A/N: Why do all the Kouichi chapters have some Kouichi/Lopmon fluff? Making up for lost time I suppose… Usually I pair Kouichi up with Mikemon or BlackTailmon because he's so cute with cats…

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Wish Journeys 1.1
Three Brothers

Chapter 9/Kouichi

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It had been a pure coincidence that they'd both stumbled upon the same sphere – or maybe that was the world trying to tell which method of taking said spheres it preferred.

But when he saw the warrior Chosen try to sweep one of those creatures off the edge, he just had to step in.

He swallowed the shout. The figure was already falling. He summoned a small gust of wind instead, to pick the…molten zombie?... up and place him back on land.

The warrior glared in his direction. Lopmon gasped. Kouichi didn't notice anything worthy of a gasp, nor did he ask.

The other was clearly not going to back down.

He erected a wall instead. Walls were good at keeping things locked up. Keeping things separate.

He didn't even know why the thought had occurred to him, but it had.

And it seemed to work. At least for the few seconds he assessed it.

And then he dropped lightly to the ground and headed into the volcano.

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His breathing was the loudest thing, and that was comforting and somewhat frightening all at once. Because it felt lonely, even with Lopmon walking with him. And it wasn't like the darkness was so complete he couldn't see. The red glowed on the walls. And, even if he could see, silence was still a discerning thing.

And he wondered, again, where that thought had come from. Like the thought about the wall.

'What's wrong, Kouichi?' Lopmon asked, finally, giving sound to the quiet place.

'I don't know,' Kouichi sighed. 'I've just been thinking…and I'm not sure why.'

'Thinking about what?' Lopmon's eyes looked pink, glowing in the light of the embers.

'That's the thing. Random things. Like walls. And silence.'

'Hmm…' Lopmon was silent for a little, before he spoke again. 'Walls and silence are both a part of loneliness.'

Kouichi paused as he considered that, then started walking again. Lopmon was right, of course. Walls and silence were a part of loneliness. But what did he know about loneliness? And why?

'I think…' He began, then broke off and repeated himself. 'I think I was lonely before I met you.'

'I know you were.' And Lopmon sounded almost sad. 'I wish I'd met you before. It might have…' He broke off too. 'That's okay. We'll change this world, so other people don't have to be lonely. Or hurt.'

Lopmon understood. Even better than Kouichi did.

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It was easy to find the fire sphere, and it clicked into place as the fourth. The middle was left empty. He'd reserved that for the light or darkness sphere: whichever he received.

As they left, they wondered if they'd run into the warrior class Chosen again.

They did. His eyes zeroed in on the claimed prize. It wasn't like a sphere in hand that could be knocked out. Actually, Kouichi had no idea whether the spheres could be removed from the hilts or heads of the staffs. Obviously, the other boy didn't know either and he didn't care to try.

'Don't get in my way next time,' he simply snapped, before turning to leave.

'Don't leave a path of destruction in your wake,' Kouichi countered, staring at the other's back. It stiffened a little.

'That's none of your business,' the boy snapped, half-turning back. 'Don't you have a wish of your own or are you one of those welcome mats that everyone walks all over?'

'It's my business,' Lopmon said, stepping forward, before Kouichi found wrap his head around the indirect insult. 'You burn down a forest with no care as to who lives there.'

'I don't have to justify myself to anyone.' He turns away again.

Kouichi wonders if he did, to some level, regret it. Whether it had truly been an accident.

But he didn't see how someone could accidentally burn down such a large area of forestry.

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'Two left,' said Lopmon, dipping himself into the stream. The Land of Fire had been hot and dry and poor for the skin, and they'd stopped in an undisturbed clearing for a little break and lunch.

Kouichi was sitting on the bank, his cloak off and the tunic under it carefully out of the way so as not to get wet. But he didn't deny his feet. They sat in the water, almost up to his knees. He'd rolled his sleeves up as well to his elbows. It was nice to just rest like that.

The staff rested next to him, its three spheres blinking in the high sun.

'Lopmon,' Kouichi said suddenly.

The volcano still bothered him.

Lopmon looked at him. 'Yes, Kouichi?'

'How did we meet?'

Lopmon considered him, then answered: 'When you came through the Gate. You cast a searching spell and it led you straight to me. Don't you remember?'

Kouichi started to shake his head, then realised he did remember. He blinked. He'd been feeling lonely then. The first spell hadn't been to look for a sphere but for a companion. A friend. And he'd found Lopmon. 'That's right. I wonder why I…'

Lopmon splashed over. 'Can you tell me anything beyond the Gate?'

Lopmon hadn't ever asked that before. And he sounded worried asking now.

Kouichi thought about that space of mostly black before Lopmon, and the test, and becoming a Chosen. Had it always been like that? Black and foggy? 'I don't think…'

'You told me once you weren't happy,' Lopmon said. 'That people around you suffered, and you always felt powerless.'

'Did I?' His eyes were glazed as he stared at that wavering fog in his mind. 'That sounds about right…'

Lopmon held two fingers with his paws and the fog slunk away, replaced by images that came so fast he could barely keep track of them all, let alone make sense of them.

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'Kouichi!'

Kouichi groaned and opened his eyes. It was late afternoon, if the sun was anything to go by. His cloak was doubling as a pillow and his tunic wasn't rolled up anymore. Lopmon hovered anxiously, dropping a half-eaten…cabbage?

He laughed at Lopmon's look, like he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar or something like that. At least Lopmon had been busy while he'd…had a nap?

He hadn't realised he was so tired, but then again, it'd been nearly two days.

Only two days? his mind asked.

It felt far longer than that. Especially with Lopmon there. But maybe it was the magic that had brought them together. Love at first sight, except in an unromantic sense. The sort when you look through the windows at a pet shop or find a wild animal on the streets and have your heart stolen away.

He wondered what would happen after they found all five spheres.

'Are you okay?' Lopmon asked. 'I saved you lunch, but I –'

'I'm okay.' Kouichi helped himself up before taking the small paw offered to him. He'd have pulled Lopmon on top of him instead of the other way around. 'And lunch would be great, thanks.'

Lopmon ran off and returned with another cabbage which he plopped on Kouichi's lap, before picking up his own one.

'We had these on the mountain, didn't we?' Kouichi asked.

'Yep.' Lopmon nodded, digging in again. 'And they were delicious.'

Kouichi bit into his. It was sweet. Apple pie, by the taste of it. Like the cabbage knew he could use a bit of cheering up.

Lopmon was still staring at him.

'What will happen once I've made my wish?' Kouichi asked.

Lopmon's ears drooped. 'The Gate only stays open for ninety days,' he confessed. 'You came the first day it opened, so now there are eighty-eight.'

He hadn't realised there was a time limit. 'It won't take that long to find the gems,' he found himself saying.

'Of course not.' Lopmon shook his head. 'Some come through on the last day, searching for a means to fulfil their wish.'

But that wasn't what they were really talking about, and they both knew it.

'Maybe I can come with you?'

'Maybe.' For some reason, Kouichi couldn't find himself melting into that idea. Maybe it was because their friendship spring from here, in this world. Maybe because he was doing something in this world. Because there was something special here that wasn't back…home…

He wondered why he hesitated in using the word "home". Why he didn't miss it. Why he didn't feel particularly inclined to think about it.

'Lopmon,' he asked. 'What is your home like?'

His ears dropped and he stuffed the rest of the cabbage into his mouth. 'There's a sphere there,' he said.

From the tone, Kouichi wondered: 'Is three spheres enough?'

'Once, you wouldn't have needed any.' There was a fond, but sad, smile on his lips. 'It was a sanctuary. Where all the hurt and lost came. But then we were put under siege. Imprisoned in our own land. And the light sphere that was at the core of the castle turned dark.' He gazed at the lake, sparkling blue, then added: 'You're strong; three will be enough. And we're almost at the border of that land.' He pointed through the trees.

Kouichi stared. The clearing wasn't as dense as the forest they'd seen before. He could make out boulders and soil without a living thing on it.

It looked –

'Desolate.' Lopmon's lips twisted into a smirk. 'You can't lay siege on a garden and expect it to keep on blooming.'

'But…why?'

He could see little, but his mind was able to fill in the gaps and make a truly grotesque image without more.

'Because we're who we are.'

Kouichi put down his cabbage and hugged his friend. Lopmon relaxed into it, drawing his ears close. Kouichi rested his chin on the other's head, feeling those small horns tickle with each breath. 'That's…' he whispered. 'That's not a reason at all.'

He didn't need to wonder why his heart was breaking. Or why Lopmon hadn't told before. Why he dreamt of a world without pain now made sense. It would also be a world incapable of creating these sad images on a canvas.