A/N: Tried to catch up on study this weekend and failed on all accounts. And now we're on the last day of march. Oh boy... Next chapter's Kouichi's. Depending on how much I get through, chapter after may be Kouichi as well, otherwise Takuya.

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Wish Journeys 1.1
Three Brothers

Chapter 11/Kouji

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There was a castle that told horror stories like the abandoned building on the wharf in the real world. How the man in charge had gone mad and imprisoned the entire populace in it, until they died. When the walls were finally broken down, only he remained. Him and the few missing that meant they may have been able to escape…

It was pretty much the same story, except there was no list of missing peoples that someone was slowly crossing names off as one body after another was identified. From what he'd heard, nobody had ventured in. Nobody had dared. The ruler was a mad rabbit – a powerful mad rabbit who was at least five times his height. Once, before he'd gone mad, he'd visited another castle. He knew there was a sphere in that castle – in both castles. The spheres of light and darkness. But, somehow, he also knew that sphere could not yet be touched.

And, once he got the sphere of darkness, he wouldn't need to worry about this one.

Briefly, he wondered why that was. What it was that tied the spheres of light and darkness together like the others weren't. But the other four spheres were tied to something: nature. Water in oceans. Earth in forests. Wind on mountains. Fire in flame terminal and a volcano – where else could he find a fire sphere? Both of those had been snatched from him, but there must be somewhere else…

He could worry about that after claiming this darkness sphere.

Horror tales didn't frighten him.

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For a castle that tragedy had claimed, it was quite empty. So was the world around it. So clean – as though there were servants still cleaning, still supplying. The outside world didn't have that luxury; it was just abandoned.

If it were reality, he would have scoffed at the poorly set stage, but something set him on edge. It wasn't the darkness. For all they called the place the land of darkness there were stars in the sky to light the way. A purple, burning swirl of lights that looked as though the milky way touched the tip of the castle. And every window showed those lights.

Or, maybe, it was more like glow in the dark stickers. Childish things to scare the night terrors away.

Except he remembered his own ones: stars and planets and a crescent moon, making a little personal space on the underside of his desk where nobody looked except he – and Hikaru, but Hikaru was a dog. Such sentimentalities were beyond him.

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'Oh, did you get lost?'

Kouji blinked, and when looking around didn't yield the speaker, he looked down. There was something pink and blobby near his feet, blinking up at him.

'Lost?' he echoed. He was sure he hadn't seen this blob before.

'That's okay.' Apparently, it had taken the question for agreement instead. 'I'll take you back. Your friends must be worried by now.'

And it – because who knew what gender that babyish voice was – hopped away, turning a corner.

'Friends?' Kouji repeated.

He knew he sounded like a parrot, but who in their right minds called themselves his friends?

'Oh, don't get lost again.' The pink blob appeared around the corner. 'Everyone will be so worried, especially with the dark sphere –'

'You know where the sphere of darkness is?' Kouji pushed the confusing blabber away from the forefront of his mind and focused on the important part.

'Of course.' The pink blob looked at him like he'd grown an extra head. 'That's where your friends are.'

Kouji realised that, by playing along, he'd find the sphere of darkness through less effort than on his own.

'Lead the way,' he said instead.

And, this time, he followed.

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'I'm confused,' the pink blob suddenly said. It was staring straight ahead in the open doorway.

Kouji looked. He didn't see why – until the inhabitants of the room turned around. He recognised two: the boy and the little chocolate rabbit who'd taken the fire sphere. He didn't recognise the other three: a boy with brown hair, a yellow rabbit and a white bear.

And of course there were more blobby pink things.

But what caught his attention was the face of the mage boy. He hadn't noticed it earlier, but it was practically a mirror image of his own. It would have been less striking if he still had his bandana instead of the armour of this world, and it would be more if the other boy's hair was longer and tied back like his. And maybe the eye colour was a tad different too, but apart from that –

So that's how the pink blob had thought he'd gotten "separated" from his friends.

Mistaken identity. It figured.

But why the hell was there someone with almost exactly the same face as him?

At least the other looked similarly shocked. But apparently didn't have the sense of mind to voice his surprise, so that duty fell to Kouji.

'He doesn't look like you,' the chocolate rabbit replied matter-of-factly before the other could say anything.

'That's right,' and the voice sounded almost dreamy. The mage blinked, then studied him again. His expression hardened. 'You were at the Land of Fire.'

Well, that sounded normal. Relatively.

'So what if I was?' Kouji shot back. 'You were the one who snuck away with the orb.' Coward. He didn't say that part aloud. He had enough sense not to poke a sleeping dragon like that. '

The brown haired boy looked between the two, then back at Kouji. He took in the armour. And the sword that wasn't so obvious while tucked away in its scabbard. 'You – you burnt the forest too!'

Kouji gritted his teeth. How many were going to remind him of that?

'Kouichi.' That was the chocolate, tugging on the other's cloak. 'Forget them. We need to get the sphere.'

The sphere!

He moved, and then stopped in his tracks and drew his sword.

'Hey!' the brunet cried. 'This isn't any place for a fight!'

'You're a Chosen too.' Similar sword – though it only had two spheres in it. 'Are you going to just let everyone take the spheres before you? Is your wish that worthless?'

The boy frowned, but he replied: 'I owed him a sphere technically anyway. Besides, that sphere's important to Lopmon so it's only fair it goes to his friend.'

'Friend.' Kouji snorted at that. 'Well, if you won't move aside –'

The gaze hardened. 'You'll burn me like the forest?'

Kouji scowled.

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He hadn't come to the castle looking for a fight. Or looking for a mirror.

He had come looking for the darkness orb, but the boy in front of him had made it painfully clear he wasn't about to move.

It had taken a few minutes for Kouji to lose his patience and try to walk past.

And, of course, the other threw a punch to stop him.

He parried with the sword. There was a cry of pain, and the next strike was sword on sword.

Kouji took the time to examine the other blade. It was wood, but unlike wood a hatchet would break into little bits.

It was weird wood could be like that, but this world didn't follow most of the regular rules.

And he could also tell the boy holding that sword was no martial artist.

He pushed the other back.

The brunet winced.

Yep, not accustomed to this at all.

But the two spheres gave him a bit of a power boost compared to the other idiots from kendo class. So it wasn't as straight forward as that.

And he wasn't a bully. Just a guy trying to get past another guy in his way.

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He hadn't been looking to seriously injure the other. Just scare him off. Or knock him out.

But when he finally got a clear shot to do exactly that – after quite a bit of parrying and waiting for an opportunity where he could use the hilt instead of the blade – he was knocked back by something else.

An invisible shield. From magic, he decided, seeing as the mage user had his staff out and pointed in their direction.

He also had the middle spot on its head filled. With the darkness sphere.

That meant the sphere was a no-go now. At least there was still the one in Castle Light.

'So, you got the sphere.'

He tried to sound uncaring, but in truth he was a bit bitter about it. That was twice – and though this time it would be easier to find another, he still had thought of nowhere that might yield another fire sphere. If there was a place, it must be somewhere far. Somewhere he hadn't yet gone. Hadn't yet heard of.

It was frustrating.

And that frustration must have shown in either his voice or his tone – or both – because the mage did not relax his grip on his staff, even as the brunet crawled back to his feet.

'Your fighting's frightened the inhabitants,' the mage said quietly.

Kouji glanced around – though he kept at least one eye on the mage and the brunet warrior. The pink blobs didn't look frightened to him. On guard, yes. But not frightened. Nor fascinated. Just calculating. Waiting.

It was unnerving, now that he paid attention.

And there was something unnerving about the slightly taller bunny gripping the mage's cloak. 'He'll hurt them.'

Would he? As long as there wasn't a reason, no. Or so he'd like to think.

He hadn't meant to hurt the inhabitants of the forest after all. And he didn't know they had been hurt. The place was, as far as he remembered, deserted. Left to the monster he'd slain.

'No, he won't.'

But that wasn't his voice. It was the mage.

They didn't teach how to fight a mage in a dojo either.

And if he wasn't so off-footed and so frustrated, it might have been the prospect of a nice challenge as well.

But instead, it was just a necessity.

En garde!