For all you Fushigi Yuugi fans out there, I'm sure you've read a few fanfics where someone pairs Hotohori with Nuriko.

What makes that pairing so popular anyway?

I'm going to analyze it myself if you don't mind. So let's start with the two characters alone.

Hotohori: I'm sure a lot of fangirls like this guy because of his looks. Well not this fan. I'm more drawn by his kind heart and his role as both protector and comforter to the ones he knows and loves. He's a very gentle young man, with no ego trip at all despite his status and age. We often see him lending someone a shoulder to cry on (Miaka) or drawing out his sword in the face of danger. But we know he's a lonely guy. Even if he had hundreds of loyal subjects and advisors and servants in his palace, they only loved him for what he was and not who he was. He's dealt with a lot of pain, from losing his siblings in a struggle for the throne (courtesy of his mother's ironwill ambitions) to being rejected by the very girl he dreamed of being together with since he was a child. We know he marries to Houki, who is a very kind and wonderful woman by the way, but ends up dying within a month of their marriage because of Nakago and leaves his wife and unborn child behind (we meet his son Boushin later on in the OVAs)

Hotohori's a tragic character, and a symbol of "false" adoration because he wished for once to be treated as a man, and not as an emperor. His status, while it had great power and responsibility, also brought on his loneliness. But even so, he always put others before himself and risked his life for the ones he cared about. (And just how many emperors went into the battlefield anyway? Hotohori certainly didn't hide in the safety of his palace like the other rulers did. That was also a symbolization of his desire to be treated as an ordinary man.)



Nuriko: Our favorite cross-dressing Suzaku Seishi is full of optimisim and a strong sense of duty. I see him as the "big sister" of the group since he tends to be the one to go to if you want your spirits lifted. He does this a lot, always trying to keep everyone's morale up when things get gloomy. I enjoy both his happy-bubbly side as well as his serious one. Underneath all that cheerfulness, Nuriko does have a tragic past. After losing his little sister Kourin when a runaway cart killed her, Nuriko decided to let her spirit live on by dressing like a woman and entering the Imperial Harem. It seems to me that for a while he had to dettach from the world and from other people because he didn't want to risk revealing his identity as a man. In fact, if it weren't for being a Suzaku Seishi, he probably would've stayed dettached from his social life for a very long time. And yes, I know that in the series he was attracted to Hotohori because his sister probably would've been attracted to him herself.

Like Hotohori, Nuriko is a tragic character himself. Both of them suffered loneliness until Miaka came along and the adventure started. Kindred spirits is what I would like to call them, and I think that's how it should be.

In a realationship, I think the pairing would work. Hotohori definitely would benefit from Nuriko's energy and ability to lift other's spirits. Hotohori has to deal with a lot of serious and often depressing issues in his empire, and I think he could use a few encouraging words and unconditional love to keep him going.

As for Nuriko, we know he's a strong person, but I know deep down that he at least feels some sort of exhaustion or stress by being strong for everyone. Hotohori would be able to comfort him and make sure that he takes the time to let his emotions and stress out in some way. Since Hotohori has a knack for lending shoulders to cry on and a gentle embrace every now and then, he would be perfect as a romantic partner for Nuriko.

I've met with a lot of people who disagree with the pairing, mostly because some people just don't open their minds enough around either their imagination or sheer dislike of people "slash-pairing every single character they come across."

But when it comes to my pairings, I don't do that. It has to work in some way or another not by "crack-pairing" the characters I see. I honestly take the time to analyze personalities and emotions to make a pairing work. I have to use both my emotional and logical side when I write pairings.

Besides, "Ai Wa Ai Da Yo." [Love is Love]