Naming

Rating: G
Pairing: Kyo/Hotaru

Ever wondered how the name "Hotaru" came about? Here's my take.

A/N: This is different from the anime. Because the anime Kyo knew Hotaru before he left the clan, but the manga one probably didn't.

This is an amateur effort and does not intend to infringe the rights of Kamijyo-sensei and his associates.

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"Why are you following me?"

That was the first thing that the Demon's Child asked him. Keikoku appeared at his doorstep one fine day, much to the surprise of the others in the house. Mibu Kyoushiro recognized him as the illegitimate son of somebody important, so did Sakuya. But Kyo had no idea. He left the clan when he was too young to remember anybody significant. Especially not a scrawny blond kid with a weapon too big for him.

Not like he was one to talk about oversized weapons.

"You have a name, don't you?"

Keikoku shrugged and continued to keep pace, maintaining the two steps distance he had behind the other man.

Kyo rolled his eyes and continued walking. He was on his way back to the little house that Kyoushiro and Sakuya shared, his respite from the coming winter. What he did not expect was that the first snow would fall so early this year.

The forest was dark; the first snowflakes of the year fell with a hissing sound, quickly covering the forest floor with white, the wind promising that more would come. He would have to find a place to rest for the night. Traveling in a heavy snowfall wasn't in any way his idea of a perfect night.

Shrugging his sword off, he settled down into a comfortable sitting position under a tree.

"You are going to freeze there," the blond man remarked with his usual monotone. Kyo smirked.

"No I won't."

Keikoku cocked his head to the side, as if thinking of something, before taking his place beside Kyo under the tree. Kyo tensed, uncomfortable with having a stranger in his personal space. While this man may look and behave like a total moron, he was still a threat as long as Kyo knew nothing about him.

"What did you ask me just now?" He moved closer to the dark haired man, so close that their arms were pressing up against each other, skin against skin. That amount of contact was little comfort in such a winter night, but warmth was still warmth. While the Demon's Child may be arrogant enough to think that he wouldn't freeze in the snow, dressed in just a light yukata, Keikoku was not about to have his little vacation in the outside world cut short because his target was too much of an idiot to take care of himself.

"Your name. What's your name, since you already knew mine?"

Keikoku thought about it for a while, absentmindedly rubbing his fingers together to call out a small flame at the tip of his fingers. Kyo raised an eyebrow, and reached out to let his fingers dance with that little spark of heat.

"You give me one." He finally said.

Wh-WHAT? Kyo stared at the man incredulously, and then threw his head back and laughed. This was amusing! Surely he would have realized how wrong that sounded! Kyo could hardly count the number of times those girls in the brothels told him the exact same thing, selling him that crap about how he should name them because they belonged to him. Romantic, useless shit.

"You give me one," the blond man repeated, a slight tinge of irritation in his voice.

Kyo closed his eyes, thinking and enjoying the heat from the flame at his fingertips. The fire warmed, but the other man was careful to make sure that it doesn't burn. Kyo liked that, he decided. He liked the heat that slowly spread from his fingertips to the rest of his body.

"Hotaru," he replied finally. He opened his red eyes to meet pale yellow ones. Red and yellow. The color of fire.

"Your name is Hotaru."