Rare Moment of Deep Thoughts

On a beautiful hot summer day, the Shiseiten members are cooling off by a river.

Hotaru lies in full sun, staring up at the deep blue sky, with a serious expression on his face.

He is never one to remain still for so long. Usually he would be out and about, seeking the next fight so he can become stronger. He must become stronger. Stronger than Kyo. For it is his goal.

But not today.

Today, he is pondering a serious matter.

He is not one to use his brain very often. He prefers not to, actually. After all, who can think with so many loudmouths around all of the time? They're always nagging him, and interfering in his fights.

But today, something has come up that he must make a decision on. Something that has always been there in the back of his mind.

After all, it's been 4 years since the Shiseiten has gathered. They are his best buddies. Not even realizing how important they were to him, he tried to cut the bonds that made him stronger. Irreplaceable comrades, they are. After the hellish time they just went through with the Mibu clan, it's high time that he settle the score once and for all.

All the clues were there. He just has to put them together.

Even before the full formation of Shiseiten…..

The nun that was killing people on that mountain….what did the villagers say about her?…

There was Kyo. After the fight with Shinrei, he said something about the Shiseiten members….all were?

And there was the fight with the real Kubira. When he invoked the woman that is most important to him…….what showed..?

Hmmm, this is a tough puzzle to solve indeed.

Akira approached Hotaru, casting a shadow over Hotaru's face, and asked, "what are you doing, Hotaru? What are you thinking about?"

Hotaru sat up, and said blandly, "I just can't figure it out."

You can never tell just how Hotaru is feeling. Never one to betray his inner emotions, except in the heat of the battle, his poker face and flat voice never seems to waver.

Unsure of himself, Akira ventured another question. "So… what are you trying to figure out?"

Hotaru scratched his head, sign of puzzlement, still with a serious look in his eyes. "Well, I've been thinking about this for a while, and it's really bugging me."

He paused.

"Akira…"

Silence.

"I really don't get it…"

Another pause.

"Is Akari a man or a woman?"

Hotaru turned his face up to Akira, but Akira is no longer there. Looking down, Akira appears to have collapsed and is violently twitching.

"Akira? What's wrong with you?"

Akira shouted at Hotaru, "WHAT? YOU STILL DON'T KNOW? HOW DENSE CAN YOU BE?"

Totally unruffled, Hotaru just looked calmly at Akira while he rampages. Hotaru is too used to being shouted at, and has developed an immunity to high volumes in speech.

Akira very visibly tried to pull himself together, and tried to speak in an even voice. "So what kind of clues do you have?"

Hotaru turns, and stares off into space again.

"Well, there was that time that the villagers told us about the man that was masquerading as a nun in that mountain….or was it actually in the village?…" A puzzled look came into Hotaru's eyes.

"Hmmm…….and yeah, that turned out to be Akari…."

Akira really wanted to laugh at Hotaru's stupidity, but as a good friend, he tried to get Hotaru to come to the obvious conclusion. "So what does that tell you?"

Hotaru pondered this for a minute, and replied, "Hmm, maybe it was in a village? Or was it deep in the mountains?" Lost in thought, Hotaru seemed to have lost track of what the main problem was. Apparently the location was of vital importance to him.

Akira gave up, and tried another tack. "Ok, what other clues about Akari have you gathered?"

"Hmm? Oh." Hotaru snapped back to attention, and said, "Well, after Akari showed up after the fight with Shinrei, Kyo said something…"

Pause.

"He said something like, 'there are no female members in Shiseiten.'"

Akira tried to suppress a cry of triumph. "Well, there you go! So this clears things up right?"

Hotaru looks at Akira strangely, "What are you trying to say? How did this clear things up? I don't get it."

Fingernails digging into his palm, Akira tamped down the urge to strangle the idiot in front of him. Taking a couple of calming breaths, he tried another route. "So you have another clue?"

Hotaru answered quite quickly this time, "Oh yes! There was that fight with Kubira. When he asked the question, 'who is the most important woman to you?' You see, I was thinking about Akari, and how I'm not even sure whether he was a guy or a girl. Then, nothing appeared! Isn't that strange?"

Akira jumped on this clue with enthusiasm, "Well, you see, Kubira mentioned the most important WOMAN, and Akari did NOT appear. So what does that tell you?"

Hotaru thought for a minute. A light of comprehension dawned in his eyes. "Ahh, I understand now."

Akira breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness. He was beginning to think that Hotaru was hopeless in the brain department.

Hotaru said, "I know why nothing appeared when I was thinking about Akari's gender."

Akira waited in anticipation. "Yes? Why?"

Hotaru said with a serious face, "Because Kubira couldn't figure it out either."

"Akira?…Akira?" Hotaru poked at a still Akira that had fainted dead away. "Is the sun getting to you, ice boy?"

Hotaru looked up at the remainder of the Shiseiten that were cooling off by the river, and yelled, "Hey, can you guys get some water for Akira? He seems to have fainted from the heat. I would get it myself, but I hate water."

"Sure, no problem!" A bare-chested Akari came out of the river, and carried a bucket of water, and hurried to Akira's side. Hotaru grabbed the bucket, and dumped it over Akira's head.

Akira woke up, sputtering obscenities and water. "Ack….What did you do that for?"

Akari said, "I'm so glad you are all right, Akira! " Beaming at both Akira and Hotaru, Akari went back to the river.

After chewing Hotaru's ear off with another tirade, Akira finally has had it with Hotaru's cluelessness, and stomped away.

"Hmmm, wonder how I managed to piss off Akira again? But he sure was talking a lot….Hard to think when someone's talking that much."

Hotaru scratched his head again. He looked towards the river where Akari is now frolicking in the water, and Akari waved at him with glee. He flopped back down onto the grass.

Hmmm.

Nope.

He stared back at the deep blue sky. Went back to his mode of deep thinking.

"I still can't figure it out…."