Chapter 3

By the time Kouichi and I had tracked down the others to the station, there was already a (Different one from the Angler) Trailmon leaving. Which probably Tomoki and possibly Junpei on board. Good. At least I wouldn't have to worry about one or the both of them getting hurt in all this.

When we got to the station however it was to see both Junpei and Tomoki with the others.

"What, you two are still here?" Kouichi called cheerfully. "I thought you two left on that Trailmon."

"Well, I decided I want to be a hero, like Takuya." Tomoki said quietly. "What about you guys? Why are you still here?"

"Kouji's in it because he's into this whole saving the world thing," Kouichi jerked a thumb in my direction. "I'm just in it to make sure nothing happens to him. Mom would kill me if that happened."

"You're really gonna do it?" Bokomon's eyes lit up.

"Everyone..." That female voice again. I picked up my Digivice to discover that strange symbol on it again.

"The Forest Terminal..."

"The Forest Terminal?" Takuya repeated. "Where's that?"

There was no response. The light on my Digivice...The Digivices, rather. I looked at the others to see theirs were lit up like mine, but faded too.

"Hey! Answer me!" Takuya fiddled around with his red and black Digivice, but nothing happened.

"She's not very good at being clear, is she?" Kouichi asked, irritably.

"The Forest Terminal is down these tracks..." Bokomon had that book of his out again. He pointed to one of the sets of train tracks leaving the station.

"What's over there?" Neemon asked before anyone else could.

There was a long pause.

"...I don't know."

"Guess we'd better get walking," Kouichi said. "Too bad that Trailmon left, he could give us a ride."

"Or we could just wait for another," Izumi pointed out.

"We don't know if another one will come." Kouichi shrugged.

"Bokomon, do you know how far away it is?" Tomoki asked. "It's getting late."

Come to think of it, it was nearly sunset. I realized that the time here seemed a bit off, like we were in another time zone.

Bokomon flipped to another page. "It shouldn't be too far, most Trailmon terminals are within a day's walk of one another."

"Walking for a whole day?" Junpei groaned. "I don't want to do that."

"Is there a place here we can stay for the night?" I asked.

"None that has anything sized for humans. All the Digimon here are rather small. You'd have to sleep on the floor."

Everyone groaned at that.

"Better the floor in a safe place than the wilderness," Bokomon glared at us. "You'd have to post watches in case you were attacked."

"Attacked?" Tomoki shuddered.

"I don't think we need to worry about that." Izumi flipped some of her hair back. "We've got Takuya and Junpei with us, I don't think any Digimon would want to mess with two Legendary Warriors, right?"

Takuya shrugged. "She's got a point. So, we're all for walking?"

"If it leads to something more comfortable than the floor of a house that's not made for humans, I'm in," Junpei said.

"We only have to walk if a Trailmon doesn't come up in time." Kouichi looked around. "Which is probably not gonna happen."

"Right, let's go." Takuya led the way out of the station.

It's not that I don't like traveling in groups, it's dealing with other people that I don't do very well. So, when I wind up walking with more than one other person I usually fall to the back. Since everyone else is looking forward, they don't see me, I don't have to deal with them, and I'm okay. The sun set further and further as we left the Flame Terminal behind us and headed into the desolate landscape beyond it, giving us all long shadows which faded out when the sun dipped behind the horizon.

Takuya, Kouichi, and Junpei were walking just ahead of me. Izumi was a bit ahead of them, keeping an eye on Tomoki, who was balancing on one of the train rails.

"So, you guys got that message, too?" My brother was saying.

"Yup." Takuya put his arms behind his head and stretched. "Almost got flattened by a truck while I was on my way here...I didn't want to leave that soccer ball in the street where the kid who was playing with it could get hit."

"Soccer? Don't suppose you play it, too?"

"Wait, you play soccer? That's great, which position?"

"Left winger. You?"

"Center forward." Takuya grinned. "My Dad coaches our youth league, too. Who do you play for"

"Oh, I just play for school." Was it just me or did Kouichi's shoulders tense a bit?

"That explains why I never played you. Well, that's great. Maybe when we get home we can have a match. Or sooner, if we can find a ball."

There was silence for a moment before Takuya turned to Junpei.

"Hey, why didn't you stay on the train?"

Junpei scratched at his cheek. "Well, I thought this world was kinda interesting I'd like to explore it with you guys."

"And Izumi." Takuya added with a snicker.

"I didn't say that!"

"Weren't you just talking about how pretty she was?" Kouichi had his face turned enough that I could easily see his smirk.

"You're blushing." Takuya pointed out. As a matter of fact, the blush had spread to the back of Junpei's neck.

"I..Idiots. What grade are you two in, anyways?

"I'm in fifth grade." Kouichi said.

Takuya nodded. "Yeah, me too."

"I'm in sixth grade.

"Sixth graders can fall in love, too? I never would have guessed it." Kouichi shrugged.

"Ooh..." Junpei walked faster, quickly leaving the other two behind.

"I should apologize to him when I get a chance," Kouichi remarked. "I probably went too far there."

Takuya shrugged. "Probably."

"Look!" Tomoki cried, pointing up ahead. There seemed to be a very large canyon on the horizon. The train tracks, evidently supposed to cross the canyon, were broken off at either end, and as we got closer I could see a slow-moving river winding through the bottom of the trench. It was a reassuring sight compared to the cliffs I'd seen earlier, which didn't seem to have a bottom.

"How do we get across?" Izumi asked.

We could, in theory, get to the bottom of the canyon and cross there, I reflected. Of course, the difficulty was getting up, down, and across the river.

"We'll just have to find another way." Takuya crossed his arms irritably. "Hey, is it me or are there lights down there?"

I looked down into the chasm. Sure enough, I could see flickering lights, like torches.

"Let's get a little closer." Kouichi suggested. "Maybe those guys know how to get to the Forest Terminal. Or at least where there's a place to sleep for the night."

As we got nearer, I could see a winding ramp leading down to the bottom. We were almost down when Tomoki started slowing down.

"Getting tired, Tomoki?" Takuya wondered.

"Nuh-uh. I'm not tired." Tomoki started walking faster. Izumi hid a smile behind her hand, before looking back out into the canyon.

"I don't see those lights anymore. I wonder what happened."

"Hey!"

Kouichi had made it to the bottom of the ramp first, and was looking at a large boulder. We all scrambled down the rest of the ramp to see the boulder. Or rather the carvings on the boulder. There was a picture of an angel of some sort, surrounded by odd-looking symbols.

"What's this?" Kouichi pointed at the carvings.

Bokomon pulled out his book. "That's Lucemon. He's the one who was trying to take over the world, until the Legendary Warriors stopped him."

"I've seen that symbol before." Tomoki pointed at one set of symbols. "That's on Agnimon's belt."

Come to think of it, I realized that there were in fact ten symbols. I guessed that they represented each warrior.

"I've seen those, too." Izumi reached a hand to another symbol. "They're on Blitzmon's legs."

"What are the other elements?" I asked.

Bokomon flipped several pages. "We've already seen Agnimon of Fire and Blitzmon of Thunder. The others are Grottomon of Earth, Chakkmon of Ice, Wolfmon of Light, Mercurymon of Metal, Ranamon of Water, Fairymon of Wind, and Arbormon of Wood."

"But, that's only nine!" Junpei protested. "Who's the other one?"

"That's the Warrior of Darkness, but there's a problem." Bokomon held up his book. The pages he showed were all black.

"What's that?" Tomoki squinted at the pages.

"That's all I have on Darkness."

Kouichi crossed his arms irritably. "Well, that's a lot of help."

That was when I noticed the flickering lights again, only this time they were right behind us. Or rather, surrounding us. I turned to see dozens of creatures that looked like giant candles with faces, waxy "hands," and matchstick spears, all of which were pointed at us. I froze. Next to me, I could hear Izumi gasp and Takuya yelp in surprise.

"What are humans doing here?" The "candle" in the center demanded. "Speak up, or else..." The others held up their spears menacingly.

"Let me handle this," Kouichi whispered. Then out loud: "Oh, I'm really sorry. We didn't know this was your territory. We were just passing through. Would you guys know how far away the Forest Terminal is?"

The candles glanced at one another.

"You didn't answer my question." The candle who had spoken earlier repeated. "What are you doing in this world?"

"These humans have the Spirits of the Legendary Warriors!" Bokomon huffed. "They're here to save it..." He got no further as Kouichi pointedly nudged him with his foot. The candles murmured amongst themselves.

Kouichi rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Someone brought us here, then told us to go to the Forest Terminal. We figured that that was the best way to get home. Now we've answered your question, you haven't answered mine yet."

The candle paused, I noticed that its' flame flared up a couple of times. Then another candle's flame flared a bit. I wondered if it was some kind of way to communicate.

"The Forest Terminal is too far for one day's walk. It's getting late, perhaps you humans would like to stay in our village for the night?"

"Well, we are getting tired..." Takuya glanced at Tomoki, who nodded. "I think we should get some rest."

"Of course. Right this way." The candles began bouncing off through the canyon. Fortunately, their flames made them easier to follow.

"Bokomon, do you know who those guys are?" Izumi asked him in a low enough voice that the candles wouldn't hear.

"They're Candlemon." Bokomon had his book out again. "But, I didn't know they lived this close to the Flame Terminal. They prefer hotter places, like volcanoes."

"That's weird," Junpei remarked.

"We're almost there, humans!" The candle...Candlemon said. I looked up to see what looked like a cave of some kind in the canyon wall. As we neared, I could see that it seemed to be more like a system of caves joined together.

"This is our village," the Candlemon gestured at the caves. "You humans are welcome to sleep here tonight. If there's anything you need, just ask."

"Well, we probably need some food, too." Kouichi glanced at the rest of us. "We didn't exactly get any time to pack." He grinned innocently at the Candlemon. "We'll only take a little."

"What kind of hosts would we be if we didn't offer our guests food? Come, let us go and get that food."

"Hey, Kouichi..." Takuya said in an undertone as we entered the cave. "You did a good job getting us in here. Thanks."

"It's nothing." I couldn't see my brother's face very well in the darkness, but I thought his eyes darkened for a moment.

The Candlemon had a tunnel which led to a large central cave It was dominated by a large fire in the middle, which several more Candlemon were bouncing around. The others quickly got close to the fire, chatting eagerly as they did. They were all enjoying themselves, weren't they? I thought about joining them for a minute, but couldn't bring myself to. If I stayed with the others, they'd probably try to make me join in their conversation, especially Kouichi. No, I couldn't bring myself to join them. Besides, I still had those books I'd gotten out of the library earlier. I quietly slipped out of the cave.

Outside the air was fresh, and the light from the moons...There were three moons, not one, which made it a lot easier to read, was pleasant. I looked around, then found a nice place to read with my backpack next to me and my back to the canyon wall, which was still warm from the sun earlier. It took a few minutes before I was interrupted, first by a Candlemon.

"Wouldn't you like to come in?" It asked. "We've got food. Your friends are already eating."

"Later. Thanks." I didn't even pull myself out of the book. Luckily it took the hint and hopped back inside.

About twenty minutes later, it was Kouichi who interrupted me.

"Hey, you all right, little brother?"

"Fine."

"D'you want some food? The Candlemon gave us some weird apples that taste like meat."

"I'll have some later. Thanks."

"You sure? The others might eat them all."

"I'm fine. I just want to read my book, okay?" I said a bit more defensively than I'd intended, I realized belatedly.

"I'm not trying to drag you into anything, Kouji. I'm just trying to make sure you get something to eat."

I flinched. I hadn't wanted to insult him. "Sorry. I appreciate it, thank you. I...Remember when I told you that my reaction to anyone trying to talk to me is to grab the nearest book? I just don't interact with other people too well. I'll have dinner later."

"You aren't the only one who doesn't interact with people too well." Kouichi said in a sheepish tone. I pulled myself out of my book to see him rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "I said something stupid to Junpei earlier. I should go apologize." He flashed that bright grin at me. "I'll see you later, little brother."

As he went back I heard him yelp in surprise, like he'd bumped into someone. Then there was some muffled conversation. The newcomer's voice sounded like Izumi. I picked up my name in the talking. Great, just what I needed. More people trying to encourage me to be with the others. I didn't want to join anyone. The only reason I hadn't just left the others was because I wasn't stupid enough to think I could handle any Digimon attacking me without the others.

A minute later, Izumi came out of the cave. "Kouji? I brought some food for you."

"Thanks." As reluctant as I was to deal with anyone else, I was getting hungry. She handed me a plate with several of what looked like roasted apples, but instead of heading back into the cave she sat down next to me with another apple. I mentally groaned as I picked an apple up.

"It's pretty nice out here. It was getting pretty hot inside. And noisy, too." Izumi took a bite out of her apple, so she didn't talk for a few seconds. "Besides, I thought you could use the company."

I wasn't in the mood for company. The only reason I hadn't gotten up and left was because the only other place to go was inside...And that was even worse. I picked up my book again, keeping the apple in one hand so I could eat it, hoping that if I did that long enough, she'd leave.

"You don't talk a lot, do you Kouji? I don't think I've heard more than one or two sentences out of you since we left the Flame Terminal. And here you are buried in a book."

I looked down, keenly aware of my inability to interact with others. I didn't usually interact, I reacted.

"I actually don't mind," Izumi continued. "You haven't told me to leave or anything. Besides, it's easier to deal with someone when they're not talking your ears off. I had a friend back in Italy who was like that...She would talk so much I could barely get a word in."

Italy? Come to think of it, she'd said a foreign word before back at the terminal. Had that been an Italian word? I peeked out from behind my book in surprise.

"Oh, sorry. You weren't there when I told the others. My family and I have been in Italy for the last four years. We just got back a couple of months ago...I'm so used to Italy that life in Japan is a bit hard to get used to sometimes."

I nodded in sympathy. I might not be good at talking to people, but I certainly knew how hard it was to go from living in one place to another. It must have been even harder to come back to a country you barely remembered, with no friends...

"Is that smoke?" Izumi's alarmed voice brought me back to the present. I turned to see that there was indeed smoke coming out of the cave's entrance. An oddly colored yellow smoke...

"Run!" Takuya sprang out of the cave, carrying a coughing Tomoki. "It was a trap! They're after us!"

I gasped and pulled myself to my feet. Izumi did the same as a bunch of Candlemon hopped out of the cave carrying torches which were giving off that yellow smoke.

"Head for the water!" Takuya sprinted for the nearby river, with Izumi on his heels. I paused at the edge long enough to stuff my book into my backpack, and to mentally thank Satomi for getting me a waterproof backpack after I'd been caught out in the rain, ruining a library book, before plunging in with the others.

Fortunately I could swim a little. Not enough to do anything fancy, but enough to keep my head over the water. Tomoki didn't seem to be doing so well, but Takuya was holding him up. We swam behind a nearby boulder, where the Candlemon couldn't see us and the water there was shallow enough that Takuya, Izumi, and I could stand before pausing to catch our breath. Takuya held Tomoki up, so he didn't have to worry about it.

"Where's Kouichi?" I had a horrible feeling I knew the answer.

"And Junpei?" Izumi added.

Takuya's face paled in horror. "They were right behind me...They must still be in there, we have to go rescue them!"

"If they're still alive." I'd read too many books where the minor characters got caught in a trap and killed. I instantly regretted the words. What was I thinking, saying something like that? This was my brother I was talking about. I closed my mouth and looked down at the water.

"I don't think they're trying to kill us," Izumi said. "If they'd really wanted to kill us, they'd have attacked us when we first met them."

She had a point...Kouichi was all right. He had to be. I clenched my fists under the water.

"What actually happened, anyways? Kouji and I were outside."

"The Candlemon threw some weird powder on the fire, and it started giving off that yellow smoke. I grabbed Tomoki and ran, the others were right behind me..." Takuya pulled out his Digivice. "Okay, you guys stay here. I'll go rescue the others." He handed Tomoki to me. I was about to back away in protest, but Tomoki wrapped his arms around me before I could.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Izumi asked. "They're candles. I don't think fire hurts them."

"I'm the only one here who can Evolve. Besides, fire won't hurt me, too."

"But, Takuya..." Tomoki protested.

"I'll be fine. I don't want those Candlemon to get you, too. Just stay here." He pulled his goggles on and dove underneath the water. We peered out from behind the boulder to see Takuya Spirit Evolve, then engage the Candlemon as Agnimon. Unfortunately, Izumi's remarks about the Candlemon being fireproof turned out to be entirely too true. Agnimon's fire attacks not only didn't hurt them, it made their flames stronger. The Candlemon started attacking with fire, too, but after Agnimon absorbed their fire attacks, they tried something else, firing wax pellets at him. These had more effect; Agnimon yelped in pain, then had to dodge more wax pellets. Now the situation had turned from stalemate into a running battle, and things were not looking good for Agnimon.

"We have to help him!" Tomoki struggled to get out of my grasp, only to fall into the water. He struggled for a minute before I grabbed him again. "We can't just sit here and watch those guys hurt Takuya...!"

"We aren't going to." Izumi turned to us. "All those Candlemon are occupied with Agnimon, right? We can sneak into the cave and free Kouichi and Junpei."

Tomoki sniffed a little. Even with his face wet, he was crying. "Yeah, Blitzmon can take those guys down. We gotta hurry!"

If it wasn't for the fact that my brother was still in the cave, I would have refused. A part of me wanted to freeze up and go somewhere safe to wait until it all ended, but Kouichi was in trouble, and we were the only ones who could help him at this point. We sloshed out of the water, keeping our eyes out for any Candlemon who might spot us. The cave still had that yellow smoke coming out of it, which definitely put a cramp in Izumi's plan.

"Maledizione! We can't get in!" She exclaimed.

I looked at the smoke as an idea came to mind. We had just been in the water, and our clothing was still wet...

"Do you have any sort of cloth handkerchiefs?" I asked.

"Huh?" They both blinked at me.

"I read somewhere that if you put a wet cloth on your nose and mouth, smoke won't affect you as much."

"He's right." Tomoki wiped his eyes. "I saw it once in an anime."

Izumi searched her pockets before pulling out a pair of handkerchiefs and handing one to me.

"Here. We'll rescue Junpei first, since he can Evolve, then we'll go back for Kouichi."

I nodded, reluctantly. I felt horrible at not being able to save my brother right away, but time was of the essence, and Kouichi couldn't Evolve yet.

"You stay here, Tomoki. Call us if you see any Candlemon, okay?" Izumi flashed a reassuring smile as she put the cloth over her face. He nodded.

"I won't let you guys down!"

The smoke stung my eyes as we entered the cave. It was also a bit hard to see, which made our task even more difficult. We didn't say anything to each other, since that would give the smoke a better chance to get us. After a minute or so of walking Izumi grabbed my shoulder, then pointed up ahead. Sure enough, I could see Junpei and Kouichi lying on the floor right outside the large cavern. My stomach tightened as I remembered my earlier thoughts of how they might not be alive, and the tight feeling refused to leave until I was at my brother's side, turning him over to check him. He was still breathing, I realized. Izumi was right! The smoke must have been some kind of knockout gas.

I realized that Izumi was staring at me with concern in her eyes, and I nodded. She relaxed, then pointed down to Junpei. I moved over to help her pick him up, then we turned around and headed for the cave's entrance.

When we were about halfway back, Izumi suddenly paused.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I felt a breeze...Was there a tunnel over here?"

"I can't remember. We can worry about it after we're safe."

"Right."

The end of the tunnel got closer and closer, and I felt elated. We were almost there. Then once Junpei was out I could go and rescue Kouichi...

There was a loud cry from the entrance, and I looked up to see a Candlemon looming over a terrified Tomoki.

"Y-You leave me alone! Why did you hurt us? We never did anything to you!"

"You have the Spirits. I'm sure Cherubimon will pay us handsomely for these." It tossed Tomoki's Digivice up and down. "Don't try to fight us, and we won't hurt you, okay?"

I suddenly felt Junpei's weight shift as Izumi pulled his arm off her shoulder. I would have asked her what she was doing if I hadn't been occupied with Junpei's weight knocking me off balance. By the time I recovered enough to put Junpei on the floor, Izumi had a fairly large rock in both hands and was sneaking up on the Candlemon. The Candlemon took the rock right to the face, causing it to drop Tomoki's Digivice. Unfortunately, all that did was make it mad.

"Codardo! Try doing that to someone who can fight back!" Izumi yelled.

"Oh, I'll do more than just that," the Candlemon snarled.

That was when I saw a light in the tunnel from where we had just come. A part of the tunnel wall suddenly blew apart, and I saw a strange statue, a bit like the one that had let Junpei Evolve into Blitzmon. Instead of a beetle however, this one looked more like a fairy. Was it going to one of us? Maybe it was mine...I felt for my Digivice, but the Spirit instead flew past me and outside the cave, to Izumi.

"Is this my Spirit?" She asked, pulling out her Digivice. The Spirit turned to Digicode and went in, and then a ring of Digicode wrapped around her hand.

"Spirit...Evolution!"

More Digicode swirled out of her Digivice, completely covering her. What came out looked like a fairy from some of the books I read.

"...Fairymon!"

The Candlemon, no doubt realizing that it was in serious trouble, hopped off in terror. Tomoki, realizing I was there, ran over to help with Junpei. Fortunately, we were close enough to the entrance that the smoke wasn't affecting us as badly.

"Can you stay with him? I need to rescue Kouichi..." I got to my feet.

"I can help with that. Brezza Petalo!" Izumi...Fairymon said. She gestured at the cave and I suddenly felt a blast of wind, driving the smoke back. I ran back through the tunnel to where Kouichi had fallen and pulled his arm over my shoulder to bring him out. Fairymon flew past me to the central fire where the smoke was coming from in the first place.

"Brezza Petalo!"

The wind blast surrounded the fire, which quickly went out, leaving only a few torches spaced along the walls for light.

Fairymon flew past me again as we went back down the tunnel. By the time we reached the cave's mouth, she had carried Junpei outside the cave. I noticed with a twist of sardonic amusement that he'd been placed in the same spot where I'd been reading earlier. Still, it was probably the best place. Tomoki gave me a hand putting Kouichi down next to Junpei. I spared my brother one last glance before turning my attention back to the fight.

By this point, Fairymon had flown off to help Agnimon. He was looking somewhat battered and very tired, but he was doing better than I had dreaded. Fairymon fluttered down next to him.

"Need a hand?"

"Yeah, I...Wait a sec, Izumi?"

"You got it. Now, let's see what we can do here." She gestured again and wind started up again. "Brezza Petalo!"

The wind roared past the Candlemon, making their flames glow even larger. One of the Candlemon burst out laughing. "Wind? What do you think wind does against fire? You're even less use against us than the Warrior of Fire!"

"Oh, really? Look behind you."

The Candlemon looked behind them at the river. And at the very large wave of water the wind had kicked up. The wave came crashing down on all of them, making rings of Digicode appear on them. Fairymon held up her Digivice.

"Evil spirits, let the wind blow you clean. Digicode, scan!"

The Candlemon all turned to eggs as their Digicode disappeared into her Digivice. Agnimon and Fairymon both shrank down into their human forms.

"Izumi, that was amazing! How did you do that?" Takuya asked.

She laughed. "Sometimes it's not the storm itself that does the damage, it's the stuff that the storm blows. I learned that back in Italy, when a tree took out our power in a storm..." All of a sudden, her Digivice lit up again. Streams of Digicode flowed out of it, forming a stairway on the other side of the canyon. More Digicode went upwards, to the broken train tracks at the top, fixing them.

"Well, that answers the question of how we get out of here," Izumi remarked.

"Ow...My head."

I turned around to see Kouichi was gently holding his head. Beside him, Junpei coughed and stirred.

"What happened?" Junpei asked.

Izumi laughed. "Oh, I just Spirit Evolved and saved everyone."

"What? I missed it?" He turned to Tomoki. "I'll bet she had a really pretty Evolution, too."

"She sure did. She looked like a butterfly."

Junpei slumped back against the wall. "And I missed it. I have the worst luck..."

"Yes, but if you and Kouichi hadn't got caught by those Candlemon I wouldn't have discovered my Spirit." Izumi smiled down at him. "Thank you, Junpei."

Junpei blushed. "Er...I..."

"What, we missed another Evolution?" Bokomon and Neemon came out of the tunnel. Bokomon looked ready to eat metal and spit out nails in rage. "Neemon, you idiot! If you hadn't got caught by their sleep powder, we would have seen the whole thing."

"You can see her the next time I Evolve." Izumi put her hands on her hips. "The question is, now what do we do? Are we going to stay here for the night, or try and find some other place?"

"Well, it's not like the Candlemon are still here." Kouichi looked around. "Did you scan them all?"

"I hope so. If there's any left they probably won't bother us, but just in case..." Takuya held up his Digivice. "I think we should have someone who can Evolve on night watch."

Well, if it was everyone who could Evolve, then I didn't need to stand there and listen to them bicker about who got which watch. I turned and walked back into the cave. It had been a long day, after all. And almost getting killed several times hadn't helped. Now that the rush from all that was fading, I felt exhausted. I went back to the main cavern to find a nice dark spot in one corner of the main cavern to curl up and close my eyes. I could hear the sounds of the others entering the cavern, but ignored them.

"Move over, little brother. I'm gonna sleep here, too."

I opened my eyes to glare at Kouichi, who was lying down beside me.

"There are other places you can sleep, you know. It's a big room."

"I know." He didn't move though. I was sorely tempted to move myself, but I was too tired. Besides, if I did, Kouichi would probably just follow me. The best I could do was roll over so my back was to him. Which I did.

"Been some day, huh?"

This was exactly why I hadn't wanted to be anywhere near Kouichi. I didn't want to talk about how my day was, I just wanted to sleep! I closed my eyes and tried to relax. The last thing I heard was my brother's voice.

"G'night, Kouji."

Author's note: Italian translation time! "Maledizione" means something like "Curses," and is a mild Italian swearword. "Codardo" means "Coward."