Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Akambo ❯ Akambo 2: Changes Revealed ( Chapter 3 )

Several weeks had passed since Kuwabara and Yukina had become engaged. During that time the couple had begun making plans, and changing them. First they thought they would be married in the Temple, but later they decided to change this. For one thing, Genkai had refused to preside over the ceremony. She insisted she did not have the authority to legally wed them. (Her exact words were, “I'm a psychic, not a priest! I don't do weddings, or funerals, or births, or surgeries, or anything else you people can think up for me to do in all the `spare time' you give me. I have some moderate healing powers due to my manipulation of reiki, and I have the Spirit Wave technique, but for everything else you'll just have to find someone else! Dimwits...”) Koenma readily agreed to wed the two lovebirds, and no one questioned his authority to do so.

 

Kuwabara and Yukina wished to be married in the winter, but they wanted their guests to be comfortable as well. So they chose a banquet hall with large picture windows. They would be united in an alcove overlooking the spacious courtyard, but they would be inside and warm.

 

Yukina immediately recruited Keiko and Botan as bridesmaids. As maid of honor, she chose her future sister-in-law, Shizuru. The four girls visited every bridal store in Tokyo to choose their gowns. Well, three of them did. Shizuru simply said, “No pink.” and stood outside smoking the whole time. Finally they chose their dresses and placed their orders. Only the bridal gown remained.

 

Kuwabara wasted no time in choosing his best man and ushers. Asking was more difficult. He wanted his three friends from High School to be ushers and for Yusuke to be the best man. Unfortunately, he had to pick a fight with Yusuke in order to ask. He told his bride-to-be of Yusuke's acceptance as she handed him the ice pack for his new black eye.

 

This left an uneven number of people for the ceremony, with four men and three women (not counting the bride and groom) and both wanted to include Hiei and Kurama in the wedding. Yukina finally came up with the solution. She asked Kurama to be a bridesman. This was unconventional, but so was a human/demon wedding presided over by a demigod, so he readily accepted. This left Hiei.

 

“Brother?” Yukina asked one afternoon while she was visiting the demons. “I wish for you to be in my wedding.”

 

“Hn,” Hiei grumbled, albeit quietly.

 

“I would like for you to give me away,” the ice maiden continued. Hiei looked at his sister with confusion. She continued, “In western style weddings, like ours, a member of the bride's family gives her to the groom at the beginning of the ceremony. Usually this is her father, but I have no father. Will you please give me away as my brother? If you need to consider it, please take your time.” Her voice clearly belied her last words.

 

Hiei did not respond immediately.

 

--

 

Later that evening, after dinner, Kurama noticed that Hiei seemed very distracted. The hiyoukai had spoken very little during their meal. While Hiei was not usually talkative, he was usually more responsive. The fox knew something was weighing on the fire demon's mind. Without a word, Kurama embraced his mate from behind, pulling the smaller form to rest against his chest.

 

Hiei sighed comfortably. Although the demon was more than capable of killing anyone who dared confront him, Kurama's gentle hold always made him feel safer. Closing his eyes, Hiei just laid his head back against Kurama's shoulder.

 

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Hiei finally spoke. “How do I answer her?”

 

“What?” Kurama asked softly, his breath ghosting over the shell of Hiei's ear.

 

“Yukina asked me to give her away at her wedding. I don't want to disappoint her, but I don't want to give her away, either. She's all I have of a family.”

 

“You're not giving her away, never to see her again. It's a ritual. You're giving her to her new husband as a sign of acceptance.”

 

“That's why I don't know how to answer her,” Hiei supplied.

 

“Rituals in the human world don't hold as much power as in the demon world,” Kurama explained, still holding his lover, and starting to rock gently from side to side. “Rituals are the motions that humans go through to express their intentions. The ritual itself has no more power than the intention given to it. You can give her away in the human sense, but you will still be her brother. It's unlike giving away a female as a slave or a prostitute. And it would mean the world to her.” Hiei pondered this quietly.

 

“Besides,” Kurama continued. “I thought I was part of your family, too.”

 

At this Hiei turned in Kurama's arms to face him, and wrapped his own arms around the kitsune's waist. “You're a part of my family, Fox. The biggest part,” he whispered, leaning in to kiss the red head's lips. Their swaying continued as they simply enjoyed each other's touch.

 

When they finally parted, Kurama raised his head to brush his lips across Hiei's forehead. “Love,” he began. “You need to learn to dance for Yukina's wedding.

 

“I know how to dance; you showed me already,” Hiei whispered into Kurama's neck.

 

“No, that won't work. You need to learn to lead. I'm sure Yukina will want to dance with her brother at the reception,” Kurama murmured.

 

Hiei froze. The rocking ceased. “Dance with me? At the reception? In front of people?”

 

Kurama chuckled. “Yes, Love. Relax. Dancing is easy. I'll show you.”

 

--

 

The phone at the Hatanaka residence had rung twice before Shuuichi-kun answered it cheerfully. “Moshi moshi, Hatanaka residence. Shuuichi speaking....Hi, Kurama; it's still okay if I call you that, right?...Great...Sure, I'll get her,” he said in the broken dialogue of half a conversation.

 

In the unbroken, loud bellow of a teenager who doesn't feel like walking around and looking for someone, he shouted, “Mom! Phone!”

 

Quick footsteps approached. “Shuu-kun, how many times have I asked you not to bellow in the house?” Shiori admonished gently.

 

“Oops, sorry. It's your son,” Shuu-kun said, handing off the phone. Shiori just smirked at his apology; it wasn't like she hadn't heard it before, and took the phone.

 

“Shuuchi, how are you?” she asked warmly.

 

“In need of a favor,” the slightly strained, tense voice of her son replied through the receiver.

 

“Of course, Sweetheart, anything. What's wrong?” Shiori asked, concerned.

 

“Nothing is really wrong, but...could you please come over tomorrow morning?” Kurama requested.

 

Of course,” Shiori replied, confused.

 

--

 

At ten in the morning, Shiori knocked on her son's door. He had sounded somewhat frustrated, but refused to tell her what was bothering him. He had just insisted that they needed her to visit and perform some task for them. Still wondering, Shiori waited for the door to open.

 

When Kurama answered the door, he looked healthy. He was smiling and seemed well-fed and well-rested. Baffled, Shiori entered and waited for him to reveal his motives.

 

“Mother, I need you to teach Hiei to dance,” Kurama asked quickly, deciding that the direct approach was best. Shiori had to stifle a giggle before she could respond.

 

“My son, you are a terrific dance partner. You need me to help him learn to dance? And this is the great favor you spoke of last night?” she asked in voice full of mirth.

 

With a slightly defeated sigh, Kurama nodded. “Yes, it is. There's a little problem when I try to teach him,” the fox admitted.

 

“And that would be?” Shiori prompted.

 

Kurama just turned and went to the stereo. Turning on some slow dance music, he called Hiei to the room to demonstrate the problem. Kurama placed one hand on Hiei's shoulder and held the other out. Hiei immediately responded by placing his hands on Kurama's hip and in his open hand. Shiori appraised them. Their position looked fine. She could hardly see what was such a problem.

 

As the music reached a crescendo, Hiei moved a bit to begin leading, but then immediately glued himself to Kurama, laying his head on the fox's chest. Swaying slightly, the hiyoukai remained snuggled up to his lover.

 

Shiori stifled her giggle. “So, what's the problem, then? You two look adorable like that,” she said. Kurama's cheeks flushed ever so slightly and he gave his mother a baleful stare.

 

“He needs to dance with his sister at her western-style wedding,” he said.

 

“Oh,” Shiori said, seeing the problem now.

 

With some difficulty, Kurama managed to extricate himself from Hiei's grasp. With a motion, he indicated that Shiori should give it a shot.

 

Shiori replaced Kurama as Hiei's dance partner. Hiei looked a bit unsettled at first, but relaxed as Shiori began to gently steer their dance, coaching him and gradually shifting the lead to him.

 

By the end of the afternoon Hiei had picked up several types of partner dancing. Although he could hardly be considered a master at any of them, his agility and constant training allowed him to learn them much faster than anticipated. He was ready for the wedding dance. Shiori hugged both her boys goodbye and motioned Kurama to walk her to the door.

 

As she exited, she made one request in a soft voice, “Answer me one question, Shuuichi. Why me? Shouldn't he learn with his sister? Or someone your own age, human age, that is?”

 

“You are the only human Hiei will allow to teach him anything; he sees you as a mother. And I know you are a good dancer. You have his trust, so I knew he could learn from you.” Shiori did not respond, but her beaming smile indicated she knew how much of an honor that was. With a flattered grin, Shiori turned to make her way home.

 

Later that evening, Hiei pondered silently as Kurama prepared their evening meal. “I'll be back, Fox,” Hiei said, rising to his feet and going upstairs. Quickly, he flitted out the sliding glass doors and over rooftops and trees towards Genkai's temple.

 

Yukina was not in the yard when he arrived. Silently he walked to the door and prepared to knock, but the sound of voices coming through the rice paper stopped him. He listened for a moment. The Oaf was there. Hiei wondered at his surprise. He would have to get used to that; it was going to become the norm. Other female voices drew his attention as well. It seemed his sister had other guests as well. Tuning out the conversation, Hiei knocked and awaited an answer.

 

The woman that answered was not his sister. It was Keiko. Apparently she was one of the female guests. “Oh, hi, Hiei,” She said a little nervously. “Yukina, it's Hiei.”

 

The ice maiden came immediately to the door. “Brother,” she greeted him. Without another glance into the room, Hiei just motioned her outside. Confused, she slipped out the door, closing it gently behind her. “What is it?”

 

“In the more uncouth sections of Makai, to give a female away means to give her to a slave lord or a pimp. There is no honor in it; it is the deepest shame a woman can face at the hands of her family or lover.” Yukina opened her mouth, but Hiei forestalled her protest with a motion of his hand.

 

“Rituals in Makai also have a very deep significance. If one performs a ritual to sever their relationship with another, they cannot communicate with the other again. Rituals are binding and are not practiced unless both parties are fully committed to the outcome. Neither of these is acceptable to me. Kurama has informed me that `giving away' a bride is more of a presentation than a transfer of ownership, and that the rituals in the human world are viewed differently than those of the demon world. Still, I cannot and will not give you to anyone, nor can I ritually release you as my sister.” Yukina's face fell. Hiei continued in a much softer voice, “I would, however, be honored to present you to your new husband on your wedding day as a sign of acceptance of your union. Please do not call it giving you away, or I will change my mind.”

 

Yukina did not speak, but threw her arms around her brother in a grateful hug. Still debating if he had made the right decision, Hiei tolerated the embrace and left quickly when Yukina released him.

 

When the hiyoukai arrived back in his kitchen, Kurama was setting the table. “How did she respond?” the kitsune asked without looking up. Hiei looked at him.

 

“She was happy,” came the demon's monotone response. Kurama looked up at his mate's tone.

 

Hiei sank into a chair. “What's happening to me, Kurama?” he asked. “I was always distant, unreachable. Now I have a home, a mate. My sister discovered me and I am to present her at her wedding to human. I was taught to dance by a human woman. I said nothing, but you already knew where I went and what I said. What's happening to me?”

 

“It's your life, Hiei,” Kurama responded, putting down his dishes and sitting opposite his lover. “These changes happened gradually. It's true; the you from then would not recognize the you from now. But all of these changes are because your priorities changed. Do you regret these changes?”

 

Hiei was quiet for a minute. “I don't know. Sometimes I miss who I was, but I want to keep the things I have now.”

 

“It cannot be both ways, love,” Kurama pointed out.

 

“I know. But...” Hiei stopped himself from saying anything else. Kurama silently arose to finish setting the table and begin serving dinner. Correctly reading his mate's body language, Hiei arose as well and slipped his arms around Kurama.

 

“I don't regret this, Fox. And I would not change it for anything. It's the sum total of the differences that makes me wonder, but I am never uncertain about us.”

 

Kurama smiled and hugged Hiei back. “You may feel domesticated and a sort of “kept demon,” but I know you are the same demon I first met. This is a new facet of your whole self, Hiei, a part you never knew until now. It has not replaced any part of you; it only adds to you. If you are uncomfortable with it, you can always let it go.”

 

Hiei nodded. After a moment they broke apart and began their dinner, speaking only of other things.

 

--

 

A/N-Okay, I know, it took way too long and the chapter is way too short. But I hit a roadblock with this story like you would not believe! If it's any consolation, I am currently at an anime convention, and I am giving up a “draw your own anime” workshop to write this! But I think I found my muse. It was oogling some fanart in Artist's Alley. I managed to get it back into my mind, where it belongs, and hopefully it saw enough stuff here to give it inspiration for some time to come.* Now that it's back, we are going to take a little walk around and see some more good stuff.

 

I have no idea whatsoever when the next chapter will come along. Surely not until I sleep off this anime convention (unless the muse has developed yet another case of insomnia...) so I will get it out as soon as possible.

 

Oh, and before anyone reviews and tell me how out of character Hiei is: this is the third major story of an arc I have written. If you read the first two, then you realize all the characters have changed considerably. As Kurama pointed out, it's not out of character so much as developing a new facet of his character over the past 52+ chapters (Coming Clean, Bugs, and assorted one-shot stories). If they don't change some in that many chapters, then why bother having written all that? I'm sorry if that sounds snappy, but consider it a preemptive comment.

 

*EDIT: Oh yeah. The muse got an eyeful at the underground panel. I think I'll be good for a little while...