by Arcina
 
 
 

The clamor from outside the chamber alerted them.  A sound that awakened the primal instincts inside of each.  One stood in front of the rest, hair slicked back, face grim.  The other poised calmly, one hand hovering near the back of his neck, eyes gleaming in keen anticipation. The last stationed in the corner of the room, his vantage point a small obstacle to impart an assault, his speed swift, the whistle of metal slicing through air accurate, deadly.

The doors flew open, the sound resonating within the four walls of the room.  A figure streaked in, arms raised, a loud exulted cry escaping his lips. A cry cut short at the sight of the three forms that stared back at him in surprise.

"Kuwabara!"

Brown eyes glowered as Yusuke scowled at the intruder, his new found annoyance apparent in his tone.  Kurama lowered his hand, lips breaking into a welcoming smile.  Hiei settled back down in the corner without another glance at him, not surprised that only that baka would be thoughtless enough to create a racket loud enough to warn even those in Makai of his arrival.

"Nani?!"  Kuwabara exclaimed, looking at them confusion.  "What's wrong with you?"

Kurama shook his head.  "Still a bit on end from the last mission.  The noise you were causing was alarming."

Kuwabara's eyes bulged.  "You mean you were ready to attack me?!"

A soft "Hn!" was heard from the corner.

Yusuke took a step closer to his friend.  "What do you mean 'were'? I still am!"

A restraining hand kept him from going any further.  "What is it that has gotten you so excited Kuwabara-kun?"  Kurama asked, hoping to keep the chamber safe from the destruction that was sure to be brought about by a fight between the two.

For all the facial expressions that Kurama had seen Kuwabara make in the past, the utter look of bug-eyed, jubilant, teeth-flashing, skin-stretching, bug-eye-disappearing-act-because-smile-is-too-big grin that appeared on his face now beat it all.

"SHE SAID YES!!!"  The shrill yell causing the others to cringe as their Kuwabara-sensitive eardrums tried unsuccessfully to shut out the noise.

Blank faces stared back at him as soon as heads cleared from the initial shock of the sound-wave assault.

Kuwabara dropped to his knees.  "I asked Yukina-chan to marry me!! She said YES!! WE'RE GONNA GET MARRIED!!"

Yusuke fell over with a thump, mouth agape in shock.  Kurama felt his hopes of keeping the room in one peace fade at the words.  Cautiously, both Yusuke and Kurama turned to the corner were Hiei had been sitting.

It was empty.

~**~**~

Tranquility shattered as branches fell, tree limbs tumbling downward. The cause of destruction a phantom under the evening sky.  Silver moonlight flashed, reflected off a lustrous surface. A beacon of sorts, only to disappear as another shower of branches descended.

'Married!? To that orange-top ignoramus! I should have killed him!'

Anger seethed inside of him, controlling any sense of awareness in his body, sending the blade flashing across the air yet again, another tree felled, another angered thought.

'Killed him before this happened! Killed him before she had learned to love him!'

Spectered  moonlight.  Another tree.

'And she said yes! How could she say yes?!'

A rain flurry of leaves and branches.

'Should have killed him back in the temple.'

His fury increased with every downward motion of the sword, each thought that every thrust harbored enraging him.  He hated him!  Detested him even more than he had ever done so in the past.  Hated him for loving her! Hated him for asking her to marry him!  Hated him for - for…

The sword dropped, the point of the blade plunging into the soft earth beneath.

…for taking her away from him.

He gripped the hilt tightly as he sank to his knees, head bent, his breath coming in short, jaded gasps.  The truth behind his loathing jarring him.  He envied him.  Envied the fact that he could show Yukina that he loved her.  He could show her he cared.  He could tell her everything, no secrets, no lies.

He despised him because of it.  Despised him because the idiot could do the one thing - that he could not do.

A sigh was breathed into the night as pain accompanied the realization.

He had lost his sister to the one person he had shown the least respect for in the whole of the Ningenkai.  The alarming sense of loss and loneliness scared him.  He had liked his anger better.  The anger he could deal with.  He closed his eyes and willed the anger back, and found to his horror, that the hate he had used to feed his anger had deserted him.

Overhead, the moon disappeared behind a mask of clouds, flinging the world below into darkness.  And in the moonless night, the black shrouded figure went unseen.  The world unaware of him as much as he was oblivious of the world, wrapped deep in his own thoughts.  The moon remained secreted long into the night, hours passed before the silver glow bathed the earth once again. And somewhere, in a remote part of the forest, a sword flashed, reawakened by the moon's beam.  But to the motionless form beside it, the moon went unnoticed.

~**~**~

The sound of lively music and gay laughter drifted clearly through the open windows to where Hiei sat atop a tree, rested comfortably on a branch well hidden by the lush foliage of leaves. Stupid Ningen affair. An engagement party is what Kurama had called it when he had asked Hiei to come.   An engagement party?!  As if the wedding wasn't going to be bad enough.  Kurama had explained that to him as well.  Stupid, stupid Ningen affairs.

The party had started about an hour ago and already he could hear the raucous bursting from inside.  How could they make that much noise? There weren't even so many people there.  Just the usual people, plus a few of Kuwabara's friends who were probably just as idiotic as the loud-mouthed ignoramus!

'I shouldn't have come!'  He raised himself up to leave when the door to the house opened, a cause of hesitation as he saw Yukina step out.  Eyes narrowed as he noted a distinctive sadness to her countenance.  She seemed to be looking for something as she surveyed the streets, her gaze shifting to skim the line of trees that stood surrounding the house.

Something.  Or someone.  Hiei felt that alien ache from the other night return as he watched her.  "Yukina." Said so softly she couldn't have heard him.  Yet, her head rose as he whispered her name, startled and … the gleam in her eyes.  Longing awakened deep within her.

Hiei felt himself grow rigid.  She couldn't have heard him.  Yet her actions spoke otherwise, the way her head had jerked up as he said her name.  And the way her eyes gleamed with the burning hope of something he couldn't understand.

Behind Yukina the door opened once again and Keiko stepped out, a glass of some bubbly liquid Hiei didn't know the name to in either hand.  She handed one to Yukina as she stood beside the timid girl.

"Yukina-chan?"  She whispered, concern apparent in her tone.  "Is something the matter?"

Yukina smiled, the smile she always had for everyone.  The same smile that she had used countless of times on him.  Forever patient, always so gentle, even when he'd been so cold to her.  "I was thinking."  The meekness in her voice a reflection of the purity of her heart.  "About my brother."

He sat back down.

"How I wish he could be here with me.  To share with my happiness.  See me get married."  Her tone grew wistful.  "Will I never find him Kei-chan?  It's been so long."

"He is out there, somewhere.  I am sure he dreams of finding his sister again."

"Sometimes I wonder if he even wants to find me."  Sorrow imbedded on the words.

The pain deepened.

Keiko turned to face her.  "He does.  Don't ever think that he doesn't."

Yukina was silent and then nodded.  "I worry about whether he would approve of my getting wed or not."

"Yukina…" A bit hesitantly.  "Are you…are you having second thoughts about getting married?"

Eyes widened in surprise.  "Oh no!  I'd never!  No, no!"  Sea-green hair swayed with the breeze as she shook her head.  "I do want to marry Kazuma!  But without family to give me away…"

Silence.

"Keiko-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"What if…what if my brother does find me.  Do you think he would tell me?  What if he is disappointed with what he finds?"

Words that plunged into him like a sword on the soft earth.  Twisting, turning, worsening the pain that was already there.

Keiko took the other girl's hand.  "He will never be disappointed in you.  Trust me.  And if he doesn't tell you then he is a fool and a coward."  She added bitterly.

He scowled.

Yukina looked puzzled.  "Why would he not tell me if he wasn't disappointed?"

Keiko shrugged.  "I wouldn't know."

The door opened and Shizuru's head popped out.  "Err…Keiko!  Could you come in here for a moment?"

"What for?"

Shizuru made a face.  "Yusuke."

"I'll be right in."  She turned back to Yukina.  "Are you coming?"

Yukina smiled and shook her head.  "I'll follow."

"Hai!  Don't take too long okay?"  Keiko said as she headed for the door.  "After all, you are one of the guests of honor."

Hiei watched Yukina apprehensively.  What was she doing outside?  She shouldn't be out there alone.  Where was Kuwabara?  Why wasn't he looking after her?  He watched her for what seemed like eternity, battling with conflicting thoughts and emotions.  When finally, he came to a decision.  As silent as the night wind he stood and was off the tree with only the slight rustle of leaves akin to the breeze blowing through the branches.

~**~**~

He approached her from the side, his hands shoved inside his tunic, head bent.  Still unsure of his decision for coming.  She was the first to acknowledge him.

"Hiei-kun!"  The name said with such heartfelt joy it brought his head up in surprise, only to have Yukina throw her arms around him in a tight embrace a second later.  "You came!"

Hiei felt his body stiffen as he felt her arms surround him, then relaxed as he saw her beaming face staring up at him.  Why was she so happy?

"What are you doing out here?"  The question came out a bit harshly.

She let go off him and bowed her head.  "I've been waiting for you."

He blinked.  Had he heard her right?  Why?  Could she…he shook the thought away.  It was too much to hope for.  But why?

She looked back up to meet his gaze.  "I've been meaning to ask you something."

He only stared at her.

"I - I want you to - "  She paused, then continued softly.  "I want you to give me away, on my wedding day."  She blushed and turned her head. "If you want to."

Give her away? What?  Kurama had told him about that.  'The father usually gives the bride away, or whoever is head of the family.'  Why him?  Did she know?  She couldn't know.

"Why me?"

She wrung her hands together.  "Because - because you've always been so nice to me.  And always seemed to care so much about what happened to me. You were there to save me and protect me."  She fell silent, obviously battling with something inside her.  "You're how I would imagine my brother to be like.  Or how I would want him to be like.  And if I can't have him give me away, then I would like you to."

He was shocked, he must have looked shocked, for Yukina's face took on an expression of concern as she watched him.  "Hiei-kun?  Are you feeling well?"

He nodded.

"So would you want to?"  She asked shyly.

"……"

"To walk me down the aisle?"

He stared at her.  "Hai."  He found himself answering, even as the horror of having to wear one of those Ningen outfits haunted his mind.

She smiled, eyes aglow with happiness, making all that he would have to go through worth it.  "Thank you."  She took his hand.  "Come, we'd better join the party."

He let her lead him, for once submitting himself to be lead by someone else.  Contented to be with her, near her, to actually feel something akin to how things would have been if he had told her, if she had known.

But the noise that greeted them as they entered the house almost caused him to turn and leave, the only thing stopping him being the gentle hand that still held his.  Almost immediately he spotted his sister's soon-to-be husband, or rather, he heard him, since his voice rose clearly above all other noise in the room.  The fool was joking around with Yusuke.  The imbecile probably never even noticed that his fiancée had stepped out of the party.

He excused himself from Yukina with the politest way he knew how to and proceeded to make his way across the room to where the rowdy pair were drinking and laughing.

"Hiei!"

Kurama.  Stupid fox was probably as shocked as any that he had actually come.

"Hn!"

He was walking beside him now, eyes following where the fire demon's gaze rested and immediately felt the blood drain from his face as he saw Kuwabara.

"Uhm… Hiei!  This is not a good time."  He said nervously.  "This is definitely not a good time for this."

Hiei ignored him.

"Hiei!  Would you listen to me!!"  Kurama hissed in frustration.

Too late.  Hiei had already pushed himself through the few people who blocked his way and was now standing right in front of Kuwabara.  Who was more or less, equally as surprised as Kurama and Yusuke in seeing him.  But then his ever-present grin appeared.  "Hey there shrimp! Glad you could make it!"

Hiei grunted as the taller guy's palm connected with his back.  For a moment he entertained the thought of starting a brawl right then and there.  Instead a hand shot out.

"Congratulations."

Kuwabara stared at the offered hand in surprise.  Even he knew that such an act was unusual for Hiei.

Somehow, the shock in Kuwabara's face was enough to make him smile.

Yusuke choked on his drink, face turning bright red as his air circulation was cut off.  Did he just see Hiei smile?  He coughed as Kurama patted him on the back.

"I'm glad I wasn't the one drinking."  Kurama muttered, as he gazed in awed wonder at the smiling Koorime.  Maybe he'd had too much to drink. But no, Hiei had walked in with Yukina and had almost immediately approached Kuwabara.  No time to even get a glass to drink.

Hiei seemed to be struggling with something when he spoke up, softly and without a bit of the caustic bitterness he was known to imply.  "And thank you.  For making her happy."

Kuwabara blinked.  And then smiled, a hand coming up to gently rest on Hiei's shoulder.  "You're welcome."

Hiei nodded and then moved back, red-eyes fleeting quickly over Yusuke and Kurama before he turned to leave.

~**~**~

"You care about her."

Hiei turned sharply at the words.  He had returned outside after the discourse with Kuwabara.  Refusing to stay at the party, yet reluctant to leave the premises.  Reluctant to leave her.  He had stayed just in case she might come looking for him and upon finding him gone, cause a stem of disappointment that he did not want her to feel.

"What do you think?"  He retorted quietly, the tone somewhat relieved of its common hardness.

This was the man his sister wanted to marry.  The one she loved.  Both hatred and envy vanished, just the mere desire to see Yukina happy.

"You know, I've always wondered why you've always seemed to care so much for her."  Kuwabara stated.

"And did you ever find out why?"

"I never thought I did."

Hiei nodded, satisfied with the answer.  "You don't have to know."

"People never did give me enough credit.  I'm not as stupid as I often appear to be."

Hiei frowned.  Where was this conversation leading to?  Kuwabara was acting strangely.  He was actually serious for once, and on top of it all, his words seemed to be making rational sense, instead of his usual, incoherent blabber. "I will care for your sister, Hiei.  It is the one thing you can count on."

Hiei whirled around, surprise written on his face, shock rendering him speechless.

Kuwabara cast another one of his broad grins before disappearing into the house leaving Hiei to his questions in the still night.