Samurai Deeper Kyo: Hotaru is a space cadet. To be nice about it.

[meganbmoore]

To compensate for the deep, deep pit of angst in the last SDK post, I bring you Hotaru and his spacey-ness.  Because Hotaru is love.  And a woobie who's father spent the first 15 years or so of his life sending assassins after him until his half brother learned about him and asked dad to let him deal with Hotaru, then did the "protect from the shadows" bit.  The spacey is 95% defense mechanism.

Also?  Almost anything you need to explain Akira and Hotaru can been summed up by this:  their puberty and later teen years(respectively) were spent with a battlenuts perv as their idol, their chief example of feminine companionship was a guy who wanted to marry said(VERY straight) idol, and their only other adult supervision is the world's biggest softie who's ALSO a battle crazed nut.  They're allowed to be a touch...off(and no wonder they can't decide whether to pour everything out to Yuya or kill her...on the one hand, she's probably the first normal girl they've spent more than five minutes with.  On the other hand, she gives Kyo warm fuzzy feelings, and they don't like that.  Because their goal in life is to be the strongest ever and to achieve that by killing Kyo.  The other can be second best.  Unless the other kills Kyo first, in which case one will have to kill the other to still be the best.  It's their own special brand of love.)

Anyway, 4 pages(raws with translations) or Hotaru and his own, special little world.  And Shinrei trying(and failing) to deal with the Hotaru-verse.

10
Shinrei: I think we might be inside the Red Tower...
Hotaru: Yes!!  Definitely!!
Shinrei: There was the underground maze, so maybe the inside of the tower is a maze too...?
Hotaru: Kyo's real body has definitely been revived...
Hotaru: I can sense it with my Kyo radar.
Hotaru: Yes, it's definitely been revived... I have to find him and fight him...
Shinrei: You have a one-track mind... well, you're not going to find him here.
Hotaru: I must, I must!
Shinrei: We have to get to Former Aka no Ou's place as soon as possible...
Hotaru: I must, I must!!
Hotaru: I will!



His Kyo radar...it tingles...it says "Me wanna go fight!"

11
Shinrei: Just shut up!!  What you're saying is suicidal and insane!!  It's utterly ridiculous...
Hotaru: Huh?  Did you say something?
Shinrei: Listen to people when they're talking to you...!!
Hotaru: Uh... well this section of wall has a weird feeling... (like maybe there's like a floor and ceiling and stuff behind it...)
Shinrei: What the hell are you talking about!?
Shinrei: ...Forget it.  You never make any sense... What was I thinking when I joined forces with you so we could get into the Red Tower...!?
Hotaru: Okay, let's go this way.  It looks more fun.
Shinrei: Don't just make decisions on your own!!
Shinrei:  That's it!!  I give up!!  I can't take you and your behavior anymore!!  I'm going to find the Former Aka no Ou on my own...



Poor, poor Shinrei...but I won't feel sympathy for you until the current arc(in what's been published in the US) wraps up.  Hotaru is tapping walls and skipping...SKIPPING, I say...

12
Shinrei: One, two men?
Hotaru: No...
Shinrei: Five?
Hotaru: Yeah...
Hotaru: Huh?  What's this feeling?
Shinrei: Let's go, Keikoku!!



Oh Hotaru, you were so focused until that last panel.  But your radar sensed Akira, and you still wanted to fry something, so I understand.  Besides, it's just Shinrei.

13
Shinrei: $@&%^*!!!!
Hotaru: Hmm?
Hotaru: Maybe that was a little too much fire...?
Shinrei: ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME!?
Hotaru: I just thought we should wait and see who they are... I had a feeling...
Tora: Hotaru-han!!
Shinrei: YOU...!!
Hotaru: I knew it.



*pats Shinrei*   It'll be ok, you'll survive it.  Look, reinforcements have arrived...

At this point, Shinrei and Benitora(headband) exchange status updates, Hotaru continues on in his "I wanna go fight Kyo" vein and Akira broods on his current obsession.