Sorcerer Hunters Fan Fiction ❯ A Brother's Love ❯ 01 - The Mission to Qeran ( Chapter 1 )

~Chapter 1~

 

 

 

Carrot yawned, leaning back in the chair he sat in. He let out a yelp of surprise as he tipped a little too far back, and ended up clattering to the floor; he got himself back up, clambering up with the help of the table.

 

"So, uh... I guess we go after those guys s'more today, right?"

 

Chocolat nodded, "Yeah. They should be in this town somewhere, buuut I think we should be careful... you remember what Big Mama said, right? 'Bout how they like to blow places up..."

 

Tira glanced around, almost as if she was expecting the inn to blow up around them.

 

"I don't feel safe here somehow..."

 

Chocolat nodded her agreement, "I know what you mean... Big Mama wasn't quick to quote survival rates... we should have got them yesterday..."

 

She glanced at Marron, wondering what he had to say on the situation. He didn't seem to have much to say about anything, though; he was staring out of the window, lost in his own thoughts. Chocolat sighed loudly, closing her eyes, leaning her arms behind her head.

 

"... yeah, well. I guess it can't be helped. We gotta get after them as quickly as possible, right? The more we stay in this place, the more we risk burning down with the rest of the place once those two get going!!"

 

Gateau laughed, "Chocolat, keep it down, you don't want to scare the locals. They don't need to know they're in mortal danger, do they?"

 

"Okay, I guess not. So... Tira, think we should go now? I think we're refreshed enough after sleeping... Darling, is your arm okay?"

 

Carrot nodded, "Yeah, I think I just fell on it awkward, not like it got broken or anything like that. I'm ready to kick ass!! What about you, Marron?"

 

Carrot turned to address Marron, who was still staring out of the window. Through his thoughts he vaguely heard Carrot mention his name, and he turned to face Carrot, "Niisan?"

 

"Ready to kick ass? We're going."

 

"Oh... yes, niisan."

 

Marron sounded slightly distant, but Carrot didn't see that as being out of the ordinary. Marron was always distant, that was just how he was.

 

The group left the inn, and walked along the path outside. Qeran seemed to be in the middle of a bustling market day or something similar; there were stalls along the streets, reasonable crowds of people... the atmosphere was a busy one, Tira smiled at this.

 

"This place seems so busy... it seems to be a happy town."

 

"That's why we've gotta get rid of those Sorcerers before it becomes a charcoal town. Where d'ya think they'd be?"

 

Chocolat glanced at the others, in case they had any thoughts. Gateau folded his arms, speaking up.

 

"I don't know, but... I remember Big Mama saying somethin' about those guys chasing after Kinju. Anyone know if there's any around here? Might explain why they were on this path, anyway."

 

Chocolat nodded, "That's a point... Kinju... Kinju... where can we find out about... hm... I guess the Stella Church, right? They always have books and stuff on the subject. Marron doesn't know anything about forbidden magic around here, does he?"

 

Marron shook his head, "I don't, sorry."

 

"No problem, let's just go to the church, okay?"

 

The group agreed, they walked along the street, looking out for the nearest branch of the Stella Church. A few houses were passed by before they saw the familiar spire outlined by the blue sky. The Hunters headed towards the church, the hustle and bustle of the town left behind somewhat as they walked down quieter streets, the area almost seeming deserted as they approached the church.

 

Gateau frowned slightly as they walked up the grounds of the church.

 

"There's something weird about this. It's quiet... almost too quiet, ya know what I mean?"

 

Carrot looked unconcerned.

 

"It's market day, Gateau. Everyone's gonna be at the market, aren't they?"

 

"I know, but still... I dunno. Just something I can't put my finger on, a feeling or something."

 

Carrot made a vague noise, trailing behind Chocolat, who was leading the group.

 

They walked up to the main door of the church; it was closed. Chocolat rapped her fist against the wooden door and waited a few moments for a response.

 

None came.

 

Chocolat frowned, "That's strange..."

 

She knocked again, a little harder this time. Her fist made a loud noise against the door, but still there was no response. Carrot pushed in front of Chocolat, "Maybe the guy's busy in there, down in the library or something. Let's just go in, okay?"

 

Chocolat growled as Carrot pushed the door open, "Darling, where are your manners?! It's only polite to knock!!"

 

"We're not gonna get anywhere if we just stand around outside places all day, are we? It's not like it's dangerous or anything like that. It's only the Stella Church, isn't it?"

 

The group filed into the main hall of the church, following Carrot. The church was silent, like its grounds had been. It wasn't as if the church was expected to be noisy, most local branches of the Stella Church only had one or two people permanently around to maintain and upkeep the church... even so, there was usually someone on-hand to offer advice to those who sought it. The fact that the church was so initially empty was enough to incur suspicion in four-fifths of the Sorcerer Hunters.

 

Gateau summed it up. "Guys, I still have that bad feeling..."

 

Chocolat nodded, "I know what you mean..."

 

The ceiling was high and footsteps echoed within the church. Tira noticed that a door to the side of the altar was fractionally open, she motioned towards it.

 

"Perhaps... through there?"

 

Chocolat nodded, pacing over to the door. She opened it; it was the door that led to the deeper recesses of the Stella Church, to the library that most of the churches liked to possess, perhaps another corridor would lead to personal quarters for the residents, but those were never investigated, they never needed to be.

 

The corridor was dark. Light from the main hall showed that there were unlit torches on the walls; Chocolat motioned for Marron to come over, "Hey, Marron, we need some light here."

 

Marron obliged, his glowing ofuda leading the way. The corridor led underground, to basement-like regions. Usually, the basement contained the books of the church.

 

The library was empty also. The room was a large square, bookshelves lining the room, full of various dusty tomes. There were two gaps in the shelves; one to house a green door, which presumably led to the churchkeeper's rooms. That didn't attract much attention. What did attract the attention of the five Sorcerer Hunters was the other gap; a bookshelf had been moved - obviously made to hide something, the bookshelf had been pulled over. It lay on the floor, four or five shelves high, books scattered around it.

 

Tira stepped over to the bookshelf, glancing down at it.

 

"This shouldn't be like that... I... I think that something's happened here."

 

Chocolat scowled slightly, "You're not the only one. What's this door?"

 

She was talking about the door that the bookshelf on the floor had stood in front of before it'd been pulled over. The door was red, vaguely elaborate, kinds of shapes seemed to have been carved into it... that was before, though. Whoever'd been in the library previously had made a good go at attacking the door; it was charred somewhat, covered in deep scratches that revealed the pale raw wood underneath whatever decoration lay on top of it.

 

Marron joined Chocolat by the door. He put his hand to the doorknob, some kind of indescribable emotion settling over him as he did so.

 

"... something's been here. I can feel it... this door was made to protect something. All I can feel is evil, though..."

 

Carrot walked next to Marron, glancing at his brother then at the door.

 

"Huh. I can't feel anything."

 

"Niisan, this place has been recently disturbed. Behind this door-"

 

"Hey, look at this!"

 

Tira's call alerted the others before Marron could say anything more. She was knelt on the floor, a book in her lap. Chocolat knelt next to Tira, "What's that?"

 

"It was open on that table over there... 'The Kinju, Farra. Farra Kinju was created in the region of the town of Qeran by the ruler of Qeran at that time, the Sorcerer Aboros. Aboros delighted on manipulating the Parsoners under his care, and discovered he could use his magic to manipulate the minds of the Parsoners. He spent many years perfecting and improving this magic, until it became the one driving force in his life. It is rumored that disease eventually took his life, but before he died, he sealed his magic away in the basement of Qeran's Stella Church, where it remains to this day, protected by the seal of the Sorcerer Hunter Walnut Brazil.'..."

 

Tira put the book to the floor and stood up.

 

"... That book's old... somehow, I doubt Walnut Brazil is around anymore to strengthen his... or her seal on this magic. Sealed in the basement of Qeran's Stella Church... that can only be here. And this disarray... can it mean... someone came in here to take the Farra Kinju?"

 

Gateau cracked his knuckles, "That's a given, Tira. And I think we know who did it, too..."

 

Chocolat picked up the book, scanning over the pages that followed what Tira had read out.

 

"... 'Farra Kinju targets the mind of it's victim, letting it be swayed by the caster into believing whatever the caster projects into it. Strength of mind would be an advantage against Farra Kinju.'... I guess Aboros used the magic against Parsoners. Some of them can get pretty broken... I suppose they didn't stand a chance. I wonder what he did with that magic? And I wonder what those Salt guys would want with it? It's not exactly the kind of magic you can blow a village up with, is it?"

 

Marron was running his fingers idly over the red door's scratches.

 

"They're greedy. They want magic, they'll do anything to get magic... to people like them, it doesn't matter what magic it is, as long as they can have it... it shows what kind of people they are to even have them go after such a place as this. Qeran's a quiet town, it's out of the way, it's not near anywhere else for a good radius... they came here for a reason. That reason lay behind this door."

 

Carrot prodded the door.

 

"Gonna go in, or what?"

 

Marron nodded silently, opening the door. He pushed it forward, holding his ofuda up.

 

The resident of the Stella Church was in his late twenties, perhaps. He wore a simple kind of uniform, cream robes with pine green embroidery on... short, soft-looking lilac hair overflowed underneath a small kind of cap that matched his robes. The resident of the Stella Church was also dead, sat awkwardly against the back wall of the small room, his eyes staring forward in death, a look of dulled surprise frozen on his face. Dark blood stained his cream robes; stabwounds to his chest had obviously been the death of him.

 

Chocolat made a restrained noise of disgust.

 

"Oh, jeez... I guess that explains why it was so quiet around here, but... euh..."

 

Tira walked in, she knelt next to the priestés body, closing his eyes and lying him out onto the floor. She sighed, "Celery and Radish have definitely been here... it couldn't be anyone else."

 

She eyed the man's chest. Deep wounds had been made with some kind of sharp weapon, a dagger, a knife of some kind.

 

Marron, meanwhile, was investigating the main attraction of the small room. In the centre of the room, a kind of altar sat. Like the door, it was red... it seemed as if something had sat on the altar, but nothing sat upon it now; Marron's eyes narrowed slightly as he put his fingers to the cold stone.

 

"This was where the Kinju was."

 

Tira looked up from where she was sat.

 

"You can tell?"

 

"The evil from this room originates from this point. The feeling wouldn't be from whatever magic was used on this unfortunate victim... they didn't use magic to kill him. He must have died trying to protect the Kinju... they must have broken the seal so easily to have got this far. They must already have the Kinju by now, wherever they are..."

 

Chocolat was eying the dead body, her arms folded.

 

"I guess, but... I don't get what they'd wanna use this magic for! What've they gotta gain from manipulating people's minds, or whatever? What's to manipulate about making villages go boom?"

Tira helped Gateau pick the priest up, Gateau carried him over his shoulders. He turned to face Chocolat.

 

"Just trying to complete the Kinju collection, I guess. C'mon, they're bastards. They probably don't have reasons for everything, they just do stuff 'cause they can. Don't try to look for reasons where there aren't any, it'll just make yer brain hurt. So... what now?"

 

Marron sounded briskly businesslike as he spoke.

 

"We know why Celery and Radish wanted to come here; they've obviously already been here, done what they would, taken what they wanted... I'm just surprised this village is still here. It depends on how long ago the two of them were here..."

 

Gateau glanced over his shoulder at the dead priest, "Well, this guy's not bleeding, so... it's gotta be a while."

 

"Mmm... that worries me. Should they attack at this moment, being in a church basement isn't somewhere I'd like to remain. I think we've learnt all we can from here... we should take him-" Marron motioned to the priest. "-to the town and leave as soon as possible. Given past experiences with those two, I can't see them just leaving a town intact after taking what they'd want from it..."

 

Gateau nodded, "Agreed... let's get out of here."

 

****

 

Radish and Celery were both knelt on the ground, knelt in a circle on the ground that Celery had delved out in the grass and soil with his dagger. The town of Qeran was safe for the time being; there were other more important matters to be dealt with for the moment... before blowing towns up came the matter of learning and developing new magic.

 

Both had their eyes closed in concentration; Radish's eyes closed out of courtesy, Celery's eyes closed out of concentration for the matter in hand. Even in the daylight, he seemed to glow somewhat... a kind of aura surrounded him, he seemed caught in his own personal wind channel, almost. His hair blew upwards, his outer cape flapping slowly.

 

The atmosphere of the glade was thick; both stayed perfectly silent, in their own world. The triangular marks on their foreheads glowed, Celery's glowing bright blue, Radish's glowing a pale green. The hair that usually fell in front of his mark was blown upward by some kind of power.

 

Slowly, as if guided by something, Celery rose to a standing position. Radish opened his eyes with the same slowness, as if the two movements were connected somehow; as his brother glowed, Radish stepped forward, as if in slow motion. Each movement and each gesture was made with infinite care, so slowly, so specially... Radish stood in front of his brother, who was now hovering a few centimetres from the ground... Radish reached to Celery's shoulders, pulling him back down, still with that measured slowness. The triangle on Radish's head glowed a little brighter, an aura seeming to appear around him also. Celery threw his head back, a sudden movement in the dance of slowness; Radish pulled Celery down lower, lower, until Celery was knelt again. Radish dropped to a half-kneel, pulling his brother's head back up... Celery's teeth were clenched tightly together; this required a great deal of inner strength.

 

In battle, with magic, the two brothers worked together. Both could naturally use magic, but while Radish liked to attack with little consideration, Celery seemed to have more of an affinity with magic. Radish could use magic because he was a Sorcerer, but Celery could really use magic. Magic lived within him, magic lived in his eyes, in his fingers, in his body, in his soul... magic drew itself in him, he lent himself to magic. Celery had so much more power in this respect than Radish. Radish was happy enough to use magic without really caring about it's intricacies; this was more Celery's area. Celery was the one who researched the magic that they searched after, Celery was the one who took the magic into his own body to be used; the magic would be taken into Celery's body, then channelled through Radish's body should he want to use it. The brothers shared bonds more than just those of blood - the balance of magic within them was perfect. Both could use magic on their own, that came naturally, but when together, the natural magical implications more than doubled... through the years, the two had learnt and contracted so much magic. Every spell that Radish cast from Celery's body drained him so slightly, but energy was replenished in certain other ways, and Radish recognized and respected Celery's strength when it came to this. Celery was slender and light, a physical fight between the two would always result with Radish as the victor, but when it came to magic strength, Celery was so much further ahead of Radish. This could have made Radish angry given his temperament, but... he held command over his brother in other ways. Radish took care of the physical aspect of their relationship, Celery allowing himself to be dominated by his younger brother... Celery allowed him that while Radish allowed the mental and magical aspects to be in the hands of his brother. The things that went on inside Celery's mind, Radish couldn't understand. The way magic worked, the way it just seemed to be his brother... he didn't understand it, he couldn't understand it. He didn't want to understand it, he didn't need to understand it. It worked, and that was all that he cared about.

 

Radish ran his fingers over Celery's neck with the same slowness that oversaw everything else. The tightness of Celery's jaw seemed to leave him, his body seemed to lose the tense feeling it'd had. He relaxed at Radish's touch, letting himself be pulled closer... one hand behind Celery's neck, the other behind his head... Radish pressed his forehead to Celery's forehead, the aura suddenly shared between the two of them, both triangles glowing as bright as each other as they touched. Celery seemed to gain some kind of movement back, his hands moving to Radish's upper arms, gripping tighter as something left his body, infusing between the two of them, moving into Radish...

 

Radish gasped in some kind of triumphant delight... the physical aspect of magic. Celery was almost in some kind of pain, but it was a familiar pain, and the displacement that he felt of giving something so integral to and from him to his brother was balanced out by the second half of that statement; he was giving it to his brother, and that was the most important thing. Celery weakly opened his eyes, barely able to keep them open, barely able to see through the intense glow that stemmed from their foreheads. He saw his brother's face, twisted in that unique pleasure... Celery allowed himself to relax a little more into Radish's hold. He heard Radish's voice, a quiet, deep whisper that seemed loud from the lack of verbal communication.

 

"... We're connected..."

 

Celery would have replied should he have been able, but he wasn't, so he just allowed himself a certain satisfaction at Radish's reaction, and concentrated on the feelings inside of him that needed to be moved to his brother.

 

The two glowed a brighter, more intense blue. Celery cried out slightly, a painful cry, fingers digging into Radish's arms. Radish pressed himself closer to his brother, pulling his head back slightly, some kind of glowing connection still maintained between their foreheads... another kind of connection made between their bodies as Radish leant forward, kissing his brother with the same slowness that controlled all other movement. He did so for the connection, he did so in the hope that it might distract his brother from the pain that coursed through him, the pain that ran through Celery's body on Radish's behalf... Celery let himself concentrate on the small warmth of his brother's lips against his own, the concentration - or lack thereof - required was enough to let him forget the pain for long enough for the magic within him to be transferred enough to Radish's body to be useful.

 

The glowing, the auras, the connection suddenly vanished, and atmosphere seemed to return to the glade. Birdsong was audible once more, the rush of the wind through the trees... Radish still kissed Celery, however. The magical connection was over for another time, that didn't mean that the physical had to be discarded, not just yet.

 

Movement from Celery was enough to dislodge Radish this time though. Celery smiled at his brother with tired eyes.

 

"Otouto... you have the Farra Kinju within you now."

 

Radish nodded, smiling back.

 

"Yeah... cool. So, what can I do with it?"

 

Celery let himself fall into a lying position on the grass, reaching out and disturbing the circle he'd made a little.

 

"Well, it's a kind of manipulation magic. You can manipulate people directly through their minds with this magic. I hear it's how Aboros gained initial control of Qeran, he appeared in Qeran one time and convinced everyone that he was the leader. No-one had the strength to oppose him, and he ruled for a good amount of years, so I hear. He died through illness, so they say, but... that's how we managed to get this magic in the first place. It works to our advantage when people are so protective of their own powers, that they'd want to seal them away once they died..."

 

"Mmm, mmm!! Can't believe they said that vault thing'd be sealed, though. There wasn't any kind of seal against that magic! They were talking a whole lot of bollocks!!"

 

"Radish, I negated the seal the moment we stepped into the Stella Church. That seal was old, there wasn't anything to back its power up. Power can fade, seals also... anyway. Now we have this magic... what do you want to do? If I'm right, the town of Ehret is a week's journey away from here... we might be able to pick up more trails for Kinju while we're there. On the other hand... we're in the Qerada region. Ehret is a week away, our own land lies not too far away. A day or two at most. Perhaps we could visit there... we haven't been home for a while."

 

Radish just smirked. "Oniisama, before all of that, you're forgetting somethin'."

 

"What's that?"

 

"Well, hey, we've got a reputation to uphold, haven't we? We can't just leave Qeran like that, can we? It was a pretty town, but wouldn't it look better if it was a blazing inferno?"

 

Celery sighed, "No wonder Big Mama heard of our exploits. My brother lacks any subtlety whatsoever..."

 

"Oh, and proud of it, oniisama. And proud of it. If we wait 'til nightfall, then we'll have a pretty firework display... it's been a while since I blew something up during the night. Can we wait 'til then, oniisama?"

 

Celery glanced up at Radish. Radish looked hopefully expectant... Celery had to smile.

 

"If you think it's necessary."

 

Celery waited for his brother's hyper 'Yaaay!!' type comments.

 

They didn't come. Revealed instead was another side to Radish... a side that Celery was used to, but which never failed to bring up such powerful emotions within him...

 

"If we have until past nightfall, then we at least have another couple of hours before we have to move. Another couple of hours, oniisama."

 

Something about Radish just seemed to glow... there was a sneaky look in his eyes; Celery held his breath for a moment or two, just looking at his brother while he stared.

 

"Indeed..."

 

Radish dropped to a crawl, crawling over, hovering above Celery.

 

"We might as well let the people of Qeran enjoy their last few hours alive, don't you think? They can enjoy themselves... so can we."

 

Celery gasped sharply as he felt Radish kiss just underneath his ear; teeth nibbled against his ear, just that bit too sharp... Radish's hand went to Celery's neck, pressing the buttons that bound Celery's cape to his shirt at his neck; buttons undone, the cape fell back. Radish pulled Celery's blue shirt down a fraction, revealing his skin. Kisses went from below Celery's ear down his neck to his shoulder, where Radish focused himself for a few moments.

 

Radish smirked inwardly at Celery's gasps; he could be so submissive when he wanted to be...

 

An idea occurred to Radish, he pulled back. Celery looked at him as he did so, panting softly; Radish just smirked.

 

"That magic... was like... mind control stuff, wasn't it?"

 

Celery just nodded. Radish nodded back, reaching over and pressing two fingers against Celery's forehead; he closed his own eyes, amusement in his voice.

 

"Let's see if I can do anything to you. Oniisama... what am I thinking about right now?"

 

Radish took a few moments to build up a picture in his mind, something he knew would definitely embarrass (and perhaps titillate) his brother. Celery leant back, leaning on his elbows, leaving his mind open for whatever Radish wanted to put into it.

 

Radish opened his eyes slowly, wanting to watch his brother's reaction. Celery looked to the side suddenly, a light blush spread over his face.

 

"Ra-Radish..."

 

"Hey, it's nothing we've not done before, né, oniisama?"

 

"I-I know, but still..."

 

Radish chuckled, deep and powerful.

 

"Still makes you hard, doesn't it? Thinkin' about me fucking you..."

 

Celery closed his eyes tightly, embarrassed. He felt Radish's hand cup one side of his face, fingers feeling so soft despite their owner... Celery'd long since stopped worrying about the moral implications of his relationship with Radish. Radish'd always been a strange one, and somehow, he'd always been the dominant one; unless there was some aim to their journey, it was always Radish who decided where to go. Where to go, what to do, who to go after, who to kill. Radish had the drive, Celery protected him. Maybe it was a little strange, but neither of them had much in the way of contact with society in general, travelling around as they did; Radish certainly didn't care, and if Radish didn't care, Celery didn't want to argue.

 

Sometimes, Celery wondered if perhaps he should care, if he should argue. Radish, more than anything, loved to manipulate people, bend them to his will. Radish had an affection for Celery, definitely, but Celery knew that, was it not for the fact that the two of them had been together practically all their lives, he'd be just another mind for Radish to manipulate. Well, he was just another mind for Radish to manipulate. That, and Radish's brother, which, Celery thought, was perhaps the only difference between him and those that Radish killed; he was pretty sure that Radish wouldn't kill him, and if that was only because of the fact that they were siblings, well, so be it. At least Celery got to live, and he was grateful for that.

 

Radish smirked, "You're still thinkin' about it, ain't ya? Me making you scream for me..."

 

He shifted until he was directly pinning Celery down. The hand that'd been on Celery's face quickly moved to Celery's crotch, cupping and feeling none-too-gently; Celery gasped, Radish laughed quietly at that.

 

"Yep... you are. You don't wanna just think about it though, do you? You wanna feel it, you wanna feel me fucking you, you want me... think about it... think about what it'd feel like... can you... almost feel it, oniisama?"

 

Celery shivered; suddenly, his body couldn't stop shaking. He didn't doubt that Radish was doing something to him with his newly-acquired magic powers... he was pretty sure that Radish wouldn't kill him before or during sex, so he let himself be overpowered. Not just normal thoughts, not just the memories of times before... he could see Radish in front of him, above him, sitting up slightly now... he could see him there, he could feel Radish's touch, but more than that, there was something he could feel...é the world seemed to blur around him, and all he could concentrate or notice was Radish. He suddenly seemed so desirable, moreso than usual... everything about him, Celery wanted...

 

"You want me, huh, Celeoniisama?"

 

Celery just let out a strangled moan, it was suddenly so hard to even speak...

 

Radish went back into his crouch, pressing down against Celery, pulling his clothes down a little more... a brutal pull, and his shirt went the same way as his cape. Celery felt the cool feeling of the day's air against his skin, felt Radish pressing against him... Radish kissed against Celery's neck and collarbone as he tugged on his trousers, pushing them down with his hands and a foot. The foot helped pull them down as his hands touched what they found there.

 

"You're hard, Celeoniisama... you want me, don't you? Huh? Huh?"

 

Radish almost sounded childlike in his teasing. Celery just nodded, still unable to speak. The look of amusement that went alongside that teasing melted away into a cruel smirk as Radish shuffled down a little, fingers pressing just a little too hard against Celery's arousal.

 

"I want you to want me, oniisama. Tell me what you want."

"I... I... I want..."

 

"You want...? C'mon, tell me."

 

Radish enjoyed playing with Celery's mind in such a way. He was building up the fire in Celery's mind, wanting his desire to be as intense as he could make it... all he'd let Celery concentrate on was him, and whatever depraved images his mind could envisage. Those images he happily sent to Celery, letting them have their effect on his oniisama... Celery's hands went to Radish's shoulders, gripping hold of them, Radish's shirt... Celery's fingers dug deeply into Radish's skin, but Radish didn't mind. The more desperate his oniisama was, the more that meant he wanted him... and the more he wanted him, the more power he was wielding over Celery. It was a pleasant feeling, seeing his brother so taken like that... the power that he had... he loved it. Nothing else was like it; it was itself, and nothing else.

 

****

 

Marron stood on the edge of Qeran, unaware of what was going on not so far away from his current position.

 

The group had come out of the Stella Church, Tira and Chocolat had taken charge of taking the priest somewhere suitable. That done, it'd been decided that they couldn't leave Qeran. It was almost certain that Celery and Radish would attack at some point, and Gateau'd felt it'd be better to be able to at least attempt to fend off the attack than leave and do nothing; if they could face off with the Salt brothers before they destroyed Qeran, then all the better.

 

Marron wasn't entirely sure where the others were, but he knew they were in similar positions around the town. They'd decided to keep watch in various strategic locations around the town, keeping attentive and alert for any sign of Celery or Radish. All very well, but Marron couldn't quite keep his mind alert. It was quiet, it was peaceful... he wondered where Carrot was. He hoped Carrot was safe... well, no reason why he wouldn't be safe, but even so... if Celery and Radish attacked, then...

 

Marron sighed. It made sense to be in such locations, but even so, he couldn't help but worry about Carrot. He wanted to be sure Carrot was safe... it wasn't as if they hadn't been on various certain-death missions before or whatever, and they'd always come out on the right side of mortality, but Marron just couldn't help but worry; earlier on, it'd been too close. Carrot got hurt and/or threatened all the time, but that didn't make it any easier to bear when he was just a few meters away with a dagger against his throat... all it would have taken would have been just one slip from Celery, and Carrot would have been...

 

Marron shook the thought from his head. Best not to think about that.

 

"Oii, Marron!!"

 

Marron tensed as he heard the voice. He turned around, trying to smile and make it look natural and not like he was annoyed that someone had disturbed his thoughts.

 

"Gateau..."

 

Gateau smiled and nodded as he approached.

 

"Yeah, it's me. How are you?"

 

"I'm fine... why aren't you at your post? Gateau, you can't just-"

 

"Hey, hey, relax. Tira n Chocolat'd been looking after one area, Chocolat said she'd take over my area if I wanted, though. So I thought I'd come see you!! Seen anything dodgy yet?"

 

Marron just shook his head, "I haven't seen anything."

 

Gateau sighed, folding his arms, "Me neither. Jeez, isn't it annoying? It's just a waiting game now, I guess. We know they're gonna attack at some point, it's just a case of when, y'know? I just wish they'd show up so we can kick their asses and get some sleep already... but I guess we're not gonna get to sleep tonight... oh yeah, that was it. Now we're spread out on each side of the town... did you wanna go get some sleep? I can look after this area if you want me to."

 

"I... I'd rather not."

 

"Just go, okay? Don't want you getting bags under those pretty eyes of yours from not enough sleep. Hey, if you don't feel right about it, sleep for a bit then come back out and swap with me or something. Just don't push yerself too hard."

 

Gateau sat down on a nearby bench. Marron watched as he did so; it wasn't any problem to stay out and keep watch, not really. Maybe a little boring, but it'd be worth it if the Salt brothers did turn up... Marron felt he'd rather be outside keeping watch than inside where it might not be safe.

 

On the other hand... Marron had images of Carrot getting that little bit too bored and falling asleep at his post. That seemed something typical for Carrot to do... something occurred to Marron. Gateau wanted him to go back to the inn and sleep, presumably... Marron wasn't really in the mood for sleep, but...

 

He sighed slightly, and nodded at Gateau.

 

"I suppose you won't accept it if I say no?"

 

"You were fightin' pretty hard today, Marron. Aren't you even a bit tired?"

 

"... Perhaps just a bit. Alright, I'll... I'll sleep for a little while, and come back."

 

Gateau nodded, "Sure. I'll stay here 'til yer ready."

"Y-yes. Thankyou, Gateau."

 

"No problem."

 

Marron edged away from where Gateau sat, then turned his back, heading towards the sidestreets of Qeran. He looked around him as he went, looking out for Carrot. He wanted to call for his brother, but he decided to keep quiet rather than perhaps run into where Tira or Chocolat were patrolling...

 

Eventually, he came across another edge of the town; the area was a stony road that overlooked a river; on the other side of the river seemed to be hills and grassland, then some kind of forest. Much like the area that he'd been patrolling, then. There was a lit streetlamp that illuminated the area now that night was starting to fall; not dark yet, but sunset streaks lit the sky. Quite pretty. Underneath the streetlamp was a bench, and on the bench, sat Carrot.

 

Marron smiled in relief, it was good to see Carrot.

 

"Niisan!!"

 

Carrot looked up, "Oh, hey Marron! What're you doing here? Shouldn't you be patrolling?"

 

"Gateau took over my area, he said that Chocolat took over his... he... he said that maybe I should get some sleep, but I thought that perhaps niisan might like to instead... I mean... well... yes. If you want to sleep, then I'll happily look after this area..."

 

"Doin' what Gateau wanted to do, huh? I don't really feel too tired. You sleep, I'll be okay."

 

"N-niisan..."

 

Marron wanted to say something; he wanted to express his concern, he wanted to tell Carrot that he wanted him to sleep, that he wanted him to be comfortable, that he didn't want him to be put in any possible danger... but he couldn't think of any way of expressing that, it just came out as Carrot's title and an uncertain silence afterwards.

 

Carrot watched him for a few moments, waiting on Marron's silence. When nothing else came out, he just smiled and patted the bench next to him.

 

"Well, hey, I guess neither of us are tired, right? At least sit down for a bit, take the weight off yer feet for a while."

 

Marron nodded, confident that Carrot wouldn't insist on sending him to bed.

 

There was silence for a few moments. Carrot whistled a jaunty tune, twiddling his thumbs. Marron watched the floor in front of him, the grassy bank, the river... nothing to say, not much that needed to be said. Marron felt comfortable just sitting next to Carrot.

 

Carrot looked up, glancing up at the streetlamp. He looked at the sky beyond it.

 

"Well, the sky's pretty tonight."

 

"Oh? Um... y-yes, niisan."

 

Marron glanced at the sky, and agreed with Carrot.

 

"It's such a peaceful night... the air seems clear, somehow. A nice night to sit out..."

 

"Yeah, it is, isn't it? Shame those idiots from before could attack at any moment. Jeez, if only we knew where they'd gone, then we could like, follow them or something..."

 

Marron nodded, "Yes, but... at least we're almost certain that they'll come back here. There's no point in running off after them if they're just going to... well, we might as well let them come to us. That way we can be more prepared for when they attack."

 

"Mmm, mmm. Just a shame we didn't manage to get rid of them earlier, isn't it?"

 

Marron was about to speak, but was stopped by Carrot's question. He dropped his head slightly, his hair obscuring his face from Carrot's view.

 

Carrot noticed, "Hn?"

 

"I... I'm sorry, niisan."

 

"Huh?"

 

"About earlier... when we were fighting..."

 

"Uh?" Carrot blinked, wondering what Marron was on about for a few moments. He remembered, and let out an "ohhh" before smiling and whapping Marron's shoulder in a friendly way.

 

"Hey, are you still cutting yerself up about that? I didn't mean that in any bad way at you! I just meant it woulda been cooler if we'd managed to get rid of those guys back when we were back in front of them to fight... you couldn't help it, though... it's not like you coulda done anything else, is it?"

 

"N-no..."

 

"Eeexactly. I mean, come on, what else could you have done?"

"... I could have attacked though... he might not have attacked you, you might have escaped..."

 

"Might have, might not... what if he did? What if you'd attacked and he'd ended up slitting my throat?" Carrot spoke with slight amusement. "It'd probably have ended up being a massacre. You woulda killed Radish, Celery woulda killed me, you'da killed Celery..."

 

"I'd rather not talk about it, niisan."

 

Carrot had been on a roll; he just blinked at Marron, then nodded.

 

"Sure, sure. Sorry. I was only saying... you couldn'ta done anything more, Marron. You tried your hardest. At least we got away without getting hurt, and we know who it is we're looking for now, y'know? You'll see, they'll appear over that hill... or maybe that one there... anyway, they'll appear in a couple of moments, and we can kick ass, and I won't let myself get surprised like before. I can hold 'em back while you kick 'em, if you want."

 

Marron nodded, appreciating his brother's good humour.

 

"Perhaps, niisan... perhaps."

 

"Hey, you seem unsure, otouto. What's getting to ya?"

 

"Niisan... whatever we say about them... they were strong. They were powerful. Obviously they didn't take your powers of Zooanthropy into account, but even so, they seemed easily capable of strong magic..."

 

Carrot glared at Marron with a sardonic look, "And so've millions of other Sorcerers on this continent we've ended up killing. What makes these guys different? Okay, so they've got strong magic, but so have you, Marron!"

 

Carrot made a pose and motion with his hands as if he was casting a spell. "SUZAKU, KAEN GOKU!..."

 

He fell back into his seating position, speaking a little quieter.

 

"... I can't do anything like that. You can kick ass, y'know? Be confident about that. You've got The Magic Powers... so... we're invincible! We won't let any Sorcerers kick our asses, right?"

 

Marron looked distant for a few moments longer, thinking that all the magic powers in the world he could us wouldn't have been able to help if Celery had stabbed Carrot, or slit his throat... but Marron had a feeling that Carrot was trying to cheer him up, so he thought he should perhaps put the effort in and let himself be cheered up. He looked up, smiling slightly at Carrot.

 

"I... I suppose, niisan."

"Hey, there's no supposing about it! We'll kick ass, then get a nice big pay packet from Big Mama. Hopefully."

 

Marron nodded, "Yes, niisan."

 

He felt a little more confident after Carrot's talk. Maybe Celery and Radish were strong, but... what Carrot said was true, it wasn't as if Marron was totally incapable himself. And besides, Tira, Chocolat, Gateau, they were strong as well... five versus two, the odds seemed good.

 

Carrot leant back again, looking at the sky.

 

"Getting darker... I wonder if any of the others have seen anything yet?"

 

"I doubt it, niisan. We'd have heard about it if they had."

 

"I suppose."

 

Quiet again.

 

Carrot sighed.

 

"... yeah, well... maybe..." He yawned. Marron looked at him.

 

"Niisan, are you tired?"

 

"... a little."

 

"Did you want to go back to the inn? As I said, I can look after this area while you sleep, it's not a problem to me... niisan."

 

Carrot studied Marron closely for a few moments. On one hand, sleep did sound pretty good. But he didn't really want to saddle his duty on Marron's shoulders, he had a little sense of responsibility that he felt like sticking to. That, and if Celery and Radish attacked and the Misu sisters found out he'd been sleeping, they'd whip the hell out of him. It wasn't worth the risk.

 

Carrot also wasn't keen on the idea of Celery and Radish attacking while he slept; what if the others were beaten, and the town burnt around him while he slept? If the others were defeated, and he'd just been sleeping... he didn't like that idea either. He shook his head, smiling at Marron.

 

"It's okay, it's okay, I'll stay awake. I'd rather stay out here than go inside."

 

"If you're sure..."

 

"I'm sure. Hey, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if you guys got attacked and something happened to you while I was sleeping back at the inn..."

 

Marron just nodded. When Carrot said 'you', he wasn't sure if Carrot meant 'you' as in 'Marron Chocolat Tira Gateau' you, or 'you' as in 'Marron'... Marron fancied that it was the second one, and let a slight smile overtake his features. Carrot noticed the smile, and was bemused.

 

"Hey, there's nothing funny about that!"

"Oh? Oh, I wasn't smiling about that, niisan..."

 

"Yeah? What were you thinking about, then?"

"It... it was nothing."

 

Carrot just smiled lightly at Marron's behaviour. He seemed a little uncomfortable when it came to that, so he decided not to push the subject. Just accept it as Marron being normal and let it go.

 

****

 

Radish sat up, a trifle exhausted, but happy. Celery seemed in a similar position, but lying on the floor as opposed to sitting up, and naked alongside it.

 

Radish licked his fingers off, then stood up. "I'm sure I saw some river or something around here somewhere. Might as well get cleaned up before we go visit Certain Death on Qeran, right?"

 

Celery didn't say anything. Radish blinked, and looked behind him; Celery seemed to be asleep. Radish growled and rolled his eyes, striding back over to his brother, crouching next to him and shaking him by his shoulder.

 

"Oii, Celeoniisama. Didn't say you could sleep, could I? I can't be strong unless you're next to me... oonnnniiiisaaaamaaaaaa... wake up!!"

 

Shake shake.

 

"ONIISAMA!!!"

"Uwa!! Oh, ah... eh?"

 

"Good, you're awake. C'mon, we're gonna go get cleaned up, then we're gonna go obliterate Qeran, okay?"

Celery yawned, "Oh, y-yes. I must have fallen asleep..."

 

"You did fall asleep."

 

Celery picked up on the feeling in Radish's voice; he didn't seem too happy with the fact that he'd fallen asleep, even if only for a few moments.

 

"Sorry."

 

"Nn."

 

There was a bitter aura from Radish for a few moments before his mouth curled in a slightly unpleasant smile that showed the tips of his teeth.

 

"Well, I can't help it if I wanna fuck you into a coma, can I? Oniisama's sexy."

 

"Ra-Radish..."

 

"Haha, and he's cute when he blushes too. C'mon, let's go. Don't forget your clothes, I don't think it'd be as dramatic if ya faced them naked, somehow."

 

Celery nodded, gathering up his clothes, and following Radish a little deeper into the forests. Eventually they found what Radish had been looking for, a river. Radish slipped his clothes off and tested the water with his foot. He wrinkled his nose.

 

"A bit cold... eh, well, can't help that."

 

He grabbed Celery's hand, "C'mon..."

 

Celery nodded, splashing into the river as Radish dragged him in.

 

The two were quiet as they washed, Radish sitting by the side with his hair trailing out onto the bank so that it didn't get too wet. Celery sat alongside him, "So, after this... it's back to Qeran?"

 

Radish looked suddenly indecisive.

 

"Ye... yeah..."

 

"Otouto?"

 

He folded his arms, "I just thought of something..."

 

"You did?"

 

"Mmm... you know how earlier we were saying... well, you were saying... I was kinda saying too... okay, we were both saying, about, well... y'know about how you were saying how I'd been after people in the past, but I'd always ended up, like, killing them, 'cause of me blowing stuff up and stuff?"

 

Celery nodded, "Yes?"

 

"W-well... I just thought... do we know where those Sorcerer Hunters are? 'Cause... I'd... rather not blow the place up if they're still there..."

 

"By 'them' you mean... you mean Marron, don't you?"

 

Radish just bit his lip, leaning his elbows on the side of the bank. He nodded.

 

Celery sighed; Radish looked so torn. On one half was the pyromaniacal desire to make Qeran a place of flames and death, on the other... Celery's hands clenched into fists underneath the water. He hated it whenever this happened, as infrequent as it seemed to be these days... this time between meeting someone and killing them was always the most uncertain time.

 

The fact that Radish didn't want to blow up Qeran for Marron's sake also weighed heavily on Celery's shoulders. If Radish's somewhat hurried feelings meant that he actually didn't want to burn something to the ground for once... then that was something strange in itself.

 

"Radish... does it matter if he's in Qeran or not? He's only another person, after all..."

 

"Shut up, you don't know what you're on about. Only another person? C'mon, you saw him. How can you say he's just another person?"

 

Celery realised he was walking on eggshells, and wished he hadn't risked confrontation with his brother in the first place.

 

"Well... alright, so he's pretty. But... he is still just another person... okay, so... I suppose... you've decided you definitely want to go after him, have you?"

 

Radish nodded, "That's something I'm sure of."

 

"That as may be, but... Radish, he... just because you want to go after him doesn't mean he's just going to fall into your hands. He might not even like men like that. Maybe there's someone else he loves. Maybe he just won't see you like that. Maybe he only sees you as another Sorcerer to kill. Who knows? If... if you want to go after him, then I'll follow you, it's just... well... I'm unsure, that's all."

 

Radish looked at Celery with a caustic glare. Celery's words spoke the truth, and it stabbed at Radish to know that; all those uncertainties...

 

"Yeah, well, we won't find out if we do nothing, will we? Maybe he won't like me, maybe he will. Maybe I'm not his type, maybe he's not mine. I just want... the chance to find out, ya know? I wanna find out what kinds of foods he likes, whether he's been to that beach at Utsura and stood there while the water's coming in at your feet and it's sunset and it's all quiet... I wanna know when his birthday is... how old he is... I just want to know him, y'know? Okay, so he's a Sorcerer Hunter and wants me dead. I'm a Sorcerer, I should technically want him dead too. I don't somehow, okay? I can't explain it, I'd just... rather not risk killing him. Anyone else, I don't care about. Just as long as I keep him alive for long enough to have that chance."

 

Celery's eyes dipped to watch the dark river up ahead. Anyone else... Radish didn't care about? They dipped a little lower, seeing the shaking image of his own foot underneath the water.

 

"Oniisama?"

 

"Uh?"

 

"You've gone distant."

 

"... You don't care about anyone else, as long as you keep Marron alive?"

 

"I mean, I don't care who else I kill, just as long as I keep Marron alive. Hey, you thought I meant I didn't care about you?"

 

Radish smiled widely, un-nerving Celery a little. Radish threw an arm around Celery's shoulders, and while it made him uncertain, Radish seemed to be in a friendly mood. He'd at least stopped his infernal habit of swearing for the time being, which was a good sign. He was thinking too hard to want to swear, which was a little worrying in itself, but it made Celery happy to see his brother being a little less coarse.

 

"Of course I care about my oniisama!! If it wasn't for you, I'da been all alone, ya know? Anyone else comes and goes, but oniisama's always with me, that's something I rely on. It's always been us two, so... just because I want to go after that Marron guy doesn't mean that I don't want oniisama around! I never never want to not have Celeoniisama around."

 

Celery smiled wryly. Radish's rough declaration was enough for him, even if he did have an uneasy feeling about Radish wanting to go after Marron.

 

"So... should we just leave Qeran, or...?"

 

"Oh, I still wanna blow it up, oniisama. I just wanna make sure that Marron's not in it while we blow it up. I don't know how we'd go about that, though... fuck, why don't we have a kind of magic to tell us about that? Why can't I cast a spell and say 'Tell me where Marron Glacé is!' and have it tell me? All the magic we have, and we don't have a fucking one that'd help in this situation... fuck!"

 

Celery ignored his brother's foul mouth, and lifted himself out of the water.

 

"Well, we can at least look around Qeran, I suppose."

Radish looked up at Celery as he stood up. "You can."

 

"Radish?"

 

"I'd rather... stay here. I'll wait here until you get back, I... you know what I'm like. I'll probably end up blowing the place up if we don't find him, and then it'd be too late. Just go around and come back and tell me if you know where he is."

 

"And if I don't find him?"

 

Radish thought for a few moments.

 

"If you don't find him... I... I don't know. I don't know if you do find him either. Just... go, okay? I'd rather be alone for a bit."

Celery sighed, feeling pangs of yearning for his brother at seeing him so serious all of a sudden... but it was Radish's wish, he wanted to be left alone. Celery could only grant him that wish.

 

"Well, alright. I'll be back soon, otouto."

 

Radish turned his attention back to the water, letting out a vague sound of approval. He heard Celery leave the glade, and then the sound of the river running it's course was the only sound Radish could immediately pick out.

 

"If... he doesn't like me..."

 

Radish thought about it. If the two met, and Marron just... didn't like him. Well, he could cope with that.

 

His fist clenched. Perhaps he couldn't.

 

"If... he didn't... like me..."

Radish had an image in his mind of Marron saying 'I don't like you' and turning his back. This was followed by a 'WELL, FUCK YOU, PRETTYBOY!!!' and an explosive fire attack... Radish growled. He didn't want to have to kill Marron, but Celery was right, it was an unsure business, and if Marron didn't like him, then that was that. Boom.

 

Radish leant back on the bank, idly kicking his feet in the water to feel the current against them.

 

"What could I do... could I... make him mine anyway?"

 

Radish thought about all the times he'd taken Celery. Celery was Celery and didn't mind, even so, Radish did get quite rough on occasion. Not that Celery minded, but... would Marron mind?

 

The idea didn't really appeal to Radish. The thought of that calm face that'd just been so... calm... those eyes... thinking of those eyes looking at him in disgust and with hatred... Radish didn't want that to happen. He put the idea to the back of his mind as a last-ditch plan, and left it at that.

 

"Oniisama's unsure, and... I'm unsure... if only there was some way to make us more sure..."

 

Radish just stared silently at the river in front of him for a few moments, not really looking at the river at all. In his mind, all he could think of was of Marron, and of the uncertainty he felt... he hadn't wanted anyone for so long, they just hadn't been anywhere near any other people for so long... and any desire Radish wanted fulfilled, Celery would fulfil them for him.

 

Radish wondered, for a few moments, what it was he really wanted, why he wanted to suddenly go after this guy they'd met... sex was a nice idea, sex would be good, but he could get that from his oniisama whenever he wanted it, so it wasn't like it was just that. Radish didn't know what it was, and that annoyed him. Why didn't he know? Why couldn't things be simple? Why couldn't it be something so simple as 'I want to fuck that guy'? What was there that was complicating things anyway? He wasn't sure.

 

He wondered how much longer Celery would be. He wondered what he'd do when Celery came back. If Celery had found Marron, or knew where he was, then Qeran could be disposed of, and the chase could begin. If Celery hadn't found him... Radish thought for a few moments. If he hadn't found him, then... what then?

 

Radish still didn't know. He pulled himself out of the river and sat on the bank for a few moments. His hair clung to his wet back... he looked around for any decent-sized twigs, and after gathering them for a short while, made himself a small fire to dry himself by.

 

He watched the flames dance. It was a calming sight, for Radish at least. The flames created light, and stayed contained to the area that Radish wished to keep them... he held out his hand, and watched the flame play shadows along his hand. Fire was... something calming to him. Fire clamed the lives of so many of his victims, almost all of them... it killed all those people because of him, because he'd summoned that power... he had the power, he loved that feeling.

 

He looked over at the river. Water extinguished flame in an instant... well, Radish knew spells to make flame carry along water, but that wasn't the point. Maybe it was. Maybe it'd make the place look prettier. Radish quietly chanted the spell, and pointed at the river; suddenly, the river seemed to leap alight with purple-blue flames... not hot, but just as deadly to touch. Deadly cold, perhaps? Radish wondered if that water-fire could count as true 'fire'... it was a fire of kinds, it stemmed from the same kind of magic, but it didn't have the same feel to it somehow... there were flames, it burnt, but it wasn't the same as those magical leaping white-orange-yellow flickers of flame that Radish loved so much... Radish felt like he was a fire, and Celery was the river. Radish was certain of one thing, he was certain he wanted to go after Marron. He was certain, but Celery seemed just as certain that he didn't want to go after Marron... well, not exactly that; if Radish wanted to do something then Celery would follow him, but it didn't change the fact that Radish felt that Celery was really not happy with this venture.

 

That thought angered him slightly. Didn't his oniisama want him to be happy, or something? Marron was definitely something beautiful, Radish was pretty sure that, whatever he wanted to do with Marron, it'd make him happy. And his oniisama, the person he depended on, wanted to go against that?

 

"What kind of bastard is he, anyway? Why doesn't he want me to be happy? Fuckin'... fuckin' oniisama... that BASTARD!! Why can't he just want me to be HAPPY? DAMN HIM! DAMN HIM AND FUCK HIM TO HELL!!! ARGH!!"

Radish leapt to his feet, suddenly frustrated. What did Celery have against him, anyway? He extinguished the small fire with a wave of his hand; it was too small, it didn't have enough power, it was no longer a comfort to him. Fire... he wanted more of it, more flames, bigger... Qeran couldn't be destroyed, there was a possibility that those Sorcerer Hunters might still be there... however, the forest on the edge of Qeran was only a forest, after all; what did it matter if that went up in flames?

 

Radish smirked; it didn't.

 

Another wave of his hand, and suddenly, there was fire... not just the small crackling of a campfire, but the swift rush of a wave of flame, controlled by his hand... he sent the wave of flame to the trees on the other side of the river, the flames from his hand mingling with the river-flames for a few moments. They separated, the two kinds of flame not being compatible.

 

Radish remembered he was still naked, feeling the warmth of fire on his skin; he looked down and saw his clothes. He quickly pulled them on, laughing loudly as he saw the fire on the other side of the river; the flames rose above those of the river, the water-fire was so much more pathetic when compared to the beauty of true fire...

 

"HAH!! I don't CARE what oniisama says! I'll have him, I'll have him for my own! I'll MAKE him my own! He'll be mine, and he'll like me, no matter what! Oniisama's just talking BOLLOCKS, why WOULDN'T he like me? And if he doesn't like me, I, I, I'll MAKE him like me! YES!! Yes, that's IT!! I'll MAKE him like me!!"

 

The idea hit Radish suddenly, and once he'd thought of it, he couldn't work out why he hadn't thought of it before. He remembered how lost Celery had become when Radish had manipulated what his mind saw earlier on... Celery wasn't stupid, Radish was sure that Celery wouldn't let himself be totally lost in one of Radish's spells, but even so, he had been so extremely taken by Radish's magical power...

 

"If that was what it did to Celeoniisama, then... then..."

 

Radish laughed again, loud and not-quite-sane. He waved his hands, and fire set alight the trees next to and above him. Another whispered chant, and something almost seemed to appear in the flames... a picture, a memory?

 

Radish smiled fondly at the memory he saw in front of him; the end of the battle from earlier, when he'd ran to Marron, when he'd shaken him by the shoulders... the memory froze as Radish remembered Marron's eyes, his aura... the image seemed so beautiful surrounded by flames. The image couldn't be destroyed, the image wouldn't be destroyed... the image, his determination, Marron... none of it would be destroyed...

 

"I won't LET him be destroyed... I won't let anyone come between me and my goal!! I want him, I WANT HIM... AND I KNOW HOW TO GET HIM!! I WON'T LET ANYBODY STOP ME, NOT EVEN CELEONIISAMA!!"

 

Flames swirled and danced around, controlled and fed by Radish's intense insane power. He didn't care how much the forest burnt; he'd sorted out something inside himself, and that was the most important thing. He didn't care what Celery thought; he wouldn't even tell Celery of his plan. Let Celery be as surprised as the rest of them... let Marron come to him. He was ready.

 

****

 

The edge of Qeran was still quiet. The silence wasn't uncomfortable, but even so, Carrot wished he knew what to say... still, sometimes there just wasn't anything to say to Marron. It didn't matter, though. He was sure the silence wasn't due to any bitter feeling.

 

Suddenly, though, Marron did talk.

 

"Niisan...?"

 

Marron sounded eversoslightly confused.

 

"Hm?"

 

Carrot noticed what it was that'd caused Marron's confusion; the river in front of them suddenly seemed to be alive with... fire? No, that couldn't be right, could it? Rivers didn't suddenly catch fire, did they?

 

Carrot looked at Marron, and then at the river.

 

"Marron, if I didn't know better, I'd say that that river was... on fire, almost... but... it can't be!"

 

Marron leapt to his feet, an ofuda in hand. "That's no ordinary fire... niisan, be careful, don't go near it... if you do, then you might..."

 

"Hey, hey, you think I'm gonna go anywhere near that? I just wanna know what it is! Sure it's no ordinary fire... who the hell can make fire go on water? You sure that's even fire?!"

 

Marron nodded, frowning. "There are kinds of magic capable of that, niisan. The question is... who has that kind of power?

 

Carrot nervously licked his lips, "You even need to ask? Hey, M-Marron, it's not just here... look over there!"

 

Marron followed the point of Carrot's finger; the forests beyond the river were suddenly alight with bright orange flame... smoke trailed into the darkening night... Marron's face was grim, "I think we've found the Salt brothers."

 

Carrot nodded, taking a deep breath, "No kidding."

 

"OI, CARROT!"

 

Carrot and Marron heard Gateau's shout, and turned to face him; he ran towards them, looking more than a little panicked.

 

"Carrot, Carrot, have you seen that fire? And Marron's- oh... oh, hey, Marron."

 

Gateau's panic seemed to lift. "Ha ha, I thought you'd gone to sleep."

 

Marron just smiled wryly, "Not yet, Gateau. I wonder if the Misu sisters have seen it yet..."

 

"Yeah, well, if they haven't, they're blind. That is one damn big fire... no prizes to the person who guesses who caused it."

 

Carrot nodded, "Just what we were thinking. Should we go? I mean... well... where should we go? Just 'cause there's a fire there doesn't mean we're gonna find them there, does it? They could be miles away... damn, is there anything we can do? Marron, can you do anything?"

 

"I can try, niisan."

 

Marron took a few steps forward, and stood perfectly calmly near the edge of the river, as if dangerous purple flames weren't leaping closer to him with each passing moment.

 

Carrot and Gateau heard Marron chanting something near-inaudible, followed by "IKE... SEIRYUU!!"

 

The water-dragon flew forward with dangerous ferocity, but the flames in the river just seemed to allow it to pass through and dissipate into the area beyond. In the gap between flames that remained for a moment, the group could see fire edging forward from the forest to the grassland between the river and the forest...

 

Marron just growled in annoyance. Gateau shrugged, "I guess that's not how you deal with that kind of thing... Ca- Carrot?!"

 

Carrot was freaking out, running in circles around the lamp-post and bench.

 

"AAARGH,whaddawegonnadowhaddawegonnadoevenMarron'sattackdidn'tdoa nythingtothatstuffohmygodthisplaceisgonnabesurroundedinfireandohmygodwhatth ehellarewegonnadodoyouthinktheHazKnightsmightturnupandsaveusandanywaywhere' sChocolatandTiraohmygoddd..."

 

Gateau punched Carrot lightly in the head, "CALM DOWN!!"

 

Carrot fell to the floor, "Uhuu... whad'ya do THAT for?!"

"You were totally freaking out! Get a grip! That fire won't get past the river, will it? Even though there's something freaky going on with the river there, I wouldn't think that fire like that would cross a river... what do you think, Marron?"

 

Marron nodded in agreement, "There definitely seems to be two kinds of fire there... one kind of fire wouldn't be able to intermingle with the other, I'm sure of that."

 

Carrot looked up at Marron, then helped himself up against the bench, "Well, that's comforting, at least. So we're just trapped in the town instead... clever, I'll admit... surrounding the town in flames, then, then, then they'll blow the rest of the place up and WE'LL DIE..."

 

"NIISAN!!"

 

Carrot jumped slightly, startled at Marron's sudden anger. He blinked.

 

"Ma-Marron?"

 

Relief; Marron wasn't angry.

 

"I'm sorry, niisan. Didn't you tell me earlier that I had to have confidence? Let me tell you that now; have confidence, niisan. We've been in many perilous situations before, but we're still alive today, are we not? We survived those situations, we can survive this situation. We just have to be careful, but I'm sure that we'll come out of this situation just as we came out of all the others... right, niisan?"

 

Despite the surrounding fire, Marron seemed so calm... Marron ended with a happy smile, which, while seeming strange in such a situation, instilled some confidence in Carrot. He was slightly amazed.

 

"Marron isn't worrying at all... jeez, and I'm supposed to be the older brother, here's HIM calming ME down... Ha ha, sorry, Marron. I was just getting a bit worked up, I guess. So, uh... how about we... we should find Tira and Chocolat first, make sure that they're okay."

 

Gateau motioned to behind Carrot, "I don't think you need to worry about them, Carrot."

 

Carrot turned around, and noticed that Tira and Chocolat (in their dominatrix outfits) were running towards the group, "DARLING!" and "CARROT!" being yelled by the two of them.

 

Carrot just waved, "Yo, what's up?"

 

The Misu sisters seemed relieved.

 

"Darling, you're alright!"

"Carrot, have you... well, obviously you've seen that fire... it's all around the town by now, we saw it on the other side of town and thought we better tell you guys..."

 

"... but it's here too... looks like we're surrounded."

 

Gateau cracked his knuckles, sighing loftily. "Ah well, I guess this is make it or break it time for Qeran, right? Maybe for us too. We should try and get out of here, hard as that might be... anyone got any ideas?"

 

Marron glanced at the floor.

 

"I can create a barrier with my ofuda, but... it wouldn't be enough for all of us, perhaps for me and one other person at best... it'd be better than nothing, but..."

 

Marron and the others were disturbed by a nearby cry, "THAT BASTARD!!"

 

Tira looked around, "That voice...!"

 

Celery emerged from one of the side streets, seeming surprised when he looked up and noticed the Sorcerer Hunters looking back at him. He blinked stupidly at them, before pointing a finger.

 

"You... you're..."

 

Chocolat was already pulling out her wire, "You're that Sorcerer from earlier, aren't you? You threatened Darling..."

 

Celery was already running towards the river, "Oh, shut up, that was only because magic guy here was going to kill my brother, we haven't got time for this, we've got to get out of here!!"

 

Carrot narrowed his eyes, "What are you saying..."

 

"Look, I know you guys want to kill me and my brother. Fine. We can fight when the time comes to it. For the time being, we just have to get out of here... looks like that stupid little brother of mine's gone psychotic again. I'm not saying 'let's be friends', but I'm sure you want to get out of this town just as much as I do, correct? He wasn't even going to attack the town until he was sure that you guys were out of it, I don't know what went wrong... some thought or something must have just taken him, he gets like that sometimes... anyway. Stay close to me, the magic that Radish uses is generally only magic that I've given him... I should be able to nullify this."

 

The Sorcerer Hunters just watched in suspicion as Celery stood in front of the river, chanting some kind of magic spell. Tira glanced at the others.

 

"He said that Radish hadn't wanted to attack until... we were out of the town?"

 

Chocolat nodded, "Yeah, that's what he said..."

 

"Doesn't that strike you as being... a bit strange, oneesama?"

 

"It does... from earlier, he's got to know we want him dead..."

 

Gateau was as confused as everyone else, "Yeah... why not just take the opportunity and kill us while we're here?"

 

Celery turned to face the group, "Maybe he just wants to kill you while staring you in the face, I don't know. I've got a path through the fire up, let's go."

 

There was a moment's hesitation, Celery couldn't stop staring at Marron. That was the person his brother wanted... Marron looked back, then turned to the group.

 

"I think we can trust him..."

 

"You think?"

 

"Yes, niisan..."

 

"Well, if you're sure, then I trust you..."

 

With that, the group followed Celery over the river with his magic barrier-bridge, each keeping close to the one in front while wild flames danced all around them. The heat was almost unbearable, but the magic surrounding the group kept them breathing and at least vaguely protected.

 

Celery led the group, Carrot following behind him. Something occurred to Carrot.

 

"You said that Radish probably just want to kill us while looking at us or whatever... what... about you? Don't you want us dead too? Why didn't you just leave us to die?"

 

Celery glanced over his shoulder for a moment, arms spread in front of him as he kept control of the magic. He spoke stiffly, "Just because my brother's a psychotic pyromaniac with a penchant for murder doesn't mean that I am also... but he's my brother. I can't... I can't leave him."

 

Carrot just frowned, confused.

 

"Why don't you tell him to stop killing people, then?"

 

"I could no sooner tell my brother what to do as prevent the sun rising in the morning... he... won't listen to me. It's always been like that, though; even to me, he's unstoppable. At least being his brother means that I won't die..."

 

Chocolat's voice was heard from near the back of the line.

 

"What, Radish wouldn't want to kill you?"

 

"That's right."

 

"Then why did he set everything on fire while you were still in the town? Didn't he know you were there, or something?"

 

Celery just sighed, "I... I don't know. I really don't know. That's what I want to find out... he's close by, though. I can feel him."

 

Carrot put his arm up to shield his face despite Celery's barrier; the heat made sweat bead on his forehead, the barrier surrounding the group suddenly seemed amazingly claustrophobic... he glanced above; the area between him and the sky shimmered a slight green through the barrier's power, but... Carrot realised, he couldn't see the sky... all he could see above him was the fire, and the smoke that came from that. He glanced behind him, he saw Marron through the corner of his eye; the sight relaxed him slightly. Marron'd seemed so sure that Celery could be trusted, and that seemed to be true so far. Carrot was somewhat nervous about being led into the centre of the inferno, though. What kind of shelter would be there from the flames? How could Radish even be in there? Carrot supposed he had a barrier much like Celery's barrier, perhaps. Carrot felt nervous, not only for him, but for the others... if something went wrong and he died, okay, but he felt bad that the others would be there too... he dropped in his step a little, remaining close to Marron. He felt safe in the knowledge that if something did happen to Celery's barrier, then at least Marron could protect him.

 

Marron seemed to notice Carrot's drop in pace, "Niisan, try to keep up with Celery."

 

"Oh? Oh, uh, yeah... sorry, it's just a bit... well..."

 

Marron just nodded, "I know what you mean, niisan. Don't worry, it'll be over soon, hopefully..."

 

Carrot just made a vague noise of acknowledgement in approval.

 

Celery led them along the path of the river, more or less. They passed burning grasslands and burning trees, Celery always keeping an eye out for his brother, an ear out for his laugh, anything, just any sign that his brother was still around in the burning forest... Celery scowled slightly, he knew his brother could be stupid at times, but... to start a fire in a forest of that magnitude? That was just idiotic. What kind of thoughts could have passed through his brother's mind? Celery had no idea; he felt at a loss, until he saw... something... he was sure there was something in the flames, a flash of blue, something like that... the noise from the fire was loud, but Celery tried a shout anyway.

 

"RADISH?! RADISH, ARE YOU THERE?"

 

Celery felt something in his mind saying that yes, Radish was there. A feeling that Radish pressed into his mind, an assurance... Celery doubted that mind-control magic was supposed to be used for telepathic purposes, but it was a way of getting what he thought into his brother's mind, and there wasn't any harm in that, Celery supposed.

 

"I'm here, oniisama... what are you doing here?!"

 

"I could ask you the same thing, Radish... what the hell were you thinking? This forest... this whole forest is up in flames, the fire's surrounding the whole of Qeran... I thought you were going to wait until you knew that Marron was safe before blowing the place up!!"

 

There was a pause.

 

"Radish?"

 

"I had a great idea, oniisama. I couldn't hold back, the fire, the flames... it expressed what I felt perfectly!"

 

"Oh, I'm sure. That doesn't stop the fact that we're in danger!"

 

Another pause; Celery looked around, trying to locate Radish; he was sure his brother was nearby, but he couldn't quite see him...

 

Carrot prodded Celery's back, "Why've we stopped?"

 

"Radish is here... I'm talking to him through... through telepathy." Celery thought that the premise of the magic and how they were using it might be a little hard to quickly explain to someone in such a situation.

 

Celery felt Radish's presence again, "We're in danger? How? I trust you didn't wander into the fire without a barrier up... no, you wouldn't be speaking to me right now if you had..."

 

"I'm not the only one here, Radish."

"Celeoniisama?"

 

"When I was in Qeran, I happened to run into those Sorcerer Hunters... I found Marron. I brought him and the others with me, I don't know what you want to do now, but... they're here if you want them, otouto."

 

"You shoulda just killed the others, oniisama... well, while we're all together... help me here, I want to create a bigger barrier for all of us to be in but I need oniisama's power to do that..."

 

Celery nodded, more to himself than anyone else.

 

"Of course, otouto... where are you? I'm... well, I'm surrounded by fire..."

 

"Wait, oniisama. Stay where you are, I'll find you."

 

"Alright."

 

Celery folded his arms, turning around to face the others.

 

"Radish is going to find us and create a larger barrier for us to be under... he needs my help for that, though. I'm just waiting for him to find us."

 

Tira tapped her foot impatiently, feeling the uncomfortable feeling of her black leather absorbing the fire's light and heat. She had a feeling she'd have marks when she took this outfit off.

 

"Why does he need your help for that?"

 

Celery smiled vaguely, "My brother is not quite as adept at using magic as I am... he has the basics, but most of his power is channelled through me somehow. It goes from our world through me into his body then out of his hands, if you see what I mean," his smile deepened. "We're inseparable like that."

 

Gateau smirked, "A bond between brothers, huh? You should have a chat with Marron here sometime about that."

 

Marron turned around, glaring slightly... blushing slightly?

 

"Gateau!"

 

"Heh, well, it's true."

 

Celery eyed Marron curiously.

 

"Your brother is... important to you?"

 

"More than anything."

 

There was a pause. It wasn't anything that the rest of the group didn't already know, but Marron spoke with such serious assurance...

 

Celery was stopped in his thoughts by Radish appearing; the fire appeared to part, he was surrounded by a blue barrier, much like Celery's green.

 

"So, oniisama... you did bring them."

 

"Would I lie to you?"

 

"No, no... anyway. Come here..."

 

Radish reached out, his barrier merging with Celery's barrier. He put his arms to Celery's shoulders then stepped close, pressing his forehead to his brother.

 

Carrot raised an eyebrow, "I always wondered what those triangle things were for..."

 

"Hush, niisan. They're concentrating."

 

"Uhuh..."

 

The Sorcerer Hunters watched as Celery and Radish continued with their spellcasting. Sure enough, the barrier seemed to expand from around them, creating a dome-like area around them that went to encapsulate the glade the group stood in; once this was created, Radish stepped back and faced the Sorcerer Hunters, smirking his usual smirk.

 

"Oniisama, I want to try and separate Marron from the rest of them. At some point, do you think we could drop the barriers?"

 

"Radish, if we do that, we'll die too, don't be stupid!"

 

"No, I mean... a barrier around me and Marron so I can... yeah, and you and... well, you. And those others, if you feel like saving them. I don't care if they live or die, myself."

 

Celery said nothing, stepping aside as Radish looked at the Sorcerer Hunters.

 

"Yo. Like my little inferno?"

 

Gateau's fists clenched, "You IDIOT, setting fire to such a big place... this whole area's gonna go up in smoke, this forest and the town both!"

 

"You think I don't know that? Anyway, be quiet a moment, I want to find something out from you guys."

Radish turned his attention to Carrot, "So, what's your name?"

 

"Uh... Carrot Glacé..."

 

Radish spoke, but while he spoke out loud, he also spoke to Carrot's mind.

 

"Who's the most important person to you?"

 

Radish felt an image back of the rest of the group. He narrowed his eyes, "But... THE most important person to you? Someone you want to protect and care for, someone you love... isn't your brother important to you?"

 

Radish felt Carrot's mind's reply, or the thoughts that it associated with what Radish was asking him. The whole group was important to him, but Marron especially so. Of course Marron was important to him; he was Carrot's little brother, and no-one else quite meant to Carrot what Marron did... Radish nodded, cutting off Carrot's mind's thoughts, having got what he wanted from them.

 

He turned his attention to Tira, "And you?"

 

"Tira Misu..."

 

"And who's the most important person to you? The person you love..."

 

Almost immediately, Radish felt an image of Carrot in his mind. Fair enough, he thought as he moved on.

 

"You?"

 

"Chocolat Misu."

 

"Who do YOU love?"

 

Again, Radish immediately saw an image of Carrot. He frowned, "He's the person you love?"

 

The image of Carrot burnt stronger in Radish's mind; she obviously loved Carrot too, strange as it seemed to Radish. He wondered if maybe he was going after the wrong Glacé brother; maybe there was something about Carrot he was missing out on?

 

That thought held in his mind as he came to Marron, who was standing next to Chocolat.

 

He paused for a moment, just looking at Marron. Exactly the same as that first meeting, but given the time that Radish had spent thinking about him since then... it was like returning to somewhere familiar, and Radish relished the thought.

 

He felt Celery's thoughts in his mind, "Hurry up with it."

 

"Yes, yes..."

 

Radish turned his thoughts to Marron, "And... who's... the person you love the most?"

 

He froze as he felt the now familiar image of Carrot in his mind. What?!

 

Well, they were brothers. Obviously they were close. Radish supposed his mental grilling wasn't as clear as it could be; he rephrased the question. "You love him because he's your brother, but... who's the person you LOVE love? Is there anyone you love, like, romantically?"

 

As with Chocolat, Radish felt the image of Carrot almost burning in his mind; he managed to restrain himself from turning around and randomly hitting Carrot in the head. Instead, he busied himself with quickly questioning Marron as he slowly stepped in Gateau's direction.

 

"You love your brother... romantically?"

 

Radish felt that yes, Marron did. He felt a kind of weight in his chest at that; so there was someone Marron liked... loved... Radish thought about not warning Celery about taking the barrier down; he'd kill the others, especially Carrot, and take Marron for himself, most definitely...

 

This was vital; Radish tried to keep his rising anger in check as he stood in front of Gateau.

 

"And... and you?"

"Gateau Mocha."

"I guess the person you love most is Carrot too, huh?"

 

Radish saw an image of the group again, and of a girl who wasn't in the group; Radish wondered who it was, and was told by Gateau's mind that it was his sister, Eclair.

 

"Who's the person you love romantically, though?"

 

Marron's image was suddenly flooding Radish's mind. Pictures and images of memories carefully stored flowed into him from Gateau like a river that broke it's banks; at seeing the initial feeling of Marron, Radish wanted more, this person obviously had thoughts and memories of Marron... Radish suddenly felt so much. Marron on the road on the latest mission... Marron's sweet sleeping face... Marron at the hot springs the Sorcerer Hunters had visited that one time... Marron, so intense in battle... Marron, so concerned for his brother... his brother... always so concerned for his brother... Marron, why is it always Carrot? Look at me, Marron. Look at me and see that maybe I could love you too. I know you love him, he's your brother, but I'm different to him, I'm different to him but I love you, so, please, could you just look at me for once? Marron... Marron, please. Please... please. Marron. I love you. Marron. Please realise. Look at me. No, not at him. Just me. Look at me. I love you. Love me. Marron. I want you. I love you. I love you. Marron. Marron. I love you. I want you. I love you. Marron.

 

Radish stepped back with a cry; suddenly, so many images and feelings had entered his mind... like an unstoppable flood, something Radish had been totally unprepared for; he fell to a kneel, clutching his forehead; even the barrier around them wavered momentarily, the roaring of the fire seeming more intense for that moment... Celery ran to Radish's side, arms around his shoulders.

 

"Otouto! Otouto, o-otouto... what happened? Are you alright? Do you need me to power the barrier up? What happened?"

 

"I... I'll be alright..."

 

"Tell me what happened, please?"

 

"Shit... in that guy's head, it's... holy fuck, it's just like... a never-ending stream of MARRON... it just TOTALLY threw me, I looked in his mind for who he loved, asked his mind who he loved, and... fuck, it was just... like... suddenly it attacked me almost, just... fuck, that was... fuck, I can't even explain it, it was just so suddenly... shit, oniisama, he's in love with Marron, what should I do?"

 

Celery stood up, "You looked into his mind to see who he loved?"

 

"All of them I did..."

 

"And what did Marron's mind say?"

 

A slight pause, Radish dusted himself down.

 

"His brother. Carrot. The scrawny dude. He doesn't just love his brother. He's IN love with his brother, or so it'd seem.."

 

Radish looked up to note Celery's reaction; his eyes widened slightly, but he said nothing.

 

"I suppose we'd be hypocrites to be shocked at that."

 

"I know... do you still want to save them? Oniisama, if you do, this is your last chance. I don't want to risk him being near them any longer... "

 

"Do you want to kill them all? If you want them to die, then I'll leave them..."

 

"I already said, I don't care about them, as long as Marron's okay."

 

Celery had a feeling that Radish did want them dead; Carrot and Gateau at least. Carrot was the person who Marron loved, and Gateau... Celery was curious, he almost wanted to look into Gateau's mind for himself to see what it was like, but felt warning at the reaction it'd had on his brother... he decided against that, and decided on something else.

 

"Otouto, you don't want them to live, do you?"

"I don't care. Anyway, I'm gonna drop the barrier now, keep yours up in three... two... one..."

 

Suddenly, several things happened at once; Radish dropped his half of the barrier, reducing it to around him, and around Marron, who he'd moved to stand beside; Celery had done the same, his barrier surrounding him and removing him from sight of the others. Marron realised after a second or two of the situation; he was safe, but the others? Sudden blind panic seized him.

 

"Nii... niisan... NIISAN!! NIISAN, NIISAN... GATEAU! TIRA! CHOCOLAT!! ... NIISAN!!"

 

He went to run outside of the barrier in whatever futile attempt he could make to save any of them, to save his niisan, but was stopped by Radish's hands on his shoulders; he fought against them, Radish just snarled, "If you go out of the barrier, you'll die..."

 

There was a 'shing' sound; Radish let Marron go, and he hit against the now solid wall of the barrier.

 

"Idiot, do you want to kill yourself or what?"

 

Marron fell against the barrier, his breath coming in gasps. The blazing fire was visible through the opacity of the barrier; nothing other than that could be seen. Not Celery, not Carrot, not anyone else. Marron turned around to face Radish, immeasurable hatred on his face, in his voice .

 

"You... you killed... niisan..." Marron couldn't see any way how someone, anyone, not even his brother, could survive unprotected in such an inferno... Marron's mind wondered about magic; Carrot could survive magic, Carrot could absorb magic, Carrot could turn beast form and kill Radish without a second thought. There was a brief pause; Radish just stared at Marron, who glared back. Part of him hoped desperately that, any second soon, he'd hear his brother's bestial growls and see the beast hovering above the flames, powerful and unstoppable. The Misu sisters would be on-hand to subdue him back to his human form. Any moment now, that'd happen. Any moment... any moment soon... now... n-... now...

 

It didn't.

 

Radish just shrugged, "Hey, I got Celery to let down the barrier too, don't just blame me, blame him too 'cause he's just at fault as me. Anyway, you're safe, so... can't you just be happy you're alive? I could have let you burn too, but-"

 

At that point, Marron leapt at Radish, suddenly pinning him to the floor; Radish just blinked up at Marron, feeling the collar of his shirt pulled by Marron's hands.

 

"Hey... what's... you got tears in your eyes..."

 

"I can't forgive you... you killed niisan... you killed niisan... you... you let him burn, and..."

 

On that sentence, a wave of shuddering sobs suddenly overtook Marron. Radish felt something new; he felt guilt. He realised that he'd wanted to get rid of the people close to Marron, but... he hadn't thought that it'd have this reaction...

 

He wondered how he hadn't thought of it; of course Marron would be upset at that. Marron fell back a little, his hands over his face. Radish reached out for Marron's shoulder, but Marron shook his shoulder away, "Don't touch me..."

 

Radish didn't know what to say. He remembered his prior plan, but it seemed somehow unimportant at seeing that sadness... he hadn't wanted Marron to look at him with anger or hatred, but... he had... he was...

 

Marron tried to compose himself, looking Radish in the eyes, tight-lipped and serious.

 

"Let me out of this barrier." Even if he was dead, Marron wanted to find his brother. More than anything, he wanted to be with his brother.

 

"You- you'll die!!"

 

"I know."

 

Radish frowned, "How can you say that so easily?!"

 

"I can easily say it to the person who murdered the four most important people to me without caring. You didn't care about killing them, so... kill me too. Without... without them, I... without niisan..."

 

"Do you really want to die?"

 

Radish was numbed slightly by the response; yes, Marron did want to die. The idea of dying scared him slightly, but not as much as the alternative did.

 

Radish just stared at Marron, almost unsure of what to do.

 

"O... Oniisama, he wants to die..."

 

"What?"

 

"He... he's angry because I killed everyone... because I killed his niisan... and... and... he wants me to let the barrier away from him, he wants me to let him die, and I looked into his mind, and he wants to die there too, oniisama, he'd rather die than live after what happened to Carrot, what do I do?!"

 

"Didn't you plan for this in your ohso brilliant plan? I'm guessing you don't want to kill him, so... do you remember the sleeping spells I taught you earlier on in the year? Use any one of them, and maybe we can take him somewhere a little less, well, on fire."

 

Radish noticed a change in Marron; he seemed suddenly calmer.

 

"You killed niisan... you won't let me die... and I can't forgive you for what you did... I'll kill you myself, Radish Salt. For what you did to niisan, I'll kill you."

 

"You speak so calmly about that..."

 

Radish watched as Marron raised his fingers to his face, closing his eyes, chanting slowly, softly. Radish panicked; he was really going to kill the two of them, and he wasn't wasting any time... once Radish died, the barrier would be nullified. Radish leapt onto Marron, "I don't want to die yet!"

 

He almost headbutted Marron in his desperation to get his forehead as close to Marron as he could. Marron didn't have a contrary triangle on his head, but even so... Marron was strong, pushing at Radish's shoulders, "You don't deserve to LIVE..."

 

"Yeah, but you don't deserve to die either! Sleep, Marron. Sleep deeply and please don't dream about this."

 

Radish felt the barrier waver around the two of them; it was hard to keep up one powerful spell while casting another... suddenly, he felt the support of another power.

 

"I'll make him sleep, otouto. You keep that shield up, keep yourself safe."

 

Radish let go of Marron, who groaned in a state of sudden half-sleep; Celery appeared into the barrier, touching his fingers to Marron's forehead, finishing the spell that Radish couldn't complete; Marron fell to the floor, finally in a deep sleep.

 

Celery just stared at Radish for a moment, "I really, really hope you know what you're doing..."

 

"You'd think I woulda been happier now... I mean, we got rid of those Sorcerer Hunters, we got Marron... but somehow I'm not happy..."

 

"Maybe my little brother has a conscience after all... anyway. Were we going to take him somewhere, or...?"

 

"Where should we take him?"

 

Celery shrugged, "Our home, as I said, is not too far away from here. We could take him there."

 

"Yes, that's perfect... c'mon, let's go. Help me carry him?"

 

A nod, "Of course, otouto."