Chapter 2

Of all the things Hiei could have said, Yukina's wedding was way down on the list. In fact, it wasn't even on the list. It was way off floating in space next to the asteroid belt.

"She's getting married?" Rin cried. Yukina the ice princess had always been so sweet, with a preternatural composure and kindness to everyone, even Toguro and Tarukane. Clearly she was the superior sibling, in Rin's opinion. "To who? Why didn't I hear about this?"

"Will you stop that?" Hiei barked, wincing, but even his trademark cynicism couldn't stop her huge grin. "I have no idea what has possessed her, or how he tricked my sister, but it's that giant oaf. Kuwabara." He ground the name out as if he'd like to chew Kuwabara up and spit him out.

Rin couldn't help it. It might have been the wine helping her along, but she whooped with glee, earning another wince from the fire demon. "That is so fucking cute! I knew they would make it. Come on, tell me the details! Have they set a date?"

Fantasies of Yukina in a fluffy white dress at an altar, a dapper Kuwabara by her side, floated through Rin's head. Or maybe they'd have a destination wedding on a beach in Hawaii. Yukina would of course look stunning in anything, from a Western ball gown to a formal white wedding kimono.

"It's this weekend."

The statement dropped like a rock through Rin's daydreams. This weekend? And she hadn't even been invited? Sure, she hadn't talked to them in years, but they were teammates. At least she had thought so. Her face fell, but she rallied quickly. Well, if they didn't want her there, it was no skin off her nose.

"And?" She raised an eyebrow. "Why are you telling me this?"

Hiei leaned against the wall and fingered the blue gem around his neck. "That idiot human is having a Western-style wedding."

"Oh. Oh." Western-style meant someone walking Yukina down the aisle. It meant a bridal party and a reception with dancing. And of course Yukina would want her brother to be a part of it. She grinned, imagining Hiei stiffly escorting his sister to Kuwabara, face thunderous, still wearing his raggedy cloak. "I assume you didn't come here to spread the good news, Hiei." She stared at him pointedly.

The fire demon shifted his weight, then rubbed at the back of his neck. He looked away as he answered, voice low and stilted. "Yukina wants me there. Wearing human clothes. Performing the ridiculous human rituals. And I…" He trailed off with a grunt of frustration.

Then it all clicked, and Rin's eyes widened. "I get it now. You don't know how, and you need help! You'd never want to disappoint Yukina." She crossed her arms and leaned back, a knowing smile on her face. "Let me guess, you came to me because I'm not invited and you can't bear asking any of the others."

His silence was proof enough; she could almost hear his teeth grinding. Rin couldn't help but let a laugh escape. Hiei, the almighty fire demon, wielder of the Dragon of the Darkness Flame, champion of the Dark Tournament, needed help with his sister's wedding. This was too good.

"Don't give me that self-satisfied smirk," the fire demon snarled. "You look just like that damn fox. And I don't need your help, girl."

"It's Rin, remember? Not 'girl.' And it seems like you do - need help, I mean - if you came here, to Human World," she pointed out. Hiei's eyes narrowed. "Now, why should I help you?" She made sure to emphasize that word, and he visibly shuddered.

At that question, his red eyes lit up under his fringe of black hair. "You owe me a debt. I've come to collect."

Rin couldn't help it. She burst out laughing, slapping the top of the kotatsu table. Hiei stiffened, stunned, then his brows drew down in a glare.

"What in the world are you laughing at?" he asked.

Wiping away tears of laughter, Rin tried to calm down, but the wine wasn't helping. Between hiccups and giggles, she said, "I owe you a life debt, and to pay it off, you want me to help you with your sister's wedding?" She descended into gales of laughter again.

"Get a hold of yourself," Hiei said, as Rin calmed down in fits and starts, giggles bursting from between her lips just when she thought she was done.

He bristled like an angry hedgehog in the corner of her living room. The fire demon was not in the habit of needing anything from anyone, and it must have been driving him absolutely nuts to need something from her now, especially the person he had spent their entire acquaintance insulting. Rin remembered his gruff voice calling her useless, luggage, and dead weight at the Dark Tournament and after. The list went on. Was she reveling a little too much in having some power over him? Maybe. But the little shit deserved it.

Taking big gulps of air, Rin finally calmed her laughing fit. Ignoring the fire demon in the corner, she refilled her wine and sat again at her kotatsu. "Fine. I'll help you," she said. Hiei perked up. "My assistance with Yukina's wedding will wipe out my debt to you for saving my life. Does that sound fair?"

"Fine. Get on with it," he said impatiently.

Rin got down to business and shifted into work mode, grabbing a notebook and pen and opening to a fresh page. "Come here, Hiei. I'm not yelling at you from across the room." The fire demon looked affronted, but reluctantly sat at the kotatsu again. She continued, "It's Tuesday, so we've got three days to get you ready. Two and a half if they're having a welcome party Friday. I'm assuming you need an outfit. Did you book a hotel room? She didn't ask you to make a speech, did she? I hope not. Do you have the invitation? And what about a wedding present? I wonder if they have a wedding website…"

Looking like he had been pole-axed, Hiei was swept under the tide of her questions, his expression becoming more and more confused. Rin took down notes, dismayed at the sheer number of items they would have three days (two and a half!) to fix. Essentially, Hiei had done nothing. He had lurked around at various menswear stores, but hadn't gone in. He had no money, so he hadn't gotten a hotel room or bought a present. He had spied on a few human weddings, so he got the basic gist, at least.

Produced from the folds of his black cloak came the crumpled invitation. Rin smoothed it out and grinned at the design - cherry blossoms and snowflakes.

"Wait, this says you have a plus one," she said, noting down the details of the wedding, including where, when, and how. When asked these questions earlier, Hiei's response had been a shrug.

The fire demon refused to meet her eyes as he nodded and grumbled, "Before you ask, it was Mukuro."

Rin filed that away for later investigation. "Well, you can't go alone - it will mess up their numbers." She knew that firsthand from various friends that had gotten married in the last ten years. She had needed to scramble for a partner to take to a wedding a time or two. Besides the numbers, Hiei wouldn't want to show up alone and face everyone's teasing, either. "Who are you taking instead? Botan, maybe? Shizuru?"

Focused on scribbling in her notebook, she didn't notice the long silence from the other side of the table for a beat. Looking up, she was paralyzed by the look in the demon's flaming eyes. He was staring straight at her, one eyebrow raised. She knew that look. It was his 'are you an idiot' look.

In a flash, her grasp of the situation changed. As it turned out, she had plans for the weekend after all.