lips. "I realise I haven't been treating you as well as I should. I've simply been...stressed."

She smiled coyly and played with his tie. "It's alright. I forgive you."

"To make up for my behaviour, I wish to take you out for dinner tomorrow night."

She squealed out of excitement. "Okay!"

She tiptoed and pushed her lips onto his and Sesshomaru reluctantly returned her affection.

***

Lyra and her friend spent the most of their afternoon finding the perfect dress. And once they did, they matched up jewellery and accessories. Her friend helped her decide how to do her hair and once everything was done, she returned to her apartment to get ready.

She just finished placing the final hairpin into her updo when the doorbell rang. Looking at the clock, she saw it was exactly 6.30. Going to the door, she opened it to see Kanda standing there in a perfectly tailored suit. When he saw her, his breath was completely taken away.



"Wow... You look... You look..."

Lyra blushed softly and laughed. "Yes?"

He shook his head and mentally slapped himself. "You look amazing," he said before taking her hand and placing a kiss on both of them. "There are no words to describe how beautiful you are."

Her blush deepened, her smile widening. "It's not too much, is it?"

"No. You're perfect." He kept hold of one of her hands and motioned for her to follow. "Shall we?"

With a nod, she exited the apartment before closing and locking the door behind her. The car journey was fairly quick but once there, his car was taken to be valet parked. As they made their way into the restaurant, there was still a bit of a wait as people were being taken to their tables. They were a bit early but they preferred to be. Lyra had her hand hooked onto his arm as she looked around the restaurant.

Everything was so fancy from the ceiling to the floor. There was a live orchestra playing soft music with harps and a piano. People were dressed in such beautiful dresses and suits, which made Lyra glad she brought that dress.



They were soon shown to their table and Kanda had managed to get them a table near the orchestra. It only added to the romantic setting. It was only then they noticed there was also a dance floor in front of the orchestra. Kanda ordered some champagne before they were handed menus to peruse through.

Lyra's eyes widened as she scanned the menu. "Everything's so extravagant here. I don't even know what most of these things are."

Kanda chuckled. "Don't worry. Choose whatever you like. If it isn't to your taste, order something else."

"Let's hope I get it right the first time."

She couldn't get over how extortionate the prices were. Some items were almost as expensive as her monthly rent. Once they gave their orders, they made small talk whilst waiting for their food. However, whilst everything was going smoothly, someone appeared at their table.

"Lyra, what a surprise it is to see you here."

Lyra almost choked as she looked up to see Sesshomaru standing there with Hokori. His girlfriend clearly wasn't pleased to be there. Seeing Lyra had ruined her entire night. When they entered, Sesshomaru had spotted Lyra with that man and insisted they go over to say hello. It annoyed her greatly to say the least.

Kanda was also surprised to see him. It was the first time he had probably seen him since he found Lyra again. He was hoping he wouldn't ever have to see him. Still, he put on a friendly smile as Sesshomaru kept his stoic expression.

"Sir, it's nice to see you," she greeted out of courtesy.

"Please," he said, "call me Sesshomaru out of work."

She nodded before motioning across the table. "This is Kanda. Kanda, this is Sesshomaru and Hokori."

Kanda stood and held out his hand out of courtesy. "It's an honour to finally meet you, Sesshomaru. Hokori."

Hokori simply smiled whilst Sesshomaru glanced down at his hand and reluctantly took it, shaking his hand formally. "Likewise."

Once they let go, Kanda sat back down again. "We hope you enjoy your dinner," he said hoping they would get the hint and leave.

Hokori was quite happy to leave, tugging on Sesshomaru's arm. However, he had other ideas.

"Why don't we join our tables together?" Sesshomaru suggested.

Lyra and Kanda shared a quick glance and Hokori grew more annoyed. It really wasn't ideal and they couldn't understand why Sesshomaru would want to join them while he was on a date himself.

Kanda looked at Sesshomaru. "Uh, I don't think they do that here."

"They should," he replied. "I own this place."

Before they could object, Sesshomaru gestured to the maître de to bring a table over. Lyra smiled awkwardly at Kanda who sent her a smile back. In a matter of minutes, an extra table had been joined to theirs. Kanda and Lyra shifted around so that they were sat adjacent to each other whilst Sesshomaru sat opposite Lyra and Hokori sat adjacent to him.

They were all pretty annoyed except for Sesshomaru. He watched Lyra as she and Kanda smiled at one another. It wasn't the date they were hoping for but there really wasn't anything they could do about it.

"Lyra," Sesshomaru spoke, "you've never mentioned Kanda before. How long have you both been together?"

She cleared her throat awkwardly. "Well, we met about two weeks ago. And then just last week," she looked at Kanda before reaching over and holding his hand, "he asked me to be his girlfriend."

Kanda held her hand and smiled. "And I'm lucky you said yes."

He lifted her hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on her fingers. Sesshomaru breathed out quietly and averted his gaze. It angered him to witness them so close. Hokori rolled her eyes as she sat back in her seat with her arms folded. She was so excited when Sesshomaru said he was taking her to Aragawa, but seeing Lyra there ruined everything. And she was upset at Sesshomaru for insisting they all sat together.

It wasn't long before the food arrived to their table and Lyra's eyes lit up.

"Wow, this looks amazing!" she gasped with a bright smile. "I've never seen anything like it."

Hokori sat up, resting an elbow on the table. "Well, now that you've trapped yourself someone wealthy, I'm sure you'll get to eat at more places like this."

Lyra's smile dropped. She could tell that Hokori was implying she was a gold digger and that nasty smirk as she stared at Lyra proved it. Kanda and Sesshomaru shot glares at the woman but she simply began to laugh.

"Why are you guys so serious?" she giggled. "I was only joking." She looked at Lyra again. "You know I was just kidding, right?"

Lyra put on a smile and nodded. "Of course."

She then lowered her gaze down to her food and didn't bother looking back up. Sesshomaru was almost tempted to reprimand Hokori but he didn't wish to escalate things in public. He would deal with her back home. Kanda reached under the table and gently squeezed Lyra's hand. She glanced over at him and smiled truly. Again, it made Sesshomaru angry.

They continued to talk about things. Well. mainly Sesshomaru and Kanda. Kanda was trying to figure out if he remembered anything from the past but it was obvious that he didn't. Sesshomaru was also curious about Kanda and what he did. The conversation soon led onto Sesshomaru offering to lower the electricity bill for his private clinic. It was only so that he would have a positive image in Kanda's eyes and thus he could possibly keep a closer eye on him and Lyra.

Overall, the dinner wasn't terrible but it wasn't the date Kanda and Lyra were looking forward to. Closer towards the end of the night and once tables were cleared away, there were couples going up onto the dancefloor to dance with the soft music.

Kanda held out his hand to Lyra. "May I have this dance?"

Lyra smiled with a deep blush and nodded. "Yes."

She took his hand and he led her to the dancefloor. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes as he witnessed Kanda place his hands on her waist as she loosely wrapped her arms around his neck. They began swaying slowly to the soft tempo of the music. He continued to watch as he took a sip of his drink whilst Hokori sat there bored and feeling a little jealous.

"Sesshomaru, let's dance as well," she suggested.

He placed his glass down but kept hold of it. "I'm not in the mood."

She sighed and drummed her fingers on the table, resting her chin in the palm of her hand. Sesshomaru resumed watching as Kanda leaned his forehead against hers. They couldn't look away from each other. Lyra's blush deepened as she became lost in the moment.

Soon, her gaze lowered as Kanda tilted his head slightly and pressed his lips onto hers. He gave her a short peck, making her heart flutter. Smiling softly, she kissed him in return. They stayed together, their lips moving slowly and romantically as if they were kissing to the beat of the music.

Hokori scoffed and looked away but Sesshomaru's eyes were fixated on them. His blood was boiling. The glass in his hand was undergoing more and more pressure and he didn't know what he was doing until it was too late. The glass smashed in his hand, creating a loud crash that caught the attention of everyone nearby. Hokori had let out a squeal whilst Kanda and Lyra broke away from the kiss to see what had happened. Sesshomaru looked down at his hands and the shards of glass that were broken up on the table. Everyone was staring at him but he didn't care. Lyra's eyes widened and her heart panged in her chest.

She pushed away from Kanda and rushed over to Sesshomaru as he followed behind. She didn't know why she was so worried but she had to see for herself. She took his hand and checked over it to see how much he was bleeding. But there wasn't a single scratch.

"Are you okay?" she asked with concern, still holding onto his hand.

Sesshomaru stared up at her as she continued to look over his hand to make sure he hadn't been hurt. The worry was clearly visible in her eyes and on her face. And soon, her eyes found his. They gazed at one another and Lyra could see the warmth in his eyes for the first time. It made her heart flutter and her stomach fill with butterflies. She could almost hear a call echoing in her mind.

And then she saw a well.

Suddenly, Sesshomaru pulled his hand away. "I'm fine." He then turned to Hokori who was glaring at Lyra. "Let's go."

Hokori nodded and stood with him. She had already turned and walked away as Sesshomaru glanced at Lyra, then at Kanda, before turning and following behind his girlfriend. Lyra simply watched him leave whilst the waiters cleaned up the broken glass.

At that point, Kanda took her hand and moved her away from the glass. She broke her gaze away from Sesshomaru and looked to her boyfriend instead.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah. I was just shocked I guess." She smiled apologetically. "Our moment was ruined."

He shook his head and smiled. "Don't worry about it. Let's get you home."

He placed some money on the table before leaving the restaurant. Once they got into the car, Kanda drove her back to her building before walking her up to her apartment. She invited him in and left him in the living room whilst she got changed into more casual clothes.

Kanda had taken off his blazer and tie before rolling up his sleeves and lounging on the couch. When Lyra returned, she sat beside him and rested into his side as he wrapped his arm around her. She only had the table lamp on which gave the room a warm and cosy atmosphere.

"I apologise about my boss," Lyra spoke quietly. "I wasn't expecting him to be there, let alone join our tables together."

Kanda chuckled but almost out of frustration. "Don't worry about it. You weren't to know and you can't control him."

"I know," she sighed. "But I was really looking forward to being alone with you. It was our date. Not a double date."

"We're with each other now. That's the main thing."

She smiled. "You're right."

She closed her eyes and snuggled into him more. Kanda smiled as she fell silent. It had been a long day and resting made her body succumb to the tiredness and it wasn't long before she fell asleep. Later on, Kanda lifted her up and carried her to her bedroom. Once she was all tucked in, he sat beside her and sighed.

Seeing her sleep so peacefully made his heart feel uneasy. He was feeling guilty. The spark between Sesshomaru and Lyra was there even though neither of them knew their true relationship. Kanda realised he had become weak at the thought of being with Lyra. And it wasn't right. He was loving every moment with her but it felt wrong. He wasn't able to purely enjoy those moments because of the guilt nagging at the back of his mind.

He left the bedroom and closed the door before going back to the couch. He lay down on it and stared up at the ceiling. He had given into his weakness. Being paranoid about everything isn't what a relationship should be like. And there was no love to be had if the love was based on lies. 'Forgive me, Lyra... Sesshomaru... I have wronged you both... I will find a way. But I need to find the right way.'

As he lay there, he soon came up with a solution. 'Perfect.'

***

Lyra was tossing and turning in bed. She was dreaming about something but she couldn't make out what it was. There were flashing images of people she didn't know and they were dressed in very olden style clothing. But she swore she could see a girl wearing a school uniform as well. And then she saw a beautiful palace. Standing outside was a tall man with long, white hair that was swaying gently with the breeze. He wore a large fur pelt over his right shoulder and his outfit was that of a high ranking demon. She could only see the back of him until he turned to look over his shoulder.

"Sesshomaru..." she heard her own voice say.

"Mikazuki," was all he said in return.