Title: Wishes.
Series: "Samurai Deeper Kyo," "xxxHOLiC"
Disclaimer: Akimine Kamijyo/Clamp owns.
Warnings: N/A.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Hotaru, Yuan, Yuuko, Watanuki.
Rating: PG

Hotaru fell over and immediately sat up, looking perplexed. What just happened? He wondered. He had been arguing with Shinrei, then the air suddenly got warped and he got really dizzy. Next thing he knew, he fell over in the middle of a courtyard. He frowned, looking at the house in front of him. "Um."

"E-Excuse me," a voice suddenly said from behind. Hotaru turned, seeing a black haired, monochromatic teenager holding something in a large paper bag in his arms. He was wearing a pair of glasses, he noted. "Are you here to see Yuuko-san?" He asked.

Frowning, Hotaru stood, brushing the dirt from his pants. He bent down, picking up the sword that had fallen from his hands. The teenager looked wary at the sword and didn't approach further, eyes not leaving the weapon. Hotaru cocked his head to the side, wondering why the reaction. Hadn't he seen a katana before? "Who's 'Yuuko-san'?" He asked, looking around. "And where am I?"

"You're at my shop," a sultry voice said. Hotaru turned again. A tall, beautiful woman in a loose kimono stood on the patio of the house, her red eyes locking onto him. "We sell wishes here and if you're here, that means you have a wish. And I'm Ichihara Yuuko."

"You make it seem like a brothel," Hotaru commented absently. Selling wishes? The only thing that came to his mind when a scantily clad woman says that was "prostitute."

Instead of being insulted, the woman – Yuuko – chuckled lightly. "No, I mean real wishes, not that kind. Though..." She tugged the sleeve of her kimono down just enough for him to catch the sight of the swell of her breast and a good portion of her shoulder. "If that's your wish..." She teased.

"How'd I get here?" Hotaru wondered, ignoring that and looking around. There were some weird looking buildings surrounding the area, but at least the house looked normal.

"Hitsuzen brought you here," she said.

He wrinkled his nose. "Hitsuzen?" He repeated. "Fate?" Back when he worked for the Mibu, he had heard the old women talking about something called 'hitsuzen.' He never paid it any mind, though.

Yuuko grinned, looking delighted. "So you've heard of it!"

Hotaru scowled. "I make my own fate."

She deflated somewhat, but perked up. "If you're here," she repeated, "that means you have a wish." Yuuko looked to the teenager and barked, "Watanuki! Don't just stand there, bring the saké! We have a customer!" She grinned.

The teen – Watanuki – glared. "Just an excuse to drink!" He cried, but went inside to bring out a bottle of saké.

Yuuko led Hotaru to a table and chairs. Hotaru frowned at the chairs – they didn't have anything like that in the Mibu – but followed her lead and sat down. "So," she began, smiling, "you have a wish. I can grant it – for a price."

"Price?" Hotaru repeated.

She nodded. "In order to get something, you have to give something."

Hotaru nodded; that made sense. "But, I don't have any wishes."

"No, you do. It's just not obvious," she corrected.

He frowned and tried to wrack his brains for it. The only thing he could think of was to be the strongest man in the world, but that wasn't a wish so much as a goal, something he had to earn! He scowled. Wish, wish... He wished Shinrei wouldn't be so annoying, but he realized that that would never happen, even with divine intervention. "Hm..."

While he was thinking, Watanuki returned with two saké bowls and a jug of saké. Yuuko poured the alcohol into her own bowl and Hotaru's, who drank his in a single gulp when he noticed it.

What did he wish for? All he wanted was for Kyo— "Oh."

Yuuko perked up. "Yes?"

"I wanna know where Kyo is and when he's coming back. I know he's not dead," he said.

Her eyebrows rose slightly and she smiled. "I can do that. But, first, I need compensation." She folded her hands on the table and thought carefully. There wasn't much that his boy treasured – he wasn't materialistic and asking for his ability to control fire was far, far too much to ask for in exchange for something as simple as information. When her eyes strayed to the earrings decorating the boy's ears, she smiled. "Alright, I want your larger earrings."

Hotaru's hand went to his earlobe and frowned thoughtfully. Those were the first things Anthony gave him when he came to live with Yuan's family. He wondered why she'd want them – they were rusting and probably had blood stains on them. He shrugged and removed them, dropping them into Yuuko's outstretched palm.

Yuuko smiled and closed her eyes. After a few long, silent moments, she said, "Onime no Kyo is currently on one of the islands to the very south of Japan. The spirit of his sword, Tenrou, sent him to safety when the Red Tower collapsed with the death of the Sendai Aka no Ou. He'll reunite with the blonde girl in two and a half years."

Not at all perturbed by the woman's intimate knowledge of what happened, Hotaru nodded, accepting this. "Akari-chan won't like that," he mumbled. Yuuko grinned. "Now, how do I get home?"

Just as he spoke this, however, the space around him began to warp, wrapping around him. Just as suddenly as he appeared, Hotaru of the Shiseiten vanished before the eyes of Watanuki and Yuuko.

Watanuki frowned. "Who was that? How did you know about that stuff?"

Yuuko smiled. "That was one of the most famous samurai of the Sengoku Jidai of his world. His mother, several years ago, arrived here, wishing for her son's protection against his father. I couldn't grant this, though." She neglected to mention that her son's protection was already promised by his elder brother's intervention. "So, she wished that, if her son ever needed a wish, he would get a free ride here. Rather odd, really."

"She must have loved her son," Watanuki said with a smile. Yuuko shrugged.

"Now, let's drink saké and eat! Watanuki, make snacks!" She cried, clasping her hands together with a bright smile on her lips. Watanuki howled with frustration and stormed off to the kitchen, muttering about crazy witches and manipulation.

When Hotaru returned home, Yuan asked, "Where were you, Keikoku?"

Hotaru replied, "A prostitute told me Kyo'll return in two and a half years. I need to train." With that, he left his bewildered shishou to practice training.

I went a little overboard with this. This could really classify as a one-shot, but I'll keep it with Remembering Fireflies. It'll make up for my disgusting lack of updates, right?!