Chapter 9

"Shots! Let's do shots!" Yusuke yelled energetically over the din of the wedding reception in full swing. "Shots! Shots!" He motioned in the direction of the bar like a hopped-up referee signaling a field goal.

No matter that this was the second time that he had demanded everyone do shots. The Kuwabaras had declined with the excuse that they needed to mingle with guests, but everyone else, from Kurama to Keiko to Rin herself, was obliged to down a shot of tequila. Only Hiei had abstained; his red-eyed glower had answered for him as he leaned against the wall.

"You're not getting out of it this time, Hiei," Yusuke said, slinging an arm over Hiei's shoulders. Yusuke's tie was loosened, his suit jacket gone, and most likely only Keiko knew where it was. Hiei gave the Spirit Detective a disgruntled glare and tried to shrug away Yusuke's hold, but like many tipsy and determined people, Yusuke clung like a barnacle.

Botan grabbed Rin's arm and towed her towards the bar. "Let's go! More shots! And then we dance!" As she passed Yusuke and the struggling Hiei, she yelled over the tumult, "Come on, Hiei, be a good sport!"

Hiei was manhandled to the bar and over his flat protests, Yusuke ordered another round of shots. The bartenders chuckled and poured them out in a long line across the granite bar where Kurama, Keiko and Shizuru waited. Botan and Rin shouldered their way through the crowd to stand next to the Spirit Detective and the fire demon.

"Don't tell me the all-powerful master of the Dragon of the Darkness flame is scared of a little drink," Yusuke said loudly.

Nearby guests stopped whatever they were doing and turned towards Yusuke's blaring declaration. Kurama and Shizuru watched Hiei coolly with twin appraising looks, and even sweet Keiko seemed skeptical. The fire demon squirmed under all the attention.

"You think I'm afraid, Urameshi? Unlike you humans, I have no need to prove myself by drinking excessive amounts of liquor," Hiei said, regarding the shots of clear liquid with distaste.

"I think you're right, Yusuke. The half pint's scared," Kuwabara said from behind them, grinning. He and Yukina approached the bar in another one of the couple's brief appearances before they were pulled away.

The tulle layers of Yukina's dress swished as she moved to touch Hiei's arm. He instantly stilled, all his focus on her. "Brother, I was hoping that you would relax and enjoy yourself this evening, but if you are uncomfortable…" She trailed off, gentle concern in her warm scarlet eyes.

The fire demon grumbled and ducked his chin.

Loud music pulsed across the dance floor. Rin could feel it in her bones and shivering against her ear drums. It was hard to think with all the noise. She didn't condone peer pressure, but Hiei definitely deserved it after all his snide remarks to everyone over the years. He was the one who had dragged her here in the first place, and so far the only thing she had gotten out of it was a suspicious fox demon and an admittedly tasty dinner; usually wedding food was subpar at best. But she wanted to see what Hiei was like when he loosened up and let himself go. Was that even possible? She didn't know, but maybe she could find out.

Rin bumped Hiei's shoulder; he started but did not move away. She took two glasses, handed one to him, and held his surprised gaze as she clinked hers to his. Grinning as she gave him a teasing look, she raised her glass; Hiei sighed and rolled his eyes but finally held his shot up. Rin grinned, then downed hers in one burning gulp. It ran down her throat and pooled in her stomach, filling it with fire. After a moment of hesitation Hiei did the same and then slammed the empty shot glass down on the bar.

Yusuke and Botan cheered wildly. Except the newlyweds who had disappeared again, the rest of the group took the cue, taking the shots all down the line. Kurama downed his like it was his job, Shizuru took it stoically, and Keiko drank hers in little sips.

"More shots!" Yusuke called, and the whole group, even Hiei, took another one together.

After three shots of tequila and a glass of wine at dinner, Rin was feeling decidedly tipsy, verging on drunk. Botan grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the packed dance floor. Keiko joined them and the three girls danced together, Botan's long blue hair flying like a flag after it fell out of its pins. They sang along to the songs they knew, waltzed each other around the floor, and held hands as they danced in a circle. Rin thought blearily that she may have stepped on Botan or Keiko's foot at some point, but no one minded.

The current song ended and Rin put her hands on her knees, out of breath, overheated, and laughing. She told Botan and Keiko that she was going to get some water and headed for her table, dodging other wedding guests cutting up the dance floor. She passed a crowd of guests with Kuwabara and Yukina in the center, all of them screaming along to what Rin thought was a Megallica song. As she left the packed space, she took a deep breath of cool air. Kurama, Shizuru, and her mysterious lady friend were sitting at a vacated table in the corner talking. Other guests sat at tables watching the dancers or crowded the bar looking for more drinks.

Rin gulped down water from her discarded glass from dinner, finally feeling the throbbing of her feet in her heels. Hesitating for only a moment, she kicked them off under her chair. She'd come back for them later.

Her heart slowing, she wondered where Hiei was. Certainly not on the dance floor. He had only appeared there voluntarily once this evening: his dance with Yukina. Instead of a traditional father-daughter dance after her first dance with her new husband, Yukina had chosen to dance with her brother.

Barely half an hour ago, a haunting melody had drifted across the empty dance floor. Kuwabara departed after taking a bow, leaving Yukina standing by herself in the spotlight, looking for all the world like a icy ballerina in a silent music box. As the music swelled, Hiei appeared, face stoic and posture straight and tall like a soldier at attention. He took Yukina's hand and swept her into an elegant waltz, his figure dark and severe against her floating, shimmering dress. Already emotional from Yukina's romantic dance with Kuwabara, Rin wiped away a few tears as Hiei twirled his long-lost sister. She wondered how he was feeling: a sister lost for so long, found for a time, and now bound to a new husband. Not that Yukina was anyone's property or that they'd never see each other again, but it had to feel like an old wound reopened for the lonely fire demon.

Hiei had always preferred to stay on the edges of things, never the center of attention. She remembered him sitting on the windowsill in their hotel room at the Dark Tournament and perching in trees on overnight missions, always at a distance from everyone else. Now he had danced in the spotlight for his sister, and Rin was so proud of him. When the dance ended, the crowd erupted in cheers, but Hiei's head was down, his steps slow as he left his sister behind and the dance floor filled again.

Dragging her attention back to the present with only partial success, Rin scanned the banquet hall for a familiar black-clad figure and spied him leaning against a wall, again watching Yukina, expression melancholy. Before she could second guess herself, she went over and propped herself next to him.

"And people say demons are uncivilized. Where are your shoes?" Hands stuffed in the pockets of his unbuttoned suit jacket, he kept his eyes on Yukina as he spoke.

"My feet hurt," Rin said simply.

One red eye slid her way. "Tch. Typical. Humans can't handle a little pain. I've kept these horrible dress shoes on for hours."

"You're not wearing heels," she said, smirking at him.

Hiei harrumphed and then silence fell. A silence that stretched on as Hiei watched his sister throw her arms around Kuwabara. His posture, unlike in his earlier dance with Yukina, was slumped, his eyes a gloomy, shadowed crimson.

"Hey, are you okay?" Rin asked hesitantly. "You seem a little more down than usual. If you wanted, we could talk about it?"

He didn't reply for a long moment. Then, shaking his head: "I have no need to talk about anything. It's you humans who need each other to prattle on endlessly about your," Hiei looked like he was chewing on a bitter root, "...feelings."

Rin stared, incredulous, momentarily at a loss for words. Putting her hands on her hips, she rounded on him.

"I can tell you're upset about something, and it's pretty clear what it's about." She pointed at Yukina and Kuwabara in the middle of the dance floor. Her words came out louder than she intended; people at nearby tables turned to stare.

Hiei made a strangled noise and grabbed her arm. His grip burned on her skin. "Don't point," he commanded, the words coming out slightly slurred.

Maybe those shots had affected him more than he was letting on, Rin thought. Plus the wine at dinner. She glanced at his hand on her arm and he dropped it like a live coal. Or in his case, like an icicle.

"Come on, just talk to me," she said quietly, searching his face.

Pain flashed in his eyes before they shuttered again, and his hands balled into fists. He snarled, "I don't need this," and blinked away. One second there, the next gone.

Rin had seen him use his flash step many times before, but never from so close. His abrupt disappearance was disconcerting and gave her something close to the nausea of motion sickness. As she blearily scanned the room, she saw that the door to the outdoor patio was just swinging closed.

The patio was quiet and deserted, the air fresh and chilly after the humidity and heat of the banquet hall. It was dark except for the gently twinkling fairy lights, the still-burning fire pits, and the cool light of the moon. A familiar silhouette sat on the railing.

Taking a deep breath, Rin steeled herself before she padded across the patio on bare feet. The moonlight lined the edges of his hair with silver; the rest of him sat in dark shadow. She hesitated, standing a few feet behind him, not sure if she should say something or go.

"I know you're there." His voice was tired, all of his usual fire gone. "You humans are all the same. You never leave me alone."

"If you really want me to go, I will," Rin said, watching her breath fog in the night air. The cement was icy cold on her bare feet; she hopped from foot to foot and crossed her arms over her chest, wishing she had thought to bring a cardigan.

The black silhouette before her was silent. She waited a few moments, then realized he wasn't going to speak. But he hadn't told her to go away, which for Hiei was as good an invitation as she was likely to get. She stepped up to the railing, giving him a few feet of space. Hiei's personal bubble was a lot bigger than most people's.

When the silence stretched longer, Rin said, "Hiei, I…" She trailed off, then started again. "I've known you since I was fifteen. I can tell you're hurting."

His face was in shadow, so she couldn't see his expression. After a few moments he mumbled something.

"What?" Rin asked as she strained to hear, rubbing her goosebump-covered arms.

"Come here," he finally said, much louder. "If you insist we do this feelings thing, I won't repeat myself."

The air warmed as she stepped closer to him, like he was a burning star fallen to earth. By the time she was at his side, she had stopped shivering. He radiated heat like a small furnace, the space around him much warmer than the time they had learned to dance together.

"Thanks," she said gratefully. "It's pretty cold out here." Then, unable to control her curiosity: "Can you control how much heat you put out?"

She expected him to make a crack about the weakness of humans or scoff at her question, but he surprised her when after a moment he said, "Of all the people in Human and Demon World, why did she have to choose Kuwabara?" Hiei spat the name like a curse.

Rin mulled over his question. Finally, she said, "I can't tell you that, Hiei. True love, I guess."

He scoffed.

"But I don't think it's Kuwabara that's really the issue here," Rin continued.

He sat up ramrod straight, then stopped her in place with one fiery glance. "Since you can read my mind now, tell me what my problem is." His voice was sarcastic with a razor's edge of indignation.

Rin quailed, then rallied. If he wasn't willing to confront his emotions, she was going to help him do it. It wasn't healthy to keep everything bottled up; she knew that firsthand from years of therapy. "Like I said, this isn't about Kuwabara. I think you're scared of being alone again. It doesn't matter who Yukina marries. What really matters is that you feel like she's leaving you."

Hiei whirled to look at her straight on, so suddenly that Rin fell back a step against the railing. His normally unflappable face was open with shock, his eyes stormy with conflicting emotions. It seemed she had struck a blow right to the very heart of him, hitting the bullseye cleanly.


Author's note: It's time for more drama, baby! This was a hard chapter for me to write. Hiei is a difficult character to dig into emotionally, especially since he is kind of one-note in the anime (Hiei fans do not kill me, he is my favorite character, but I'm being realistic here).

Thanks to Lady Ellesmere for the follow, and thank you to all my readers for sticking with this little story of mine. We're finally getting to the really good stuff!