A/N: Back to Takuya, and I think the next one will be Kouji. And then either Tomoki or Takuya after that. Probably Takuya. Then Tomoki.

.

.

Wish Journeys 1.1
Three Brothers

Chapter 18/Takuya

.

It turned out Bokomon was only partially right about the Gekomon castle. There was a wind sphere there and there had been quite peaceful gekomon (which looked like frogs with horns) there, but there was also a monster who looked like a blown up bullfrog and had been very difficult to beat.

Not that they'd known that walking up to the castle. All Takuya had known then was that he wanted his sword to turn into a flying skateboard during more times than just in the heat of battle. Because then his feet wouldn't feel like they wanted to fall off.

At least the gekomon that welcomed in (with hushed whispers) were hospitable. They offered food – which was the best Takuya had eaten for a few weeks, considering take-outs and hospital cafeteria food and all that stuff. He ate his fill and more. So did Bokomon and Neemon.

But the problem came afterwards. When the gekomon explained that, yes, there was a sphere in the castle, but there was a catch. There was this big monster guarding it and none of them were nearly strong enough to beat it. And it made the most awful noises.

Takuya thought that might be a matter of perspective, considering the gekomon weren't exactly Oscar award winning singers themselves.

But when they saw the monster for themselves, they had to agree. He did sound awful. Worse, that screaming had made his eardrums bleed. So it wasn't a simple matter fighting him.

They managed in the end. A little painfully, but Takuya's flaming skateboard sword thing managed to roast the bullfrog.

And they won the wind sphere and lunch too. They also won the knowledge that the Otamamon had fled the castle when the bullfrog had shown up.

Which led them having no leads towards the water sphere.

.

They walked back down the ridge and into a forest…which was rather strange as forests went because it looked both familiar and not. 'The moving forest,' Bokomon explains. 'It connects to other parts of the Digital World.'

'Digital World?' Takuya repeated. It occurred to him that he'd never heard the name of the place Bokomon and Neemon called their home.

Bokomon nodded.

'Why Digital? Is this inside a computer or something?'

'Once it was, I think,' said Bokomon. 'Since then the world grew into something that, more or less, stands on its own. Every now and then though, a connection between our two world is opened for ninety days at a time, and that's when the Chosen come to try and find the spheres and get their wishes fulfilled.'

'What would happen if we didn't come?' Takuya asked. 'These monsters that don't have any voices or any reasonable thoughts? What happens with them?'

He hadn't been able to hesitate when beating that bullfrog, because it had driven the otamamon away, hurt the gekomon and turned them into panicked little things, and didn't listen at all. Only roared. That thing the angels had called Cherubimon likewise hadn't had a voice at the end. Yelled without words. Struck any and everything and almost brought the castle down. And Ofanimon had said Cherubimon had devoured his own castlemates as well. Anyone not affected by the virus like him. The virus that made them lose their voices and their form and grow wild.

He wondered if that meant all the monsters guarding the orbs were affected by that virus.

He remembered the monster they'd left in the desert.

But when he voiced those concerns to Bokomon, Bokomon disagreed. 'It's unlikely,' he said. 'The one we met in the desert was clearly protecting the others. It's very different to this case, and to Cherubimon's.'

Takuya accepted that. It was too confusing for words, really.

.

They wound up at a meat apple tree, though there weren't many fruits left on it. Still, it was close to dinner time so they ate what was left. And started a fire. And put the fire out because Bokomon thought they'd wound up in a different forest and could make it to Forest Terminal before it got too dark.

So they did that, and at Forest Terminal there were inns run by walking flowers and walking mushrooms, so they got a good night's sleep.

And woke up in the morning to a surprise. Or two surprises. Tomoki and Kouichi. The former who'd bumped into them on the way to breakfast, and who'd taken them to the latter.

And Takuya didn't need his goggles to see Kouichi looked rather uncomfortable to see him. Though Tomoki just looked excited.

.

'How in the world did you get here?' Takuya asked.

'Teleported.' Kouichi fell back on the bed and gave him a wry smile. And no wonder. It sounded completely reckless. It was completely reckless.

'With a bleeding brain?' He forgot the technical word.

Kouichi shot up, looked at him, then flopped back down. But his expression was frozen. 'Intra-cranial haemorrhage? Or is it inter-cranial?'

They both sounded the same to Takuya. And he wouldn't be surprised if Tomoki mixed them up too.

'You look fine in this world though,' Takuya offered, after the awkward silence. 'Well, now you do.' He was speaking for himself, anyway. Since they were the only two in the room. Neemon was entertaining Tomoki, and Bokomon was explaining things…or whatever Kouichi hadn't. Takuya didn't know how much Kouichi knew, or remembered, or had explained.

'Maybe our bodies aren't in this world. I don't know.' His voice was tired suddenly. Strained. 'We do get different clothes, can do magic and things… Then again, I had my staff in the human world too…'

The awkward silence descended again. Kouichi sat up. 'I'm sorry.'

Takuya was taken aback. 'For what?'

'For…' Kouichi's voice trailed off. 'At the castle, with Lop-' His throat constricted.

'It wasn't your fault.' Takuya shrugged. 'And even if it was, I'm not the person you should be apologising to.'

'Yeah…' He flopped on the bed again. 'Do you know him?'

'The other warrior guy?' Takuya shook his head.

'His name's Minomoto Kouji.'

Takuya blinked. 'How do you know that? Last I – ' He stopped that thought, because it was really more of a "last Lopmon said" than last Kouichi said himself.

Kouich laughed at the question anyway. Though it was a bitter laugh. 'He's my twin.'

Takuya's heart skipped a beat and he couldn't stop blinking. 'Twin? As in brother?' Blink. Blink. 'Okay, stupid question. But – why didn't he recognise you?'

'Doesn't know, I suppose,' was the sigh.

That made no sense to Takuya at all.

'He hasn't got someone pulling his strings like a puppet –' Kouichi stiffened. 'Sorry, but that is what it looked like.'

'Probably did,' Kouichi sighed again. 'And no, I don't think so. He was alone, for one. Besides, I only found out a week or so ago.'

'You only found out you had a brother about a week ago?' Takuya echoed. 'Is this a twins separated at birth story?'

'Something like that. I don't know how young we were when our parents divorced.'

Takuya sat down on Tomoki's bed. That was…just… He didn't have the words to describe it. 'So…how did you find out?'

'My grandmother died,' the other said flatly.

'Oh…' Takuya winced at the question he'd asked. 'I'm sorry.'

'It's – ' Kouichi cut himself off. 'What's your wish?'

Takuya blinked at the sudden question. 'For Shinya to wake up without any…anything that could've gone wrong while he was in a coma.'

That had changed a little, from the original wish. But this wish was fine. Better than Takuya trying to stroke his ego in the same shot – even if that hadn't been his intention.

'And you're only missing the water sphere.'

He must have seen the hilt, Takuya thought. With the sparkly new light and wind spheres.

'Yeah. We wanted to try Digi-Atlantis but we missed the Otamamon last night.'

'Hmm…' Kouichi stared at the ceiling. 'Maybe the Infinite Ice Ridge?'

Ice Ridge? Then it clicked. Right, ice becomes water.

'Where's that?' Takuya asked. 'Bokomon didn't mention it.

'Frozen Wasteland. It's quite far from here though.'

Takuya groaned. 'And it doesn't sound pleasant in the least.'

'I've never been there.' Sounded like Kouichi couldn't fix that presumption either. 'But I could teleport you if you want to give it a try.'

It was the only possibility they had, so Takuya so no reason not to take him up on that offer. Except one.

'Can we take a detour to Ofanimon's castle first?' he asked. 'I need to thank her.'

There was something else he had to do as well, but he wasn't sure if it was a good idea to tell Kouichi what it was.