Chapter 5

The vaulted ceiling of the church soared above her, its stained glass windows sending mosaics of color over the pews. Yukina and Kuwabara had decorated the church with sprays of cherry blossoms and powder blue roses, baby's breath and soft green fern fronds. At the altar stood an arch of palm-sized glittering white snowflakes, radiating cold that she could feel even in the rear of the church. Yukina's handiwork, of course. Soft instrumental music came from somewhere in the nave, a soothing undercurrent to the chatter of wedding guests finding their seats. Rin sat in the very back row, on the assumption that she shouldn't take up prime real estate in the closer pews. She was definitely not hiding. Just being courteous to other, more important guests.

She wondered how Hiei was doing. As soon as they had arrived last night, Rin had sent him off to attend the rehearsal and the following dinner, and hadn't seen him since. She had gone up to her hotel room to take a long bath in the jacuzzi tub with a book. Indulging herself, she had ordered room service for dinner, then watched movies until she fell asleep. She kept half-expecting a knock on the balcony door, but none came. No, she wasn't hiding from anyone, she had thought. She was taking a well-deserved break.

And she wasn't hiding now. Even though she had chosen a seat farthest from the center aisle in the back corner of the church and her head was on a swivel watching the arriving guests, her heart in her mouth in case she might see some of the old crew. Everything was fine. It wasn't weird to show up to a wedding uninvited, especially if the last thing you said to the groom and his friends had been yelled.

Genkai's temple had stood under overcast skies that day. The nightmare of the Dark Tournament was finally over and the whole team was recovering at the enclave in the mountains, while Botan and the rest of the girls had gone home to rest.

Rin had sipped her tea as the team discussed the previous day's fights. Or at least, Yusuke and Kuwabara did while Kurama chimed in occasionally in his soft voice and Genkai listened. Hiei was off somewhere in the woods. Back then, Rin's spirit senses had been more honed, and she could feel the burning coal of his presence somewhere out in the trees.

The cup rattled against the table as she set it down. Her hands hadn't stopped shaking since yesterday.

"...Rin? Hey, earth to Rin," said Yusuke, waving a hand in her face. At her questioning look, he asked, "What did you think of my fight with Toguro? It sucks you didn't get to fight in the finals, but you could at least be excited we won."

"Yeah, we beat those nasty demons to a pulp!" Kuwabara chimed in. She had been trying not to look at him so she wouldn't have to remember his stone gray face, the blood dyeing his clothes stiff red, Toguro grinning that awful rictus smile under his shades.

"Are you all right, Rin?" Kurama asked, putting a cool hand on her arm. His green eyed gaze was kind.

She covered her face with her trembling hands, a sob threatening to rip from her chest. Between her fingers, she ground out, "No, I'm not alright. We all almost died yesterday - some of us did die yesterday," Genkai raised a brow, "And you all act like it's a game!" Stumbling to her feet, she cried, "This has never been a game! How can you all act so casual about it? I can't do this anymore. I can't."

They all stared at her with wide eyes, stunned by her outburst, except for Genkai, whose look was appraising.

She turned for the door.

"Rin, wait!" Kurama called after her.

She hadn't waited, hadn't said goodbye. She had gone home as quickly as her feet and the Japanese transit system could take her.

A hush fell over the church as the pianist took a seat at the organ and began to play a gentle melody. It was starting. Rin sat up straight and shook the memories away as she craned to see.

First down the aisle was Kuwabara, russet hair slicked back away from his face and wearing the hell out of a pristine white suit. He was puffed up like a preening rooster and smiling so wide that he was practically glowing. In the ten years since Rin had seen him, Kuwabara had grown into a man; while he had always been tall and broad, gone was the gawky, lanky teen with the jelly roll pompadour. There was a confident ease to his walk that said he was more at home with himself and the world than ever before.

Next came Botan on Kurama's arm, the ferrygirl stunning in an ice blue tea length dress with a floating, ruffly skirt and the fox demon in a sharp gray suit. Botan was beaming fit to burst; Kurama wore one of his sly smiles. Then Yusuke sauntered through the doors with Shizuru. The elder Kuwabara wore a slim-cut suit in the same shade as Botan's dress, while the Spirit Detective matched Kurama in gray. They all assembled at the front of the church in neat rows flanking the altar and officiant.

At each appearance of her former friends, a separate bolt of shame and anxiety stabbed deep into her heart. This was a terrible idea. She needed to leave. She wasn't welcome here and shouldn't have come in the first place. She started to rise, intending to make a quick getaway out the side door.

The music changed to a hauntingly lovely tune, and it felt like the whole world held its breath. Shit. Rin was stuck now. She sank back to her seat.

A brief pause, and the bride appeared. Yukina, her seafoam green hair caught up in a loose, romantic chignon at the back of her neck, wore a floating ball gown of white tulle with a sweetheart neckline and off the shoulder sleeves. As she moved, sparkles of blue in the fabric of the dress caught the light and twinkled. No veil, just the beauty of her quietly joyous face, her eyes only for Kuwabara as she carried a bouquet of ice blue roses and snowflakes.

So stunned was Rin by Yukina's loveliness that she almost missed Hiei escorting her down the aisle. He was a black shadow next to her radiance, uneasiness clear in the taut lines of his body. Through her emotional turmoil, a distant part of Rin's brain noted that he looked damn good in that suit. His hair was wild as ever, but the clean lines of the garment showed off his trim body. After their slow walk to the altar, the fire demon bent to his sister's ear for just a moment, then took a seat in the front pew.

The ceremony was brief but heartfelt and romantic. Botan read a short poem on the nature of love, while Shizuru recited a passage from Shinto scripture. Kuwabara looked as though he was going to explode from sheer joy, blushing furiously when the officiant said, "You may now kiss the bride," and gave Yukina a gentle, chaste kiss.

As the church erupted in clapping and cheers, Yukina and Kuwabara led the way down the aisle hand in hand. Their smiles were incandescent.

Rin pretended to hunt for something in her clutch as the rest of the wedding party followed them out and the guests began to leave. Not hiding, not hiding at all, she thought. It had been nice to see everyone (from a distance), but Hiei could handle himself for the cocktail hour and reception. She would just head home. She didn't belong here.

"Rin. What a surprise," said a voice behind her, silken and smooth.

She froze, feeling like a helpless baby rabbit square in the sights of a hungry fox.

Rin hadn't even felt his approach. She turned to see Kurama, emerald green eyes fixed on her. Of course she hadn't escaped his notice.

He continued, gaze sharpening, "I wasn't aware that you were attending. In fact, I doubt that the bride and groom know. How interesting that you appear at a wedding that is a closely guarded secret, in which the Spirit Detective and his friends are all in one place." Under the silk in his voice was the steel of Youko Kurama, ready to defend his friends against any threat. Voice lowering, he asked, "Why are you here?"

The church had emptied out, and she and Kurama had its serene silence to themselves. Rin felt very alone. Faintly she could hear cheering from outside; the well-wishers were sending the Kuwabaras to their cocktail hour. Confusion and fear filled her. Even if they hadn't spoken in years, she never would have thought that Kurama would suspect her of the intention to harm anyone, especially her friends. Her former friends. Did he think she was an agent of some new threat, that she had turned traitor? The fact that he hadn't incapacitated her on sight and had chosen to speak with her was a good sign. She knew firsthand that Kurama was protective of his friends and vicious when they were threatened. Maybe a bit of their old friendship had survived.

Rin hesitated, not sure what to tell the clever fox. If she lied, he would smell it on her, and that would go very badly for her indeed. She decided on the truth. "I'm not… actually invited," she said. "I mean, I didn't get an invitation." Kurama's green eyes narrowed. "I'm here as Hiei's plus one."

The fox's shoulders relaxed by a fraction, though he was still watching her carefully. After a long, considering pause, he said, "That is a surprise. Hiei didn't say a word about it."

"Well, you know him. He doesn't tell anyone anything." She laughed awkwardly, trying to break the tension so she could gracefully exit with all limbs intact. "It was kind of a last-minute thing. Actually, I was thinking about heading home after this."

The ruby-haired fox demon considered her for a long moment. "Nonsense. We wouldn't want Hiei to go without his date. And I'm sure Yusuke and the others will want to see you." The 'and I can keep an eye on you' was heavily implied.

Under Kurama's watchful gaze she gathered her things; he escorted her to her car with a gentle but firm grip on her upper arm and took the passenger seat. Clearly he was not going to let her out of his sight until he checked her story with Hiei. Rin felt the primal fear of a small prey animal in the sights of a wary predator. She wasn't looking forward to the rest of the night under his watchful green gaze. One toe out of line and she'd be finished.