The day that it happened, I have been a prisoner to it. The life I had built since high school would be left behind along with my friends and family, my downfalls and my moments of achievements. Everything is gone now.

Takara Tanaka vanished.

6:30 am on a Tuesday morning. I haven't been able to sleep for nights on end. The fear always comes back to me that I'd wake up that very same day, find myself hiding in that room with only a computer screen to watch the world outside.ഀ Last night, I had to escape my apartment.

Elbows deep in dough and flour on my shoes, I let my emotions go. Here, Kimura Cakes was the only real thing I owned. Before this life, I had traveled the world, played volleyball, took art classes. I had worked for a newspaper and managed a high-end couture store. I wasn't capable to stay to one profession.

10:07 am. Cookies and brownies were baking in the oven when the back door opened letting in the cold air. Daiki walked in stomping his feet on the floor mat.

Daiki was a college student at the university and it took five minutes for him to walk here from his apartment. When we had first met, he was buying a cake for his girlfriend. After that I couldn't get rid f him, but then he lost his job and sure enough, I offered him one.

I continued my work as he set up the store. It was a never-ending job that kept me busy. The smell coming from the oven and the music coming form the speakers helped me become engrossed in my work. This is a good life.

But I missed my old one.

2:43 pm was Daiki's lunch break and I was alone, sitting behind the counter reading George Orwell's1984 when the front door opened. I kept reading my book, but listened to the footsteps getting closer and growing louder. The first thing that came into sight was the pair of black loafers, Versace I believe. As my eyes traveled up the grey material of dress pants and the white-collar shirt, noticing that the top two buttons where undone, I finally saw a face.

Of course, in my opinion, any other woman who saw this man driving his car, shopping in stores, any where really, they would literally lose their train of thought and I would here that cat's meow sound in my head. But, I looked at him as if out of one eye. I did not turn my head to look straight at him, but with skeptic eyes, I sized him up and down.

I came up with this: possibly a swagger businessman.

Putting my book down to the side, I stood up from my high chair and traded my attention from poor Winston to this man.

"Can I help you with anything, sir?" From the look on his face, I couldn't find a hint of what he might be thinking.

"Yes, I need to special order a cake." There was something in his voice. It sounded like amusement. Do I amuse him or do I have cake in my hair?

"For what occasion and what kind would you like?" I take a note pad from beside the cash register and a pencil.

From his pocket, he pulls out a small pink paper, which makes me giggle a little. I quickly averted it when he eyed me. "It is my daughter's 10th birthday and she wants a butterfly, cherry blossom inspire cake. About two tiered and has to have a lot of color. I advise you not to have too much going on."

I had to admit he had this down pat. Taking an order from a 10-year-old can be a bit tricky. "Well, I can definitely do that." How does a man keep his hair so nice like his?

Hearing a throat clear, I realized I've been staring at his hair for a while. "Oh! Um, if you come back maybe tomorrow, I'll have the cake design done for you to approve." I had him a business card, "All I need to know is the flavor of the cake. Also, your name and a phone number where you can be reached."

"Sesshomaru Hayashi. She loves vanilla, Aika."

I slapped my forehead afterwards.

***

The end of the day, finally home encased my in its arms and serenaded to me a lullaby. I could feel sleep pulling me towards the bed, but my feet carried me to the bathroom and into the shower.

It has been hard for me to relax; even my thoughts couldn't stop analyzing things. They always went to that night I hid in the panic room. The feeling of helplessness never went away as I watched those men murder and ransack the house. Even though I screamed at the screen, I knew no one could hear me through any of the walls and the audio system cable was disabled.

That night was life changing, but it wasn't meant to happen like that.

Sleep shrouded my mind.

Before Kimura Cakes became the whole of my life, I had loved a man once. I was to marry him, but certain obstacles lay in our way. Dreaming of our life after our marriage, I never thought once of the immediate future. Everything had to be planned out and all the details could not leave any loose ends. It wasn't family that kept us from eloping.

The moment we met, it was hard not to deny the attraction to each other and that first night the sex was amazing. However, we believed this to be our first and our last time together. No attachments, we said.

We met again. This time, I was invited by my friend to attend a party hosted by the notorious Hartson family of New York. I remember being smacked and not being able to stop rubbing a point in my knee from looking like I had taken ecstasy. Then, he sat next to me.

He was a personal financial accountant for the Hartsons and very connected to the mob. Personality wise, he was a charmer and a sweetheart. When he or I talked, he looked me straight in the eye, and he walked with his pinky linked with mine. When he realized my condition, I vividly remember his face scrunching up and being stern looking. He made sure my friend made it home untouched and safe, and then took me home.

The next morning I woke up to waffles and coffee.

Amadeus.

The night of the mayor's daughter's twenty-first birthday, Daiki and I were both in the kitchen making a five tiered pleated cake. Pleated cakes, especially, took a lot of time to accomplish, as the fondant tends to weigh down when horizontal. Thankfully, we had the kitchen all day to make it as perfect as possible.

It was right after dinner and dancing the had commenced that the entire kitchen and serving staff decided their break would be to sit watching us. That nervous feeling started to work its way to my nose and itched. I ended up wit frosting on my face.

Finally, upon the top the glass figurine of a dancing girl was placed and the cake was completed.

"Done."

"Jeez, any longer and my I swear morning wood could have come sooner then usual." Daiki sounded from below me while I stood on the top of the latter and he was holding the bottom.

"Dai! Listen to what you're saying. Please." I said stepping down the latter.

"Come on, Aika. You need to get paid more for doing this all in one day. You did five layers, horizontal strips, and all the decorations and details."

Cleaning up our station, the thought came to me that maybe he was right. I need to get paid more for jobs like this. Next job, for sure I will.

"I'm not going out there by myself."

Daiki lifts an eyebrow at me, "Why? You've done this before by yourself."

"I can tell your trying to work up the courage to ask me yourself."

"It's that obvious."

"That and I know you. You've been sneaking looks out into the ballroom."

"You can't blame me for being curious. I went to school with the girl whose party this is. I just wanted to see."

I stopped scrubbing a pot and arched an eyebrow. Something about what he wasn't saying was telling me something. "You liked her."

"What are you talking about?"

"No! You dated her!"

"Hey, okay so we dated," He was whispering. "Who cares? We were in high school and it's been four years."

"You are definitely going out there with me."

"If you say so."

"I know you want to. Who knows, maybe she remembers you." I continued scrubbing dishes. I gasped as a diabolical thought came to me, "What if she still likes you? What if you still like her? It would be fate!" I laughed at myself.

"Aika. Aika. Aika." Daiki shook his head.

"Don't 'Aika' me. I'm older and your boss."

"Whatever you say, ma'am."

***

By the time it was time to present the cake, nerves were bundled up in me, and Daiki was forced to push the cart with the cake. In the ballroom, the first things I saw were the huge windows where the night sky could be seen. I couldn't wait to go home and burrow myself in my blankets and pillows.

We stayed for the speeches to finish. I couldn't help, but notice that the girl of the night caught sight of Daiki, who stood next to me fidgeting with the edge of his apron. I shrugged his arm with my elbow and pointed to his habit. He blushed and stopped. The girl was smiling and laughing, she had seen what transpired with Daiki and I.

Awhile after we served the last slice of cake, I felt relief. Home was all I could think about. Walking behind a pack of servers to the kitchen, I was a little stumped when someone with a vibrating voice said my name.

"Ms. Kimura."

Turning towards the source, Sesshomaru stood with a glass of wine in one hand and the other in his pocket. Go figure! Of all people I expected to be here, I wasn't expecting him.

"Mr. Hayashi," bowing a proper Japanese greeting. "It is a fancy seeing you here."

"Well, my family has been good friends of the Kai family. Miroku, my brother, and I all attended school together."

"Old friends are just as important as new friends, I suppose. Did you enjoy the cake?" Brushing off crumbs from his jacket, it was already too late. I felt heat rise to my cheeks while lowering my hand to my side. Awkward much.

"I know now that what I spent my money on was more worth it than before. O"

"Well, I hope you find your own daughter's party pleasing in comparison to this."

"This will not even compare." Looking into his eyes, it was hard to understand if there was an under lying meaning to this conversation or just to what he was saying.

"Enjoy your evening, Mr. Hayashi."

"Sesshomaru, please."

"Sesshomaru," I bowed.

My body was just a figure in the background. You wouldn't even be able to tell it was even I. Besides the fact that you can tell I was smiling and my skin was a more tan compared to those around me.

Dear lord, you can totally tell that it's me in this picture. They'll find me and finish me off. Father Hartson will finish what Amadeus and I brought onto our selves. Wait, this isn't their territory. They can't step on to other's territories, but then they might dare.

The party of Miroku's daughter, Mitsuru, was featured in this morning's newspaper, and a picture of her and my cake branded the front page. I stood in the background.

Walking down the steps form my apartment to my car, I couldn't help but feel the shiver down my spine as I put the paper under my arm. The fear of being found was coming again.

The children were restless. I could hear yelling, laughing, and crying of all 40 something of them. Parents can be seen standing by, chatting in groups while keeping a watchful eye on their child. Shoes were scattered around along with forgotten plates of food and cups filled with juice.

It has been a long day. I stood at the sink scrubbing pans and listening to Daiki singing along with Dave Matthews band. The cake was great and fit for the birthday girl.

She had come in to thank me after eating her piece. I had to admit, she startled me. I was standing with my back towards the door she entered from and wrapped her arms around my leg.

"Thanks very much for my cake!" her mouth was muffled on my thigh.

Looking down, I only saw a head full of black hair, "You must be the little girl they found in a lily pad."

Looking up, her nosed was scrunched, "No!"

"Hmm, maybe you're the flower everyone seeks to possess."

"No, again!"

"Oh my. Daiki, I think we have ourselves a little bumble bee who can't find its way home." I wink at Daiki.

He was learning on with his elbow on the island that sat in the middle of the kitchen. "I was wondering where the smell of honey was coming from."

"Aww! You guys are wrong! I'm the birthday girl, Rin."

"Ahh, I see now." I crouch down to be at her level. "That would explain why you have feathery wings instead of a stinger." I tapped my finger to her nose then to mine. "I am happy you like your cake. Your daddy made sure all was well when he ordered it for you."

"I gave him paper so he didn't mess it up." The smile I was given was genuine and I laughed.

"It was pink."

"Yea!"

I laughed some more, "Hey. Why don't you go back out and play with your friends while I clean up your kitchen?"

"Okay! Thank you, Aika-san!" Running out the door, she yelled over her shoulder. What a cutie.

Out through the window, I watched her run towards her father who stood watching cake being handed out standing with another man, I took to be his brother, Miroku, and two other women. When she got to him, he picked her up and she pointed to the window.

Quickly forcing my head down, I began washing my hands and as if nothing was happening. Peeking up, I saw that they were both facing the house. Oh lord. I turned off the facet and walked away.

But now, I was really washing something with a legitimate reason to be doing it. Daiki was helping clean the cake mess outside. Watching the families earlier, I was envious of them. They have closeness and love. It was something Amadeus had wanted; he wanted kids and a wife. Those had to wait when we realized that to have that we had to be rid of Father Hartson and his plots that could endanger both our lives.

I remember having to go to talk with Father Hartson and asking him to let us both go. I had to beg him.

When the facet turned on and pans began to be rinsed, I looked to see Sesshomaru besides me. The pan I was scrubbing fell into my side of the sink.

"You startle quiet often, Aika." He ran his hand across the bottom of a square-baking pan.

Taking in a breath, "People pop out when I least expect them." I picked up the pan that fell and continued washing it. Silence enveloped us. Whenever he was around, I tend to be more jumpy. It was just I'm not use to the look he gives me or the way he speaks, the way he looked. Heck, him in whole. Goose bumps traveled up my arms at the thought of him being at the least interested in me. Oi, that thought makes me scared a little.

"Aika, may I be blunt with you?" I jumped. Just a tiny bit.

"Yea, sure. Go ahead." Too many words stumbled through my mouth.

"I would have thought a woman like you should be married by now."

"A woman like me?" I must have looked confused by the look on my face when I looked at him.

"Surely someone as beautiful as you would have at least some type of relationship with a man." He said I'm beautiful.

"I, ah, well…I don't really have an answer to that."

"But do you have a relationship?"

"I do not. Haven't had any in many months or years for that matter." I guess I sounded pretty pathetic because the conversation slowed to a stop, and the only sounds was the rushing water and pans being tapped every now and then.

In his mind, I can only imagine him thinking that there must be something wrong with me. Perhaps a deformity, STD, or something mentally? Maybe the mental part where I can't seem to get rid of paranoia, but no one really knows about me being paranoid and that it was the main cause I was startled a lot.

"What are you doing tomorrow night?"

I dropped a spatula. "Umm, well, I…" Oh lord, a bubbly feeling. "Nothing actually."

Sesshomaru turned the water off and leaned a hip against the counter. "Go to dinner with me." His hand went to the strain of hair that went wild from my ponytail while washing and guided it behind my ear.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes. Six o'clock okay with you?"

"Oh, yea." I turned to the sink and stared at my hands.

"Aika."

"Yea?"

"I need to know where you live so I can pick you up."

Obviously, Aika.


Seven weeks after our first date. It surprises even me that I've let it go on this far and Daiki's constant teasing will never end since I teased him the night of the Kai party. Daiki's initial shock came from the fact that he didn't even see anything between us especially since Sesshomaru and I have gone on ten other dates.

"Both of you are way passed from the occasional get-to-know you dates. You're officially dating like if you were to kiss another guy, Sesshomaru would probably get jealous and you'd call for a break."

A break? "What is the point of a break? I mean if you don't want to be in a relationship then don't be in one."

"I wouldn't really be able to tell you partly because I never been on a break," he started to mumble. "I came close to it with Mitsuru."

"What? I'm sorry. I didn't quite hear you," I cupped my hand to my ear.

"I came close to it with Mitsuru!"

I laughed, "I thought so." Continuing to add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl. The moments Sesshomaru and I shared were becoming some of the cherished times of my life, and enjoying every minute of it was hard not to do. Appearance wise, he looked swagger and too rich to mingle with the middle or lower class, however his personality was very bona fide. He made sure every weekend was spent with Rin and went to every parent-teacher conference. At the end of each date, he would stand outside my door until it was fully shut and I was sealed safely inside.

Besides, did Sesshomaru see us as more?

12:27 am later that day. A chill went down my body telling me something, but I don't know what. My breath came out as a cloud from the cold, and I pulled my jacket closer to me. I didn't feel safe; something didn't feel right. All warmth was flushed oput of me.

As the lock to the bakery door clicked, a hand gripped my shoulder and my body was twisted around. It hit me in the gut forcing all the air out of me while I was pushed back. Pain shot through the back of my head and I heard a crack. This moment had to come sooner or later. My vision was just a blur and spotted, and something was beeping. It was an annoying beep that wouldn't end. The pain wouldn't stop!

"Yea? She's here. I got it!" He was talking on his cell phone. Trying to clear my eyes, I tried to breath. My attacker had his back to me. Looking inside my bag, which had fallen off my shoulder and onto the cement, its contents spilling out. With blurry eyes, I reached my hand into it, searched around until I found the cold, hard metal. Grasping it, I pulled it out just in time to have my attacker turn around, and a loud cracking noise shook my hand. The man screamed and grasped his shoulder, looked at me then ran away.

Exhaustion over came me. Its not safe anymore, they know where I am, probably where I live too. Setting the gun I never thought I would use to the ground, I laid my cheek on the cold glass of the bakery door. The back of my neck felt warm, everything began to go black. Right before I blacked out, Sesshomaru was holding my face.

"Hello, 911…"

***End Part I***

Author note:

Well, I hope everyone enjoyed the newly revised version of this story. I'd like t know everyone's thoughts too so I hope you review! Thanks for reading :D