Chapter 7
Family Matters
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She waited till the last stop, got off then went onto the next train. She didn't like visiting her family, considering they lived so far. After her last train she walked out of the train station and made her way to the housing neighborhoods. Her mother was lucky enough to buy a house when Sakura was only a child. She came up on the street corner of her road and smiled as old memories started flooding her mind.
"Hn…"
Sakura jumped and turned behind her to see Hiei walking behind her.
"Hiei-sensei?!" She squealed in shock.
He raised a brow to her as he stood there. She quickly saw he was wearing human clothes, a black button up shirt with rolled up sleeves to his forearms. No bandages on his right arm. Black jeans and nice shoes. He was also carrying a small black travel sack he had hanging over his shoulder.
"What the hell are you doing here?! And dressed like that?" She walked up to him almost angry.
"Don't act so surprised, detective. You should've known that I would have to come with you." He replied.
"You can't be serious! You have to leave before my family sees you!" She panicked.
"Hn." He gave her a look of disinterest.
"Hiei-sensei, please! They'll think we're dating, or worse! Oh man, they'll probably think I stooped so low to beg someone to PRETEND to be my boyfriend." She groaned.
"Let them make their assumptions. I can't leave you out here alone and it's easier if we're together like this in case if anything comes up." He explained.
Sakura tried to argue, but Hiei cut her off.
"Your arguing is precisely why I didn't show I was following you till now." He explained further.
"Koenma did this, didn't he?" She looked up to Hiei.
Before he could answer, they heard a male voice in the distance.
"Sakura-chaaaaaan!" A man came running up to them with a smile on his face.
"Kaneki-kun!" Sakura smiled back.
Kaneki quickly embraced Sakura while laughing then looked to Hiei.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I'm Kaneki Takahashi. Sakura's older brother." He smiled and stuck his hand out to Hiei.
Sakura's smile dropped when she thought that Hiei wouldn't shake hands.
"Just call me Hiei." He smirked and shook Kaneki's hand.
Sakura's eyes widened then looked at Hiei suspiciously.
"Hiei! So the rumors are true! Sakura has a new boyfriend!"
"What?! What rumors?" Sakura snapped.
"Oh mom heard from one of her lady friends that lives in your building that you've been living with a guy for the passed month. Sorry man, our family's a bit nosey." Kaneki laughed off.
"Ugh..." Sakura placed her hand on her face.
"In this case it's a good thing she was nosey! She knew you were bringing him so she made room for him." Kaneki patted Sakura on the back.
"Sakura kept telling us that she was coming alone." Kaneki laughed to Hiei.
"Well, it was uncertain. I was having difficulty getting the time off work." Hiei quickly told him.
Sakura looked at Hiei like he was on drugs.
"What is happening?" She thought.
"Oh! Well that makes sense! What are we waiting for! Let's go introduce you to the rest of the family!" Kaneki cheered as he took Sakura's luggage and lead the way.
Hiei and Sakura followed behind at a safe distance.
"Rather spritely.." Hiei muttered to Sakura about Kaneki.
"He's probably already had something to drink. You're not off the hook, what dose of valium are you on?" Sakura glared to him.
"The worse thing you could do is make the situation more complicated, just go along with it. It's only for the weekend." Hiei snapped back quietly.
"You don't know my family, Hiei-sensei." Sakura muttered back to him with a worried expression.
"For the time being, you might want to forgo the 'sensei' part." He smirked to her as they approached the house.
Kaneki walked in and briefly explained Hiei as he kicked off his shoes. Their mother stepped out and embraced Sakura tightly.
"OH my sweet girl! Look at you! You cut your hair! You're so thin! Are you eating?" She worriedly asked.
"Y-yes mom, I'm eating daily, several times." Sakura rolled her eyes with a smile.
"And this must be Hiei-kun, Kaneki just told me you were here." She turned to him.
"Yes, I'm sorry for the intrusion, it's nice to meet you." Hiei bowed.
"Oh don't worry about strict manners in this house. We're all family here!" She patted Hiei on the back and had them all walk in.
Sakura shot a glare to Hiei when she saw him take his shoes off. He looked away as if to ignore her glare.
"Well now that I know he's capable of taking off his shoes..." She thought angrily.
"I'm so glad you made it a day early! We're doing karaoke tonight with Toki and her husband-to-be!" Her mother smiled and went back to the kitchen.
"Oh fun! I'm going to put my stuff away. I'm in my old room right?" Sakura headed to the stairs.
Kaneki stood by the rail and answered for their mother.
"Of course you are, but Hiei-kun! You're with me. I'll show you where my room is." He waved his hand for Hiei to follow him down stairs.
Sakura looked to him with a worried look.
"I know how to behave around other humans." Hiei thought to Sakura.
She rolled her eyes then continued to carry her suitcase upstairs to her room. She opened the door to find Toki already there.
"Toki-chan!" She cheered and hugged her sister.
"Sakura-chan! I'm so glad you came! I couldn't get married without my baby sister here!" She smiled.
"Oh stop, I'm no one important. Speaking of, I'm so happy for you!" Sakura began putting her things away as they caught up.
"You look so thin!" Toki looked at her while poking at her arms and sides.
"Aha! Don't! That tickles!" Sakura giggled and batted her away.
"Man you're solid! What workouts are you doing?"
"Trust me, you don't want to know." Sakura sighed heavily.
"EW! Kinky with the boyfriend huh?" Toki poked her again as they went down stairs.
"Toki-chan! Don't say things like that! You know what I meant!" Sakura blushed heavily.
In Kaneki's room, he showed Hiei where he could hang his clothes up.
"So, I'd hate to sound like a cliché big brother...but after what Sakura went through with her last boyfriend, I'm sure you can understand. You're keeping her happy, right?"
Hiei stopped and looked at him.
"From what she tells me, I go out of my way to make her feel better about herself." Hiei reflected from last night.
"Good..." Kaneki smiled and looked away.
"To be completely honest. She's never told me about her previous relationship." Hiei told him as he continued to put his clothes up.
"Really? She's probably embarrassed by it. Well, Ryosuke was this really weird guy, she met him in school, fell in love blah, blah, blah. Well he got this really great job and that's when things got really weird. He stopped being nice to her, but went through this big ordeal to propose to her. Then he would go days without seeing her, but out of the blue got an apartment for them to move into. But the day they were supposed to move in together, he disappeared."
"Was he lost?" Hiei raised a brow in suspicion.
"Nope, turned out the guy left her for some other chick. He had been seeing her on the side since he got that job of his." Kaneki waved off his hand.
"Disgusting." Hiei thought with a heavy glare to the floor.
"It tore Sakura up when she found out. She tried to kill herself by drinking some poisonous stuff. Thankfully it only put her in a small coma. Once she got out of it, she was like her old self. Except she was more headstrong and determined than before." He smirked at the memory.
"That's how Koenma got her..." Hiei thought as he realized Botan's apology back when Sakura first cooked for him.
"I admire her for her determination." Hiei told him as he shut the closet.
Kaneki smiled and patted Hiei on the back.
"You seem like an OK guy, Hiei-kun! Let's go join everyone else!" Kaneki lead out of the room.
Hiei shook his head to himself as he followed behind, shoving his hands in his pockets. He saw Sakura and come down the stairs laughing with a woman, he assumed to be her sister.
"Ah! You must be the boyfriend! I'm Toki, Sakura's older sister." Toki smiled and stuck her hand out to Hiei.
"Hiei, nice to meet you. You must be the bride-to-be." Hiei took her hand and shook.
"Cool name! Yes, just to let you know, the ceremony is traditional, but the reception is modern! Can't pass up an opportunity to party!" Toki laughed.
"Glad to know you haven't changed much, Toki." Sakura smirked to her.
"It helps that my fiancé is the same as me!" She giggled and walked off.
Sakura shook her head with a laugh.
"Sakura-chan, we're doing karaoke tonight! You know what that means?" Kaneki winked to her.
"Oh we're not doing Disney songs are we?" Sakura groaned.
"Damn right we are!" Toki shouted from the other room.
Sakura sighed heavily as Kaneki walked off where Toki went laughing loudly.
"I apologize in advanced." Sakura looked to Hiei.
She blinked when she saw him looking at her differently than usual.
"What's up?" She asked him while tilting her head.
Hiei shook his head to her and offered his hand.
"It's nothing. Your family seems normal, no need to apologize." He smirked.
She looked at his hand and shook her head.
"We don't have to prove we're in a relationship. Besides, my mother is VERY old school." She stated and walked ahead.
"Will you kids open up the living room and get everything ready for tonight?" The mother shouted from the kitchen.
"Yes mom!" All three shouted.
Hiei raised his brows with being impressed how they all behaved. He'd never seen a large family like this before. He'd only see Kuwabara with his sister constantly bicker. Sakura and her siblings slid open all the doors to the living room while Hiei noticed the pictures on the walls. None of them showed a father figure. He came to an old picture of Sakura as a young child and smirked.
"Hiei! Don't go looking at those..." Sakura whispered while trying to redirect him.
"Why? You've always been awkward it seems." He pointed to the picture.
"HA!" Toki shouted out a laugh.
Sakura glared at her then at Hiei. He walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"As you wish." He smirked to her.
Sakura blushed slightly and looked away.
"Hands!" Sakura's mother shouted to Hiei, which caused him to jump and pull his hand back.
She walked in to start placing food on the large table in the center of the room.
"Ooooo! Mom this smells amazing!" Kaneki smiled and he followed the smell.
"Don't touch until its time to eat!" She flicked Kaneki on his head.
"Ow!" He rubbed his head.
Their mother went back to the kitchen. While Sakura and Toki offered to help. It didn't take long for Youne, Toki's fiancé, to show up and the dinner party to get going. They shared embarrassing stories of Toki to her husband-to-be during dinner. Toki tried to turn it around to start embarrassing Sakura, Kaneki was going along with it.
"I remember when you were potty training and you got so curious about the bathtub that you pooped into the tub and got mad that there was no water to flush it!" Kaneki laughed loudly.
Sakura turned bright red while everyone laughed, including Hiei.
"Hey! That's not fair! Where's your wife so we can embarrass you, brother?" Sakura barked.
"Lucky for me to avoid the embarrassment! She couldn't get the time off work. Plus, she's in China." He shrugged.
"I can still embarrass you. I remember you got so nervous flirting with the neighbor girl at the market you knocked over a whole magazine display!" Sakura smirked.
"OH YEA! I remember that!" Toki roared a laugh.
"I don't remember that!" Their mother looked to them.
"It was when you were working. We went to the corner market to get some stuff, that's when we ran into Kaneki's crush." Toki explained
"Single parent, must have been tough for them all." Hiei thought as he continued to watch them all.
"Probably why they're all so close. They had to rely on each other to behave and do what was expected." He continued to think.
"Hey Hiei, is Sakura still a clean freak?" Kaneki caught his attention.
He smirked and folded his arms.
"Of course, it's the first thing she does before her bath every night."
Sakura's jaw dropped to him.
"You cannot be enjoying this." She said quietly to him.
"Embarrassing you? Of course I am." He smirked back to her.
After dinner and sharing a few more embarrassing stories. The mother whipped out the karaoke machine and it didn't take long for a few of Toki's friends to show up randomly. After the first few songs played, they tried to have Sakura take a go, but she kept passing it along.
"Sakura-chan, is something wrong?" Her mother leaned over to her and asked.
"Hm? No of course not. You know I prefer to sing with my own instruments, mom." Sakura smirked to her.
"I know, but I'd love to hear you sing again. Just go pick something. Maybe even duet with your boyfriend?"
Hiei quickly turned his head over and put his hands up almost defensively.
"I would break your equipment there. Sakura, you should go pick a song." Hiei gave Sakura a look that said 'do it.'
She took a heavy sigh and grabbed a microphone and scrolled through until she found one she liked.
"No rap songs!" Kaneki shouted to her.
Sakura rolled her eyes to him.
"Shut up Kaneki, I'm not a teen anymore." She scowled to him.
"Hn." Hiei smirked while folding his arms.
Emperors New Clothes from Panic! At The Disco started playing and Kaneki cheered. Hiei raised a brow at the beat.
"Welcome to the end of eras. Ice has melted back to life." She sang with a soulful tune to her voice.
"She's got range." Her mother winked to Hiei as they continued to listen to her sing.
"I'm taking back the CROOOOoooowwwn." Sakura sang the chorus with her wide vocal skill.
Hiei's jaw nearly dropped when he heard her acapella during the chorus and stared in awe. Toki giggled at Hiei's reaction and nudged him.
"You're acting like you've never heard her sing before!" She giggled.
"I haven't." He admitted.
Sakura's mother's eyes widened and patted him firmly on the back.
"You two really haven't been seeing each other for long then. She usually sings whenever she's bored."
"Hero's always get remembered, but you know legends never die!" Sakura sang and winked to Hiei.
He smirked to her as she continued to sing.
"That's why she's never sang around me before. We're never bored." He thought as he watched her finish the song.
Everyone clapped and cheered and a new person immediately grabbed the mic from Sakura. Instead of going to sit back down to Hiei, he quickly noticed she headed down a hallway. During the commotion of helping this random friend pick a song, Hiei snuck away and walked down where he saw Sakura go down. He vaguely sensed her through a door across from Kaneki's room. He leaned close to the door and heard some piano keys playing. Pushing down on the door handle, he walked in quietly to see her standing at a piano. Her back was to him, but he knew she was aware he was there.
"Hey." She turned her head for a quick second as Hiei shut the door behind him.
He looked around the large room and saw different kinds of instruments and the same sound proofing foam all over the walls.
"Your whole family is musically inclined." He remarked while looking at the different instruments.
"Yea, we all learned the piano first and went from there." She explained while continuing to play her tune.
"Why music?" He asked.
"My mom felt it was therapeutic. Her fondest memories were around music, so she raised us wanting that. Especially after our dad left."
Hiei looked to her from across the room.
"I figured you noticed since you were looking at the pictures on the walls." She shrugged to him and stopped playing.
"Was there a reason?" He asked while walking to her.
"Would any reason be good enough to abandon your family?" She took a heavy sigh.
He nodded in silent agreement. They both looked up when they heard a sudden roar of laughter from the karaoke. Sakura smiled and started playing a new tune.
"Don't you want to be out there?" He asked.
"Nah, this is Toki's night. Besides, I prefer to be in here. I used to hide in here a lot whenever we would have parties or friends over." She admitted with a smile.
"I don't blame you, that's a lot of people to deal with." He leaned against the piano.
"By the way, you seem to be really good at pretending to be human." She gave him a look.
He smirked and folded his arms.
"I've been known to put on a good act when necessary."
Sakura giggled and shook her head.
"Well, I do appreciate it. My mom will get off my back now about dating."
"She seems to be quite proud of you."
"Oh that's just because I was the weird child for a long time." She smirked for a quick second.
"What do you mean by that?"
She hesitated on answering. She pulled her hands away from the keys and looked to him.
"I freaked out a lot of people because I had spirit awareness as a child. When I realized some people couldn't take it…I started pretending to be normal. That I didn't see spirits, or sense them, or knew if someone was being haunted, things like that. My mom knew I held back, but she was the only one that knew." She explained with a sad expression.
"That's why your father left, isn't it?" Hiei saw through her sadness.
Her eyes widened and looked away.
"That was rude of me. It's none of my business." He quickly stated.
He realized that Kaneki and everyone else tried to warn him about. Her abandonment in her life has left her scarred and emotionally traumatized. Which was why trust was so important her. She looked back to him almost cautiously.
"No, it's ok. You would have found out eventually. It's just something I'm rather humiliated by, even after all these years." She forced herself a shrug.
"He couldn't accept you for who you are. He should be ashamed. And damn him to hell." He reached out his hand to her cheek and saw her eyes glisten with tears ready to fall.
"He doesn't deserve you."
Sakura smiled to him as a tear escaped. He wiped it with his thumb and stared at her vulnerable beauty. Sakura stared at his serious yet gentle stare he gave her. She felt safe and protected with him so close to her. Her heart began to flutter with a thousand butterflies when she forced herself out of her day dream.
"Th-thank you, Sensei. You're very kind to say those words." She pulled away from him and smiled.
Hiei blinked with surprise when she called him that. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at her seriously.
"Why do you insist on calling me that?" He asked.
She was taken back by the sudden change of feeling in the room. For a moment was warm and comfortable, now cold.
"Well, you're my teacher. It's only proper of me to call you my sensei." She explained while meeting his level of seriousness.
"Hn, stop it." He started making his way to the door.
"Just for this weekend, right?" She asked while following him.
He turned to her and looked down to her in her eyes.
"Stop. It."
Sakura went to open her mouth to say something when the door swung open with a laughing Toki on the other end. She drunkenly looked up and stopped at Sakura and Hiei.
"Oh! Sorry you two! Carry on!" Toki slurred while holding a bottle of sake.
"I won't tell mom." She whispered with a silly wink and walked out.
Sakura shook her head with a laugh.
"Look, let's get through this weekend alright?" Sakura stuck her hand out to him to shake.
Hiei looked at it without interest and looked to her.
"I already planned on it." He turned to walk out and Sakura followed right behind.
They walked out to where everyone was still at. Only this time now enjoying drinking games with the occasional drinking song. After a few more hours of drunk times. Everyone started slowly leaving and Kaneki was the first to claim the bathroom, then Youne, then Toki.
"Alright, I'm heading to bed, you two should as well." Sakura's mother looked at her and Hiei.
"Yes mom." Sakura nodded to her.
"Good night!" Her mother waved with a yawn and made her way upstairs where she had her own private bathroom.
"I know you don't normally rest, but you might want to. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. My mom and I are leaving with Toki early so don't worry about that. You'll be leaving with Kaneki and Youne later." Sakura explained to him.
"Got it. Now, go get ready for bed." Hiei motioned for her to go.
"Alright, good night." She waved to him and went to step away when she felt him grab her hand.
She stopped and looked at him as he raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles softly.
"Good night." He replied to her before letting go of her hand.
She blushed heavily and turned to head to the stairs and walked to her bedroom. She grabbed her pajamas and headed to the empty bathroom.
"Why did he do that?" She blushed with thought as she sat in the hot tub.
After her bath, she joined Toki in her bedroom and started brushing her hair out. Toki snored away already passed out. Sakura giggled and shook her head as she turned off the last lamp and fell asleep.
.
.
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The next morning came with Toki waking Sakura up roughly.
"C'mon sleepy girl!" Toki teased.
"Ugh...yes, bridezilla!" Sakura joked back while rubbing her eyes.
She sat up and they immediately began getting ready with makeup and hair. Sakura put on a little more makeup than she usual for the special day. Then immediately went to helping Toki with her hair and makeup.
"You're getting the kimono on over there right?" Sakura asked.
"Yes. I just have to have my hair and face ready before hand." Toki explained.
Their mother came in bringing breakfast to them.
"Thanks mom!" They both cheered as their mother went back down stairs.
"Don't worry by the way. I won't tell mom about you and your man last night." Toki stated as she sipped some tea.
"What do you mean? Oh the music room?" Sakura asked as she continued to pin Toki's hair.
"No silly, right before bed. I saw him kiss your hand. Honestly, I thought it was super cute. You two are so awkward still." She told her.
Sakura once again felt a brick land in her chest.
"He did it because he knew Toki was watching..." She thought.
"Why do I keep thinking he has feelings for me?! I need to get over it! He won't EVER care about me!" She thought angrily at herself.
"O-oh yea that. Thanks...You know how mom can get with that stuff." Sakura forced out a reply.
She pulled away from Toki's hair to have a break for breakfast.
"Anyway, you better not drink so much tea." Sakura told her while they ate.
Toki stopped and looked at her then the tea.
"Why not?"
"Once you have that kimono on, how are you going to pee?" She asked.
Toki's eyes widened then set the cup to Sakura's side of the table. They both cracked up in a laugh.
"Good thing I have a white dress to change into after the ceremony." Toki told her.
"I think it's smart, ceremony is traditional, yet the party is modern. I like it" Sakura smiled.
"Keep that in mind for yours." Toki winked to her.
Sakura rolled her eyes with a smile and went back to doing her hair.
.
After everyone was ready and ceremony was about to begin. Sakura was sent to stand outside of the shrine to wait for the men to arrive. She stood there wearing her dress and black heels. Her hair was lightly curled and her sister insisted she wear a necklace and earrings. The car with the guys finally pulled up and they all stepped out looking sharp. Hiei looked up to see Sakura looking like a slim, elegant, dark beauty. He felt a blush come on his cheeks as he saw her.
"Finally, you men take forever!" She smirked to tease.
"Oh shush sis. You look really nice by the way!" Kaneki smiled to her as they each stepped up to the shrine temple.
"Is Toki ready?" Youne asked as he walked up.
"You look great too Kaneki! Yes, she's getting pictures done right now. She'll be down soon to get pictures with you before we begin." Sakura explained.
Sakura looked over to Hiei as he stepped up and she gasped slightly. Seeing him well put together with his black suit. He walked up to her with a smirk.
"You'd be surprised how uncomfortable this is." He whispered to her.
She giggled as she noticed his tie was just slightly crooked.
"Don't worry, all the guys let loose at the reception." She told him while reaching up and fixing his tie.
"You look beautiful." He looked her in the eyes.
She slightly blushed and smiled.
"Nah, I just fake it well. You look very handsome though. Thank you for doing this." She pulled her hands back and nodded to him before walking into the temple.
They stepped inside and watched as Toki and her fiancé came down the stairs side by side. They followed behind as everyone prepared for the ceremonial march with the bride, groom and family. Ending the march inside the temple. Sakura and Hiei sat down watching the ceremony take place. The sharing of sake cup, the vows, and ring exchange. Once it was all over, the whole room took a cup of sake and cheered in a ceremonious congratulatory drink. After that, Toki and her husband got out of their formal wear into more modern formal wear and everyone including more guests started making their way across from the temple to the banquet room. The house music played as everyone sat down and filled up the empty tables.
"Introducing for the first time Mr. and Mrs. Iketani!" The DJ echoed over the microphone.
Toki and Youne walked in as everyone cheered. They sat at their bride and groom table next to the tower of cake. Sakura and Hiei sat together at a table by the dance floor. Sakura looked by the DJ and saw a baby grand piano all set with a mic. She took a nervous heavy breath.
"You're nervous? I thought you used to perform daily at your old job?" Hiei looked to her.
"I just wish I had more time to practice the song. I had a very strict set of music I could only play at my old job. This song isn't one I've played many times. Wish me luck." She admitted while taking one last deep breath.
"You won't need it." Hiei smirked then watched her head to the piano.
She sat down at the piano, adjusted the microphone, and waited for her queue.
"And now if the bride and groom will come to the center of the dance floor for their first dance as husband and wife." The DJ quieted the house music.
"Sakura Takahashi performing... So Close."
Sakura gently ran her fingers on the keys to begin playing the song. She sang softly as she watched her sister have her dance on the floor.
"You're in my arms, and all the world is gone. The music plaaaaying on, for ooonlyyy twooo." She sang.
Hiei watched as if staring into a day dream. Watching Sakura sing and play for the first time was amazing to him. He saw how well she was at it and why she had a job in doing just that.
"And almost believing, this one's not pretend. Let's go on dreaming for we know we are... So close, so close and still so far..." She finished singing as her eyes glanced over to Hiei.
She saw he was already watching her and she turned her gaze away to her sister. Sakura clapped with everyone to her sister and now brother-in-law. Toki hurried over to Sakura as the house music went back on to share a warm embrace.
"Thank you Sakura-chan! That was so beautiful and perfect! I love you so much for doing that! Thank you thank you thank you!"
"It was my pleasure! Now go enjoy your husband!" Sakura smiled and watched Toki go back to the dance floor with other people now surrounding them dancing.
She made her way back to the table with Hiei.
"Dinner will be served soon. I know you don't like red meat so I told them you'd want the fish." Hiei told her.
Sakura looked to him surprised.
"How do you know I don't like red meat?"
"You never eat it. I may not be as observant as you, but I'm not blind." He smirked to her.
"Oh...Sorry." She looked away almost embarrassed.
"By the way, you really have talent in music." He told her as he looked at the dance floor.
"Thank you, Hiei." She smiled.
After dinner and cake of the wedding. Hiei and other men began taking off their ties and jackets to get more comfortable. The music tempo started to get more and more pumped up. Until a slow song suddenly came on. The DJ admitted it was the last slow song of the night, so for couples to take advantage. One and Only by Adele came on. Hiei stood up and turned to Sakura holding out his hand.
"May I have this dance?" He asked.
She looked at his hand then to him.
"Are you sure?" She looked at him with worry.
"Would I ask you if I wasn't?" He smirked.
She took a smile and deep breath before taking his hand and standing up. They first stood at arms length beginning a gentle side stepping dance. When the dance floor became slightly crowded Hiei put his hand around her waist and pulled her in slightly closer. She blushed and looked away.
"Trust me." He whispered in her ear.
She looked to him with a blush on her cheeks and nodded.
"I do." She smiled.
He took her hand and placed it on his shoulder to put his other hand on her waist.
"If you did, you wouldn't be so hesitant to even take my hand." He told her softly.
She blushed slightly from him noticing.
"He doesn't know how I feel about him..." She thought so her emotions wouldn't get out of control.
"And I was speaking honestly. You do look beautiful." He added.
She blushed and took a deep breath to stop the butterflies in her chest.
"There's a lot of people around. He's just doing it for your family. Calm down, Sakura." She thought.
"You're too kind, Hiei." She smiled to him.
He noticed her smile was more forced than natural. He furrowed his brows in concern to her.
"It's the truth."
They slowly stopped as the song stopped. Sakura smile and nodded to him before walking away as a heavy bass, upbeat song over took the party. Hiei quickly lost her as she walked away through a small crowd hurrying to the dance floor. Once he broke free he went to their table to see it empty. Even the small purse she had was gone.
"She's avoiding me." He thought while looking around for her.
He saw Kaneki at the bar and walked up to him.
"Kaneki-san, have you seen Sakura?" Hiei asked him.
"AH Hiei-kun! Call me Kaneki-kun! I like you! I hope you and Sakura get married one day you know?" He slurred, as he patted Hiei's shoulder.
Kaneki was obviously enjoying the open bar with other family.
"Your blessing is much appreciated. But have you seen her?" He asked again.
"Oh she does that. She's never one for crowds, you know? She tends to disappear until things calm down." Kaneki waved off.
"That doesn't help me." Hiei thought as he patted Kaneki's back with a nod and went back to the table to think.
Back at the house Sakura would hide in the music room. This was a banquet hall with nothing like that. There was the kitchen, storage closets, and the parking lot in the front. Hiei looked around some more, observing the area better then spotted back doors.
"An outdoor patio?" He thought as he stood up.
He walked over and saw through the glass. He found her standing outside leaning against the metal railing. She was looking up at the bright crescent moon. He pushed down the door handle and stepped outside. Sakura turned when she heard the click of the door.
"Oh, hey." She awkwardly turned her back to him.
"You disappeared fast. Did I say something wrong?" He mentioned as he walked up and stood next to her.
"No no, nothing like that. Too many people make me feel overwhelmed." She shrugged.
She looked down and saw that Hiei had rolled up his sleeves. Once again she saw his arm without the wrap he usually wore, and there was no mark of a dragon.
"You didn't have to hide your dragon for this." She told him.
He looked down at his arm then to her.
"It's one less thing to explain. A good cover consists of as few things to explain as possible." He told her.
She nodded in agreement and they stood there in silence for a moment as a cool breeze passed by.
"We can leave tomorrow morning. I'm sure my family won't expect us to stay for long tomorrow." She spoke up.
He looked to her.
"Morning sounds fine to me." He straightened his posture and turned to her.
She stood from leaning on the rail and looked at him.
"Tell me something." He started.
She nodded as a reply.
"Do I make you feel uncomfortable?" He asked.
Her eyes widened then turned her gaze to confusion.
"N-no, we live together, of course not." She huffed a small laugh.
"Then why you pull away from my touch?" He folded his arms not believing her.
"What do you mean? I don't pull away."
"Yes you do, every time I've held your hand or held onto you here. You've pulled away."
"Wha-well I-I'm just." She stammered.
"You feel uncomfortable with me." He answered for her.
"No, Hiei that's not it."
"Then you don't trust me."
"No." Her tone turned serious.
"I DO trust you. Don't you say that."
"You wouldn't pull away from me if you did." He dropped his arms and offered his hand.
"Care to prove me wrong?" He smirked.
She looked at his hand and took it smirking back. He smirked and went to step closer to her, when she took a step back. He raised his brows to her.
"See?" He smirked.
"What are you doing?" She asked him with worry in her eyes.
"You claim to trust me, but you really don't." He explained as his smirk turned to a serious gaze.
"I trust him with my life...not with my heart..." She thought.
His hand gripped softly onto hers. She looked up to him in his eyes.
"Do you want to trust me?" He asked.
She took a deep breath with a thought and nodded to him.
"I want to." She admitted.
"Then...trust me." He spoke softly to her and took another step forward to her.
She stood in place and at first turned her gaze away from him, but then forced her eyes back to his. She was taken back by his soft look he gave her. He gently lifted his other hand to her face and brushed a hair from her face to tuck behind her ear.
"H-Hiei..." She breathed as her heart began to flutter regardless of logical thinking.
He placed his hand on his on her face. As she looked to him almost pleadingly. Pleading what exactly, was something even she was unsure of.
"May I kiss you?" He asked softly.
Her eyes widened in shock.
"He's serious?!" She thought with a slight panic.
"Y-yes." She forced out
He let go of your hand to wrap his around her waist to pull her close. His other hand gently held her face as he leaned in and gently pressed his lips against hers. She closed her eyes, and moved her hands up his chest to his neck. She began to kiss him back when her eyes snapped open, sensing something strange.
