Chapter 18: Hotaru's Decision

'Hotaru...' A voice rung out in Hotaru's mind as he slept. 'Hotaru, kill Kyo's source of strength...kill Yuya!'

'Who are you?' Hotaru asked. 'You cannot command me!'

'Kill Yuya,' The voice said again. 'Or she will get in the way of you and Kyo's battle.'

'I won't.'

'You must!' The voice grew menacing. 'Hotaru, don't you feel for her?'

'Wha-?'

"Hotaru!" A feminine voice wispered, shaking him.

Hotaru looked up to see Yuya looking down at him worriedly. Her hair was down and slightly messy. The front of her yukata was wide open, barely concealing her breasts.

"What?" He asked.

"You were mumbling loudly in your sleep," She explained. "And thrashing around. It sounded like you were trying to escape something. I was passing by to my room and heard you. Are you ok?"

"Do I look like anything's wrong with me?" Hotaru's green eyes narrowed and he turned away from her. The dream had put him in a bad mood.

"I was just trying to help!" Yuya frowned. "Next time I won't worry about you!"

"You were worried about me?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" She asked, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Hmm," Hotaru shrugged. "Nevermind. I'm going to get some sleep. Go away."

Yuya huffed out of the room muttering something about being ungrateful and a jerk.

Hotaru lay back down on his futon, thinking about what the person in the dream and Yuya said. Could it really be I have feelings for her? Could it really be that I can feel the emotion called love? I, Hotaru, the one that said my lack of that such emotion made me more poerful? A true samurai and killer? I wouldn't follow in the footsteps of Kyo, Benitora, Kyoshiro, or Akira, would I? I have asked myself these very questions many times, yet I have yet to come up with an answer. But if the person in my dream wants me to kill her, why? How do they expect me to kill her if I do have feelings for her?Am I to be just another to fall under her spell? Onime no Kyo did...

"Hey Hotaru?" A voice he knew was Yuya's said.

"What?" Hotaru asked. "I thought I told you to go away."

"Yes, and you also said you were going to sleep, didn't you?" She smiled, knowing she had the upper hand. "Now I just want to ask you a question or two."

"Fine," He sighed, sitting up.

"Ok!" Yuya said enthusiastically, clapping her hands together once. "First, what were you dreaming about that made you act like that?"

"Hmph, none of your business. It was just a stupid dream."

"Fine," She snorted, offended. "Hmm...do you think we have to much longer to find Kyo's body? Before this dreaded search is over and all the fighting will end?"

"Who knows? It could take any amount of time to find his body. As for the fighting, it'll never stop."

"Why?" She gasped.

"Because of what Kyo is. You will understand after this quest is over."

They stayed up until about 1:30...when Yuya said a couple questions, Hotaru found out that it meant about a million. After she finally went away to get some sleep, his head sort of hurt. But he didn't really mind. She was special for some reason, and he wanted to find out. He wanted to find out if he, too, had feelings for her like all the rest.