Kaname smiled and pulled her closer before leaning down slightly. "May I kiss you?" He asked her in a soft whisper. She smiled slightly and nodded, blush dancing on her cheeks. He leaned down slightly more and kissed her. His hands moved from her hands down to her hips, bringing her closer to him while her arms went around his neck. They slowly pulled away, looking into each other's eyes.

"Kaname, what has made you like this?" Akari asked him, she hadn't expected him to show any type of remorse for his pushy actions.

"When I went to speak to Cross yesterday, I told him of your past with Rido. That's when I realised that despite his reputation, he never pushed you into anything, he was a gentleman to you and only you. As much as I want to be with you, I should have been a gentleman and allowed you to see me as a man who loves you. I want to show you that I care about you and your feelings." Kaname explained, gently tucking her loose hair behind her ear. Akari smiled and hugged him, tucking her head under his chin. Kaname smiled to himself. This was the first time that she had taken the initiative. She was warming up to him or so he thought.

Kaname took her hand and led her to the large dining room within the dormitory. Akari had wondered why they had so many rooms, no one used half of them. She quickly spotted the only table in the room. It was a curricular table with a deep red cloth carefully draped over it. The further end of the table had a beautifully crafted crystal vase filled with a mix of red and pink roses. Two gold candle sticks supported red lit candles, surrounded by rose petals. The finest china had been set up and crystal glassware sat beside it. The lighting in the room had been turned down enough that most of the light came from the candles.

She looked up at shocked, when did he have it set up and without anyone knowing. "I thought we should try to start over, take you on a date the best I can here. Get to know each other better and then take the next steps instead of me rushing." Kaname told her as he led her to the table. He pulled out her chair for her. She blushed and thanked him as she sat down. He pushed the chair gently forwards as she sat before taking his own seat. To his side an ice bucket had been placed, champagne clearly labelled. He poured her a glass before pouring his own. He lifted his glass towards her, gesturing a toast. She lifted her own and gently tapped her glass against his. "To us." He toasted and she repeated.

The two of them talked, getting to know each even more. Kaname had learned that her favourite colour was red. He had figured as much; she wore it more than any other colour. She told him that she felt her hair clashed with such a deep and rich colour. He learned about how she and Rido originally met. Rido had turned up at her home, supposedly to gain Akari's parents favour but they had long gone travelling. Akari had let him in and Rido tried to work his charm, it only earned him a trip out of the front door with a black eye. From that day Rido would try to charm her everyday and everyday he was turned down. Over time it turned into a friendship as Rido stopped trying to charm her and actually tried talking to her. Kaname found out that Rido was equally as angry as him at her parents for abandoning her. Kaname made a mental note to send Takuma to find Akari's parents and drag them back to face some sort of punishment.

Akari was a little pleased with their conversation. All Kaname talked about was his family. He spoke about how in love Juri and Haruka were and how cute Yuki was. He made a point of talking about Yuki the most. How much he loved his little sister. Akari was sure that by taking Yuki away from Kaname, he would destroy him, render him vulnerable. To add to that blow, Akari would disappear from his side. She couldn't wait to talk to Rido.

"Why didn't you go looking for your parents?" Kaname wondered, taking Akari by surprise. She had never really thought about going after them. But she had thought about travelling.

"I never really thought to, I guess. We didn't get alone when I was growing up. I spent most of my time with a nanny." Akari answered with a shrug. "I didn't need them around anyway. I've managed fine without them." She then added, sounding a little hostile towards him. It felt like he was questioning her ability to care for herself without them.

"I didn't mean that you couldn't look after yourself, after all you managed to get Rido around your little finger. Not a mean feat by any means." Kaname quickly defended himself. Sometimes he found it hard to know what would upset or offend her. "I was just wondering if you missed them and if you ever wondered where they were." He explained, trying to clear the air between them. "I sometimes forget that not everyone was lucky enough to have caring parents. I never meant to upset you." He added but it still felt a bit like he was rubbing salt into her wounds.

"It's fine. I didn't consider going after them, I didn't see the point. I have entertained the idea of travelling but it felt like I was in the wrong if I left. I guess duty was forced into my mind in such a way that anything that wouldn't be anything but dutiful to them, it would make me feel so guilty if I wasn't able to." She told him with a sigh, leaning back in her chair. "I'm not sure if I even want to know where they are after two hundred years." She then added before Kaname could suggest finding them. To be honest, she already knew where they were. When Rido had discovered that they had abandoned her, he went looking for them. Apparently, they angered him with their excuses and blatant dismissal of their daughters' existence. At that point, they hadn't been back home in roughly a hundred and fifty years, both she and Rido wondered where they could have been for that long. They were now resting in the family mausoleum. Akari already knew that they hadn't wanted a child, they had had her out of duty of being purebloods. She did care about it or them, she didn't really know them, she was cared for by nanny's and the staff who took pity on her.

Kaname was still going to find out for her and keep taps on her parents in case she changed her mind. He wanted to know; he would do everything by the book from now on. He would ask her parents for permission to marry her once he found them. After all, he had an image to uphold.

"Kaname, how long do you think we will be here?" Akari suddenly asked, catching him off guard.

"I was planning to be here a year or two. I want to make sure everything is set up and working smoothly. Work out any issues before they become something that could be a danger to us or the humans." Kaname answered her carefully, he had originally planned to stay until Yuki finished school and then watch over her in her adult life. But Akari changed all of that. He knew that she wouldn't stand for him following Yuki around. He now had to leave Yuki to grow as a human, to fend for herself. He now had to think about Akari and her needs once they left the school.

"What are you planning for us after this?" Akari then asked curiosity.

"I was hoping we could get married and go from there. But I want to know about what you want, what you want to plan for us." Kaname told her, reaching out for her hand. She gently rested her hand on his and looked into his eyes.

"Travelling would be nice, I've never been far from home. That's all I've really thought about doing." She told him honestly, she had never really thought about doing a lot, she just wanted to have fun with Rido. She never left home, not because of her parents, but so Rido always knew where she was. Before she met Rido, she simply waited for the next party and next lover, she hadn't thought there was more to her existence than that. It only showed what her parents had taught her. But Rido had started to show her that life offered so much more. She sighed to herself. Kaname frowned ever so slightly, curious as to what was running through her mind. Her face had changed expressions a number of times, switching from melancholy to joy to boredom.

"Is everything OK?" He asked her, hoping she would give him an insight to her mind.

"Oh, yeah. I'm just wondering what could be so amazing about travelling that you forget about your own daughter." She lied; he knew she had lied. He guessed that she felt ashamed about what she was thinking about. He guessed it involved Rido. He wondered if she would ever only think about him and not Rido. He would make her love him.

"The others will be back soon. What would you like to do now?" Kaname asked, he was hopeful that she would want to continue in either of their bedrooms. Akari could hear the hope in his voice, she knew too well what he was hoping for.

"You could always walk me to my room and maybe you'll get a goodnight kiss." She teased him lightly. Kaname smiled and hid his disappointment, however, it was a step in the right direction. She was no longer keeping herself distant from and was now inviting his advances.

Kaname took her arm in his and he led her to her room. He smiled as he felt her lean on him slightly, drawing herself closer to him. Once they reached her door, she slowly took her arm back and stood facing him. She pushed herself up onto her tiptoes, Kaname took the hint and leaned down for her. Her lips gently brushed against his before the kiss took hold. Before either one of them could deepen the kiss, Akari stepped back.

At that same moment, the front door to the dormitory opened, signaling the arrival of the others. "Thank you for tonight." She told him with a smile. She had so much to tell Rido, she would make him proud. Kaname smiled back.

"It was my pleasure; I hope we can do this again?" Akari nodded and slowly opened her bedroom door.

"We will, goodnight." She told him before stepping into her room. Kaname smiled again and bid her goodnight before taking his leave.