March 25, 1996

"Remember, Hiei, go when I give the signal," Keiko hissed, for about the hundredth time.

"I know, Keiko!" Hiei hissed back.

"And if you mess this up," she warned, "I swear I will ruin your life."

"Don't worry, Keiko," Yukina said with a smile. "My wedding will go off whether Hiei does this perfectly or not."

Well, maybe the wedding would go off all right, but Keiko looked like she was about to go off, too, so Hiei decided to take her threat seriously. He peeked out into the ballroom and felt sick with nerves all over again. The place was packed with guests. Kuwabara was waiting up at the altar for Yukina, with the other groomsmen—Yusuke (best man), Kurama, and Kurama's stepbrother—and the bridesmaids—Botan, Shizuru, and Kurama's stepbrother's girlfriend—were standing a few feet away, ready to walk up the aisle, with Yukina (the bride), Keiko (the maid of honor), and Hiei to follow. Hiei was a groomsman, too, but he had another, special job. As the brother of the bride, he would be the one to walk Yukina down the aisle. And he was terrified.

This was actually the second time Hiei had been in a wedding party; he'd been one of Yusuke's groomsmen in his wedding to Keiko. But all he'd had to do then was stand there and walk back down the aisle with one of the bridesmaids once the ceremony was over. Now he had to actually walk to the altar with the bride, and every single person in the room would be watching him. He could just see himself tripping or going too early or too late and ruining Yukina's wedding.

And, just like that, the music began. Hiei looped his arm through Yukina's and started to walk, but Keiko gripped the back of his tuxedo jacket with rather more force than was necessary, so he figured it wasn't time yet. The bridesmaids, one by one, started to walk down the aisle. Hiei watched the whole thing: all three of them lining up right by where Yukina would be, opposite to the groomsmen. Hiei waited, positively sweating despite the cool March day.

Then the music got louder, grander—Keiko shoved Hiei's back ("Go!")—Yukina straightened up, her eyes focused on the altar—everyone stood up—Hiei could barely walk, his legs like jelly as they started down the aisle, his arm in Yukina's, Keiko carrying the train of Yukina's dress.

Come on, you can do this, Hiei was saying to himself. One foot after the other…They aren't looking at you, they're looking at Yukina…

Especially one person. As soon as he saw his beautiful bride, Kuwabara's face lit up like Christmas morning. It was difficult not to support Yukina's marriage, if she was getting married to a guy who looked at her like that.

There was one person looking more at Hiei than at Yukina. But somehow, that settled Hiei's nerves a bit, instead of making them worse, for it was Kurama, an encouraging smile on his face. It still seemed to take an eternity, but finally, the group of three arrived at the altar. Keiko took her place as maid of honor, and Hiei paused, Yukina still holding onto his arm.

"Yukina…" Hiei took a breath to keep his voice steady. "Only a few years ago, we met for the first time…I can't believe I'm holding onto your arm, walking you up the aisle. To start a new life with a man who loves you." He looked at Kuwabara.

Hiei coughed, hoping this wouldn't get embarrassing.

"Don't think of it as losing a sister, Hiei," Yukina said softly as he let go of her arm. "Think of it as gaining a brother."

Hiei glanced at Kuwabara, and he could tell everyone was waiting with bated breath, especially those who knew of the friction between the two.

"I told you Yukina can make her own choices," Hiei continued, with just a ghost of a smile on his face. "But in this case…I agree with her choice. I may not love you, but she does. And that's all that matters to me."

The look of shock on Kuwabara's face was unbelievable, but it soon morphed into a grin. Hiei looked to his left at the groomsmen; they were smiling, too, though Kurama seemed to be beaming the most out of all of them. The bridesmaids were all wiping their eyes.

"You break her heart, I break your jaw," Hiei continued, to laughter from the audience. "Take good care of her."

"As your brother-in-law, and as a man, you have my word," Kuwabara replied gallantly.

"I love you, Hiei," Yukina whispered, kissing him on the forehead.

"I love you too, Yukina," Hiei whispered back, and she smiled too, as her brother left to take his place among the other groomsmen, right next to Kurama.

"That was quite a speech," Kurama muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

"I only did what you're always saying I should do," Hiei replied. "I said what I felt."

"Well, I'm impressed," Kurama told him. "Let's hope you can do the same in our wedding next month."

Hiei felt his stomach disappear, his face flush. How was he going to pull that off? But as soon as he saw the warm, teasing smile Kurama reserved for him and him alone, he knew it was going to be okay.

As long as they loved each other.

-the end-