Title: Protector.
Series: "Samurai Deeper Kyo"
Disclaimer: Akimine Kamijyo owns.
Warnings: Fathers assassinating sons.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Hotaru, Yuan.
Rating: PG

We're standing in the entrance of the Onmyou palace. The other Taishirou are showing varying interest in the group of people that Onime no Kyo brought with him. Fubuki's talkin' about something, but I only have eyes and ears for my student.

Keikoku's standing next to some blond kid and a pretty nee-chan with pink hair. I think I've met her before and vaguely remember that she's a he. Keikoku's looking at me with a serious expression on his face, jaw set, eyes narrowed.

Finally, you've arrived, Keikoku.

I remember when he was small. Small and angry at the world, his mother for dying, his father for killing her... Me for just being there. He couldn't have been older than five or six, blond puff in a braid, angry amber eyes glaring at me the whole time like some sullen cat. He didn't warm up to me for two months after I found him and took him on as my student and when he did, I learned some stuff about him.

He was five and a half, the bastard son of one of the most prestigious families at the Mibu compound, and he had no name. His mother had always called him "firefly" for his blond hair and amber eyes.

So I gave him a name: Keikoku.

I trained him, teaching him swordsmanship, taijutsu, and how to control fire. He was really adept at all of them, though he was more than a little scatterbrained, I learned. He liked fighting, sleeping, eating and he hated water.

One thing that troubled me was that assassins kept coming after him. When I questioned him about it as I cleaned myself of their blood, he got really angry and said they were from his father.

He wouldn't speak for two weeks following every attack.

Eventually I got sick of it and approached his father. A frightened servant led me to him when I arrived. He was in the dojo behind his home, teaching a young white-haired boy how to wield Bukyokusui. So Keikoku had a half-brother? I noted when I noticed their similar features, if not similar colors. I wondered if he knew – he probably did.

The water master stopped training the moment he spotted me. He bowed lowly and uttered, "Hello, Yuan-dono."

"Cut the formalities. I got business with you," I said.

He looked up, his eyes meeting where mine would be if they weren't covered. He nodded and turned to the boy. "Shinrei," he said, "practice is over for today. Go see your mother."

The boy nodded and, after bowing low to me, left the dojo.

The father turned to me again. "How can I be of service, Yuan-dono?"

I rolled my eyes beneath my blindfold. "For one, you can stop sendin' your assassins after Keikoku."

He looked faintly confused at the name, but his mind seemed to know who I was talking about. "Who?"

"Your other brat," I grumbled. "He's living with me now and I don't appreciate waking up to people's dyin' screams."

Surprised, the father asked, "He's the one who has been killing them?" The incredulity was a little insulting considering I'm the one who was training the brat. He frowned and finally said after a lengthy period of thought, "Pardon, Yuan-dono, but what I to do my son is none of your business."

Normally I would have done something like burn him to cinders, but I just grinned. "Big talk for a little man." I ran a hand through my hair and laughed. "Alright, then. How about this – you keep sending them, we'll send 'em right back in pieces."

The father's face had gone blank. With forced politeness, he swept his arm to the side. "It was a pleasure having you visit, Yuan-dono. Kio," he called a servant, "please show Yuan-dono the way out."

I laughed at the dismissal, but nodded, still grinning. "I guess I'll prepare for company tonight then." With that, I ignored the servant and left the house, heading back to where Keikoku and I were staying. I found him sitting in the corner of the room, cleaning the sword he had gotten from one of the first assassins he had killed.

I snapped out of my memories when Keikoku's eyes trailed over to Fubuki's hip – or more specifically, the sword that hung there. He sucked in a surprised breath, eyes wide before narrowing. His hands clenched into fists, shaking with tension and suppressed rage. Ah, that's right. Shinrei had confronted Fubuki about somethin' and was injured. I had heard that the two had mended their bridges a little while ago.

Some stuff happened, words were exchanged, and the ground split open after Onime no Kyo attacked the Fubuki illusion. I chuckled to myself and said over my shoulder as I walked away, "I'm dyin' to see just how far you'll go, Keikoku."