Disclaimer: I do not only any of the characters from Samurai Deeper Kyo

Nicknames

Hotaru stared at the person in front of him impassively, wondering why on earth he was so persistent.

"No."

Benitora glared at Hotaru with frustration. He has officially been refused for like, the hundredth time! What's so bad about accepting a meal from someone anyways? Heck. He hasn't seen Hotaru eat for two days now. The last time he saw him ate was when…

"It's no use Benitora, I tried many years before," Akira said with a chuckle, "I guess he's still fond of his status of a loner."

"But- I thought we got passed that part when he joined!"

Benitora sighed. It was true! Hotaru had renounced his status of solitude when he had joined the group and was forced to be one of Kyo's 'minions.' He had thought Hotaru had open up to the rest of the group. But he was still as airheaded and stubborn as ever.

"Just let him do as he please," Kyo said.

"But-" Benitora began, but saw that Kyo already had his eyes closed while leaning against a tree. This was a sign that he would no longer answer or reply to any of his whining. Benitora gave a huff and walked towards Yuya instead.

"Yuya-han…" Benitora whined to his goddess, "Hotaru-han is wasting food!"

Yes… The last time Benitora had seen Hotaru eat was when Yuya had offered some rice dumplings to him. After a questioning stare, Hotaru had reluctantly accepted the food. Although it was with hesitation, it was a clear sign that Hotaru had submitted to Yuya. Surely, his goddess was capable of any task! He would expect no less from HIS woman.

Yuya glanced to see what all the fuss was about. She saw Benitora point an accusing finger so she looked only to see Hotaru glazing calmly at the sky from the rock where he rested. Ah… it seemed that he was refusing food again. She was very much sick of all the wasted food that went to his portion, especially when it came out of her wallet. The man didn't even have the decency to eat it! She didn't like dealing with Hotaru, not because her life was once in the mercy of his hands, but because he was very much like a child.

"Ho-chan," Yuya said, making her way to her new friend, "if you don't eat this, you're going to offend my cooking skills."

Hotaru perked up when he heard someone's footstep's approaching, and then proceed to stare at his intruder dumbly. After a few minutes of silence, Hotaru raised his finger and pointed to himself, wondering if she was addressing him.

"…Ho-chan?"

Yuya gave a firm nod before wondering why the place had suddenly gotten quiet. She glanced around and saw everyone's eyes on the two of them. Benitora, Akira, and Botenmaru were all poised for attack, and even Kyo looked at her warily. What was wrong? Was there danger approaching? No… why would they be staring at her instead?

No, they weren't staring at her, they were staring at…Hotaru. Finally it struck her. She had called Hotaru, 'Ho-chan.' They were guarding her incase he suddenly decides to burn her face off for her offense. She immediately regretted her actions. Although Hotaru was, "like" a child, he wasn't really one. He WAS a member of the Shiseiten AND Goyousei, not to mention one of the deadliest men alive!

"I- I can explain!" Yuya said in panic, backing away slowly.

Yuya opened her mouth to begin explaining but she saw that he wasn't about to give a chance to. Hotaru had leaned closer to Yuya and raised his hand towards her. She saw the people around her approaching quickly but she knew it was too late. Hotaru would have successfully burn her to a crisp before they even get to her! Yuya flinched, hoping the pain wouldn't be too bad.

However Hotaru only went and got the bowl from Yuya's hands. He paused and then brought the bowl of soup to his lips.

"Mmmm… it tastes like wasabi… I like wasabi…"

Yuya fell down comically causing another stare from Hotaru, "I thought—I thought you were going to kill me!"

Hotaru stared at Yuya confusedly, "Why… would I do that?"

"Cause—Cause I called you Ho-chan!" Yuya stuttered before lifting her hands to cover her mouth. Shit! She had doomed herself again!

Hotaru paused to stare at her once again before returning the now empty bowl of soup to her, "I like it," he whispered.

"What??" Yuya asked. Had she misheard? Did he just…?

"It's fine… It sounds kind of nice when you say it… I like it," Hotaru concluded after much thoughtful pauses in between.

Yuya stared at Hotaru in shock, before quickly smiling. She took the bowl from his hands and whispered a thank you, both for eating the food and for approving of the name. Then she walked away in quite a happy mood, humming to herself.

As soon as Yuya left, everyone burst out laughing, even Kyo had a slight smirk on his face. Only Hotaru was left out, staring at everyone questioning.

"HO-CHAN!" Botenmaru choked out in his fit of laughter, "I never… haha… thought I'll see the day *snorts* when one of the deadliest Shiseiten would be called *gasp* a child's name!"

Hotaru glared at Botenmaru hotly, "Shut up… it's not that bad."

Akira smirked," Oh really? So, how about I call you Ho-chan too?"

Hotaru frowned, immediately not liking the sound of his new nickname coming from Akira's mouth. He hadn't known why it had sounded better when Yuya had said it to him.

"No."

"But you let Yuya-han call you it!" Benitora encouraged, "Oh! Let me go tell her that you don't want her to call you that anymore!"

Hotaru paused. Not liking the fact that Yuya wasn't ever going to call him that again either. "She may…"

"Then why not us?" Akira teased.

"No."

Everyone once again burst out laughing, leaving a bright faced Hotaru behind.

A/N : 1000 words, a 'perfect' one-shot. I always wanted to do one of these 1000 word one-shot things. I also love how Hotaru loves wasabi so much.