A/N: Online lectures should have succeeded the invent of real time turners, I swear... Uni seems to forget we need time to listen to the extra ones as well...

Anyway, here's the end of Three Brothers! Unfortunately, Two Best Friends (the sequel) isn't ready to post yet due to the above lectures. Cross your fingers for soon! Because there's lots of subplots that need tying off...and new ones to be made and it makes my fingers itch. Sadly, I'm not Hermione so I don't have a time turner at my disposal.

Enjoy, and stay tuned for the sequel! I imagine it'll be easy to find. There doesn't seem to be any other Digimon/Brave story crossovers atm.

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Wish Journeys 1.1
Three Brothers

Chapter 24/Takuya

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They appeared on the roof, and neither Tomoki nor Kouichi were there. The Gate however was, a silent presence in the background. They could go back there, or check the hospital.

Or – Takuya almost hit his head when he remembered. Phones worked perfectly in this world and, while he didn't have Kouichi's number, he did have Tomoki's.

Kouji looked at him when he pulled out his phone, but said nothing. If the positions were switched, Takuya was sure he would have.

He found the contact and he rang. Tomoki picked up, sounding both relieved and excited.

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Shinya and Kouichi were both fine. And Tomoki had removed the curtains between their beds and was sitting between them. Why the ICU had curtains to begin with was beyond him. Maybe it was easier for the nurses and doctors to keep an eye on their patients? But it had worked out convenient. They hadn't had to think of who to see first. Who to worry about first.

'Ni-san!' Shinya cried, though quietly. It seemed he knew where he was.

Takuya's face wavered.

Then he burst into tears, and he didn't care how ridiculous he looked.

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'Tomoki told me,' Shinya said, afterwards. When the curtains had been drawn again and the twins and their parents were having their long-delayed family meeting. 'I'm really sorry, Ni-san. I thought I could deal with them.'

'You shouldn't have had to,' Takuya replied. He wanted to hug his brother, but he might've freaked him out a little with the crying show. 'That was me being an idiot and making enemies of people better left alone.'

'Have you grown up?' Shinya asked, somewhat in wonder. 'Actually, don't answer that. You have. You'd never admit you were wrong before.'

Takuya winced. 'Was I that bad?'

Shinya nodded. 'Does this mean we won't fight for the game controls anymore? And I can eat all the sweets I want?'

'I think 'kaa-san will have something to say about the sweets, and we'll fight less. I didn't turn into a perfect super-human.'

Shinya laughed. That sound had used to be so annoying, but it was beautiful now.

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Kouichi figured it probably wasn't a good idea to disappear for a third time. As it was, they'd barely been able to pass it off as sleepwalking and the result had been restraining him whenever there wasn't a doctor or nurse watching him.

And they still wanted to keep him in the ICU for a couple of days because they simply could not believe a brain haemorrhage had vanished into thin air – with no bruising or cuts in the brain. And one couldn't blame them, considering. They'd had a pretty wild adventure – that could have gone a lot worse than it actually did.

But there was no reason to antagonise the doctors when the next goal was to get out of the hospital as fast as possible. So Kouichi stayed behind. And Tomoki had, wisely, not told Shinya where the Gate was. And Takuya had also warned him it was a dangerous place and there was no way he was wondering around in there on his own. And, hopefully, Shinya had gotten the message.

So it was Takuya, Kouji and Tomoki who went back through the gate to check up on Bokomon and Neemon and…do a few other things.

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'Thank goodness this place has trains,' Takuya said. 'Maybe we got a bit spoilt, teleporting around.'

'Would've saved time,' Kouji mumbled.

'Not a social person, are you?' Takuya asked. 'We'll have to fix that.'

'You mean I won't ever be rid of you?'

But the way he said it, it honestly didn't sound like a bad thing. Maybe even a bit…hopeful.

'Nope,' Takuya said cheerfully. 'Even if we wind up on opposite ends of the earth, there are such things as phones and emails –' He paused, then pulled out his phone. 'Before I forget!'

Kouji rolled his eyes, but entered his contact details in.

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Bokomon and Neemon were at the forest, which knocked down two birds with one stone. They got to tell the tale the two digimon had missed, and they got to help in getting the forest creatures sorted out.

It was too bad they couldn't make trees grow out of thin air, but the trees seemed to be doing pretty well on their own. They were over Neemon's head already, and it hadn't even been a day. It wouldn't be long before they were decently sized again.

And Neemon was running around splashing everyone with stream water and inducing many a grumble and laugh. Keeping everyone in good spirits, anyway.

Takuya and Tomoki chattered to Bokomon and Neemon for a bit, then started helping out.

Kouji found them a little later. 'You don't need to help,' he said. He sounded a little embarrassed.

'We want to,' said Tomoki, before Takuya could. 'You feel bad so it's our duty as friends to help, right?'

There was a pause. 'I wouldn't know,' Kouji said eventually. 'We moved around so many times I didn't bother making friends.'

'As I said,' Takuya said, after an awkward silence. 'Emails and phones.'

'I guess…they didn't care enough.' He sounded sad.

'We will.' Takuya grinned. 'After all, how many people do you share live changing almost magical journeys with?'

'Point.' Kouji rolled his eyes. But he seemed to accept it.

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'What did you do to my brother?' Yutaka asked.

'Err…nothing?' Which was and was not true, depending on the circumstance.

'Really.' Yutaka crossed his arms. 'Then why has he suddenly grown up from the bratty little boy he was two days ago.'

'Umm…Shinya in the hospital?'

'Really,' Yutaka repeated. 'You're a hopeless liar, you know?'

Takuya gulped. Yutaka looked a little scary now.

'Well,' Yutaka sighed. 'Whatever secret you lot are keeping – it doesn't have anything to do with that kid who keeps on disappearing from the ICU?'

'Uhh…'

Yutaka rolled his eyes. He looked different to Kouji doing it, somehow. 'Of course it is. Oh well… Is my brother in any danger?'

The question threw Takuya off for a moment, but he answered it honestly. 'I don't think so. And it's over now, anyway.'

Yutaka considered him, then nodded. 'Good,' he said. 'And I trust you won't be making enemies out of ants again?'

'Ants?' Takuya echoed.

'People best left alone.'

It was a good way of describing them. Takuya shook his head. 'I'll do my best not to,' he promised.

'Good.' Yutaka picked up his bag. 'College opens soon,' he said. 'And school opens up again soon too, doesn't it?'

Takuya wondered if that was a normal passing comment or something deeper. 'Have fun at college.'

Yutaka smirked. 'Have fun at school.'

Takuya grimaced.

'It's not too really to start thinking what you'd like to do after leaving,' the elder boy pointed out. 'Especially after a life-changing adventure.'

'I didn't go on an adventure,' Takuya said hurriedly.

'Of course you didn't.' Obviously, Yutaka didn't believe him. But he also didn't pry.

Takuya wondered if Tomoki would tell his brother.

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'Nope,' Tomoki said, when Takuya asked. 'Ni-san hasn't asked me about it. I think he likes I have a secret like that.'

'Your brother's weird.' Takuya shook his head. Brothers were so different. There were Kouichi and Kouji who had absolutely no idea to be brothers and were just asking each other random questions to try and get to know each other – after trying to convince each other not to be mad at the other's parents – which had led to both of them senselessly laughing and the parents just looking blank.

'I guess all brothers are different.' Tomoki seemed to think the same. 'It's cool. We can learn from each other.'

'Right. We can.'

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'So that's the end of things?' Tomoki asked. 'The Gate will disappear in eighty or so days and then open up randomly another time?'

'Unless there are other Chosen,' Kouji pointed out. 'Or other Chosen show up. You could have been one.'

That was true. Tomoki had just chosen – or sort of chosen – not to do the test.

'I still have a sphere to find as well,' said Kouichi. The bindings on his wrist were comfortable and lax, so he summoned his staff on his lap. 'Does anyone know what happens if I don't?'

They all shook their heads. But there were a multitude of possibilities, so they decided it was something they had to find out.

'I guess it's not over after all.'

'Nope. Not at all.'