Both Rin and Jaken gasped loudly. "Lord Sesshomaru!"

Itachi stood straight. "So, I'm guessing you're Lord Sesshomaru," he said sarcastically. "I never would have guessed."

Sesshomaru lowered his arm and narrowed his eyes at the man in front of him. Witnessing the man falling all over Lyra and just being near her had angered him. Itachi glanced at Lyra, who actually looked a little frightened making him frown as he misunderstood their relationship. However, Lyra was simply scared because of Itachi's sarcastic comment knowing that Sesshomaru would kill him if he said the wrong thing.

"Who are you?" Sesshomaru demanded. "What is your business here, human?"

"I am Itachi Henso. Lyra- I'm sorry. I mean Lady Lyra," he corrected himself, looking to Jaken before continuing, "found me in the forest."

Sesshomaru glanced over his shoulder at Lyra, his eyes questioning. She held his arm after noticing his hand was on the hilt of his Tokijin and slowly pulled it away.

"He was unconscious, Sesshomaru," she explained. "I couldn't just leave him."

"Why were you alone?" he asked her, his tone clearly angry. He turned to Jaken. "I told you to watch them."

Jaken cowered slightly and bowed, ready to defend himself but Lyra beat him to it. "Jaken was against it. I didn't listen to him. Itachi could have died out there."

Sesshomaru glared at the man again. "And you trusted him blindly. Did it not occur to you that he could be dangerous? Were you that naive to believe he would not harm you?"

Itachi held his hands up. "I'm just a simple traveller. I have no weapons on me and I have no intention of hurting anyone."

"Is that so?"

"Sesshomaru." Lyra held his arm. "You know I would never bring anyone I didn't trust."

"And you trust this man?"

"Well, I had a feeling-"

"A feeling?" he scoffed.

She rolled her eyes. "Itachi is simply going to eat something to build his energy and then be on his way. Right?" she said towards Itachi.

He nodded. "That's right. I'll be out of your way soon enough."

Sesshomaru was still not convinced. His focus remained on the human man as Lyra went to her bag to retrieve some of the snacks. She rummaged around and found a couple of chocolate bars, a packet of potato chips and a juice drink. Going to Itachi, she handed them to him.

"I'm afraid this is all I can offer you," she said.

Itachi smiled and took them from her. "This is more than enough to keep me going until I reach the next village." He then bowed slightly before standing straight again. "Thank you."

She smiled in return. "It was nothing. Now sit and eat," she told him, motioning to the log.

With a nod, he sat down. Sesshomaru still disapproved of him being there as he began to eat. Rin kept him company, asking about his hair and where he had come from whilst Jaken kept watch. Lyra turned towards Sesshomaru who was now looking at her with disappointment. Before she could say anything, he turned and walked away. Her heart dropped slightly. Seeing that Rin and Itachi were talking, she left them to follow after Sesshomaru.

She didn't have to go far before finding him just beyond the clearing. The wind was making his hair and mokomoko flow with the breeze as he stood there, contemplating his next move. Lyra sighed out quietly and walked over to him, stopping at his side.

"Sesshomaru-"

"What you did could have put your life and Rin's in jeopardy."

He was scolding her but without raising his voice. The disappointment was thick in his tone and that's what pained her the most. She lowered her head and closed her eyes.

"I know... I'm sorry," she apologised quietly.

He looked at her before holding her chin to make her lift her head again. "I won't have another chance to save you again. I can't risk losing you."

She held onto his hand in between both of hers. "I'm really sorry, Sesshomaru. I won't do something like that again."

"Good. There's a group of mercenaries who have been brought back from the dead using shikon jewel shards. Naraku has revived them to carry out his dirty work," he informed her. "They are known as the Shichinintai."

"The Band of Seven..." she gasped. "Seven of them just like my vision."

"I just disposed of one earlier. He was about to kill Kagome."

Her eyes widened slightly. "Well, I'm glad you were there at the right time."

"His stench was that of the dead. There are others like him still out there," he said before looking out to the distance. "Naraku must be using them as a diversion."

Lyra thought for a short moment before clutching onto his sleeve. "Does Itachi smell of the dead?"

"No. If he did, I would have killed him without hesitation."

She sighed out in relief. "Thank goodness. I wonder who he is..."

"How did you find him?" he asked. "What made you go alone?"

"Something drew me to him," she began.

He moved his attention to her again as she began to explain how she came across Itachi. The aura in the air and the strange energy she felt around him. As Lyra carried on talking, she continued to play with the sleeve of his kimono, subconsciously pushing her hand up his sleeve and rubbing his own arm. Sesshomaru found her behaviour odd but he thought it was perhaps a comfort thing for her. Having so much on her mind already before she was miraculously lead to Itachi. He too couldn't help but wonder what had drawn her to him. His scent was that of a normal human and so he saw no significance.

"Whatever it is, once he is done here we shall never cross paths with him again," he said. "I don't trust him."

Lyra nodded, understanding Sesshomaru's concern. "Very well. Are you still upset with me?" she asked, peering up at him and moving her hand to hold his.

He looked down at her, gently squeezing her hand. "Just know that if you do something ridiculous like that again, I'll have no choice but to keep you in the castle. Is that understood?"

"You're still upset with me, aren't you..?" she pouted. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at her and she sighed. "I understand."

"Good."

Just as Sesshomaru was about to lean down to place a kiss to her lips, they were joined by a third person. Lyra quickly moved away and turned to see Itachi standing there. Sesshomaru frowned as he watched the man walk closer to them.

"Itachi, how was the food?" Lyra asked him.

He smiled. "It was just what I needed. I have saved the rest for later."

She smiled in return. "I'm glad. Are you leaving now?"

"Yes, I must be on my way. I came to bid you farewell and thank you once again." He bowed to the two of them before standing again. "I hope our paths cross again."

Lyra smiled nervously as she could practically feel the death waves radiating off Sesshomaru. "If that is what the future holds, then so be it," she said to appease them both. "May you have a safe journey, Itachi."

"Thank you."

He smiled, particularly at Lyra which Sesshomaru was not happy about. If not only to please Lyra, he would have slain the man with his bare hand to get rid of him completely. Even the way he gazed upon her face made him want to give him a most slow and painful death.

"Leave," Sesshomaru ordered coldly.

"R-right, of course," Itachi stuttered.

He gave a quick wave before turning and leaving. Lyra watched in the direction he left until he disappeared from sight. That strange aura had returned and suddenly it was as if all she could see was him. Again it felt as though she was being drawn to him as she fell into an empty void.

"Lyra."

She jumped slightly and blinked a couple of times. Sesshomaru was standing in front of her, his eyes full of concern. She looked as though she had blanked out, daydreaming about something. It wasn't out of character for her to daydream but something didn't feel right.

"Um... I..." Lyra closed her eyes and shook her head before looking up at him again. "I'm feeling quite tired. I think I need to sleep."

His worry only grew since it was still only early evening. The sun hadn't even set. He took hold of her hand and they returned to Rin and Jaken. Sesshomaru told them they would remain there until the next day. Jaken was quite annoyed because they were losing precious time on finding Naraku, but Sesshomaru was mainly concerned about Lyra's health.

Since she didn't sleep properly the night before, she assumed the fatigue was due to that. Something was draining her energy and she simply needed to have a good few hours sleep to recuperate. Pretty much as soon as she lay her head on Sesshomaru, she fell asleep.

As he sat leaning against a tree with her resting in his lap, he wondered if he had made the right choice. Watching her sleep cuddled up against him and using his mokomoko as a blanket, he contemplated whether or not to return her to the castle. At least she would be safe there. However, they had argued about that already once before and he didn't wish to upset her again. He decided to wait a few days to see if anything changed. He hoped she would recover quickly.

Although Jaken had complained earlier, both he and Rin had already fallen into a nap. It had become silent. The sky turned to a pinky purple hue as the sun made to descend. Sesshomaru thought back to the events of the day. The Band of Seven would prove to be a nuisance on his way to find Naraku but at least he knew their intention. He would simply have to kill whoever he came across from the group.

'But that man...'

He wondered what that man's intention was or if he even had one at all. But why did he affect her so? And what was it that drew her to him? Whatever it was, that man was long gone. If they ever did cross paths with him again, and if he so much as tried to go anywhere near Lyra, it would not end well for him.

He looked down at Lyra's resting face. During the moment Itachi was leaving, she seemed dazed. There was a strange tone in her eyes and he didn't like it. His arm held her tighter, pulling her closer to him. No matter what happened, he would not allow any harm to befall her. To live a life without her would truly be hell. He would do everything in his power to keep her alive and happy. That was his unspoken promise to her. This woman who had fallen into his life and stole his heart.

Suddenly, she began to stir, her hand moving over her stomach as she mumbled quietly. "Sesshomaru..."

He peered closer at her face. "Lyra?"

She moved around some more, stretching a little before slowly opening her eyes. "I'm hungry..."

Sesshomaru sighed and closed his eyes. "You gave all your food to that human."

"No, I saved something for us."

She slowly made her way to get off his lap, quickly placing a kiss on his cheek as she did so. As she stood up and stretched her arms and back before going to her bag, Sesshomaru silently appreciated her small acts of affection. He mentally admitted that her random kisses and sweet words made each day better. Not that he would ever voice his thoughts at all though. He wasn't one to express his feelings in that way. It was only to Lyra but even then it was extremely rare.

Once Lyra found a bag of potato chips, she returned and helped herself to sit in between Sesshomaru's legs, her back to him. Of course he naturally adjusted for her to be comfortable whilst she ate. She took out a chip and turned slightly to offer it to him.

"You should know by now that I don't eat human food."

She dropped her hand slightly. "But you ate the food I made before."

"It was made by your own hands. That was different," he told her.

She smiled softly. "Okay. Next time I will make something extra special for you."

He watched her continue to eat as she stayed with her body turned slightly to face him. She already looked as though some of her energy and colour had returned. Lyra even felt better. She no longer felt that weight on her chest nor that sensation of falling into emptiness. She put it down to simply not resting enough. Plus, whatever she had felt around Itachi had disappeared as well. She assumed that the energy was simply due to her fatigue and it coincidentally led her to him. Everybody's minds plays tricks on them when they're tired. The same thing simply happened to her as well.

"How do you feel?" Sesshomaru asked her.

"Much better," she replied before sighing quietly. "I have no idea what came over me earlier. I just felt so weak suddenly."

He lifted his hand and brushed some of her hair back. "Do not strain yourself."

"I won't." She smiled before leaning back on her hands and looking up at the darkening sky. "I admit there are times I do worry. Despite being able to see the future, nothing is ever clear and I suppose the future is never set. For example, I kept on seeing myself marrying Kanda but that never happened because something occurred that hadn't been accounted for." She spoke of her dying but Sesshomaru remained quiet, listening to her words. "Therefore, the future had changed. And now I'm here with you." She turned to face him again, her head tilting to the side as she smiled. "And I'll always be with you. I have nothing to fear when I'm with you because I know you will protect me." She raised her hand to gently hold the side of his face, her thumb gliding over his skin as they gazed into each others eyes. "I am nothing without you, Sesshomaru. I finally understood what a soulmate is after being with you. I simply cannot be...without you..."

It was times like those that Sesshomaru loved to hear her speak. Whenever she would talk of unnecessary things, then he would gladly shut her up. But the times she would pour her heart out, he could listen to her forever.

He held her hand and kissed her palm. "And I you, Lyra. Once Naraku is dead, I promise you a life you have always dreamed of."

She blushed softly and leaned in to peck his lips. "I think I'm already there."

He cupped her cheek and tilted his head to capture her lips with his own in a deep kiss. They closed their eyes as their lips moved together slowly yet with so much love between them.

Quite some distance away sitting on top of one of the high branches of a tree, Sesshomaru and Lyra could be seen parting from their kiss before she rested against him once again. Hidden but still able to view everything clearly as the scent was blocked so even Sesshomaru couldn't tell. An apple fell from a branch higher up before a hand caught it swiftly.

After taking a bite of the apple, Itachi smirked. "How romantic. Enjoy her while you can, Lord Sesshomaru."