Sorcerer Hunters Fan Fiction ❯ A Brother's Love ❯ 04 - Adjusting ( Chapter 4 )

~Chapter 4~

 

 

 

Time had passed for Celery and Radish as much as it'd passed for Carrot and the others on their journey to find Hazelnut Brazil. While their journey had continued, Marron had slept. After Radish's persuasion, Marron had fallen into a kind of sleep, and not woken up after that. He'd been taken up to his bedroom once more, where Radish had kept a constant vigil by his side.

 

Celery had left the ceremony before it's end, so he didn't know what Radish had done to Marron to cause him to be like that; he decided he didn't want to know. The one time he'd asked Radish about what'd happened, Radish had just stiffly replied that he thought that Marron needed time to recover; recover and adjust. Celery had left it at that. After that, Radish had insisted that he hadn't had sex with Marron, if that was what Celery was thinking. Celery said that the thought hadn't occurred to him, but it'd been secretly what he'd been suspecting. He wasn't sure whether to believe his brother or not, but he had a feeling that, where Marron was concerned, Radish wouldn't lie; he seemed sincere enough, and Celery didn't dare pry into his brother's mind to see if he was telling the truth. He had a thought that, if Radish suspected that Celery really didn't believe him, then he might just retreat away, plunge himself into whatever it was he wanted to do with Marron, and leave Celery well alone... Celery wondered if that was going to happen anyway; he hoped not.

 

Currently, Celery stood in the doorframe, watching Radish. Radish was knelt next to Marron's bed, his back straight, one hand over Marron's left hand. Marron lay with his hands over the covers, his breathing as slow and steady as it'd been for the past few days. Celery had wondered, at first, if whatever Radish had done to him had killed him; Radish was quick to insist that it hadn't, and was eager to point out that Marron was still breathing. Celery wasn't convinced.

 

"... and... when did you say he was going to wake up?"

 

Celery's voice was quiet; sardonic and quiet.

 

Radish just glared at him, not saying anything. Celery stared back, wondering what to say, if there was anything he could say... he couldn't think of anything, so when Radish looked back to Marron's sleeping face, he let it go. Radish spoke after that anyway.

 

"I don't know when, oniisama. I just know he will, okay? You don't have to act all concerned all the time. Even I feel a bit tired after what happened, and I was the one leading the whole thing..."

 

Radish moved his hand from Marron's hand and rested his head on it, leaning into the bed a little.

 

"... never thought I'd feel guilty so much these days. I... I guess it'll be okay once he wakes up, but still..."

 

"But still?"

 

"... but still... I... I dunno, I guess I feel kinda bad about what happened. FUCK, why do I feel like that?! It's what I wanted to do, I managed to do it, nothing's really gone wrong so far, so why don't I feel so happy about it? When I look at his sleeping face, I, I worry, I suppose... not just that... I think about what I did... and I guess I do worry, both for him and for me... what I did... I... it's like... him and his brother... I tried to make him forget..."

 

"And did you?"

 

Radish nodded, "As much as I could."

 

"And what part of 'forget' involves the illusions of mad sex?"

 

Radish shifted uncomfortably, "Shut up, that was only what I used to get hold of his thoughts."

 

"Right. I see."

 

Celery sounded as if he didn't quite believe Radish... which was, after all, true.

 

"No, but... I don't know when he'll wake up. When he's ready, I guess. Maybe... maybe he needs me to help him wake up, but... I don't know, I'm a bit worried about it. What if I wake him up and it, y'know, didn't work?"

 

"Maybe you're just scared in case it did work..."

 

Radish looked serious for a moment, then nodded. "Maybe."

 

Celery sighed, walking over to Marron's bed with his arms folded.

 

"Do you want me to help?"

 

Radish looked up. He looked, Celery thought, strangely... innocent, almost. His eyes seemed so suddenly wide and full of trust... it was a long time since he'd seen something like that in his brother's eyes.

 

He wondered if he'd ever seen that before.

 

Celery wasn't sure.

 

"... well? If you didn't want to wake him up... if you were worried about it... if you were worried about it, I could do it. I'll look into his mind if you don't want to."

 

Another few quiet moments; Radish looked away.

 

"I'd... like that, oniisama."

 

Celery sighed, feeling as if he was signing his life away as he reached over and pressed his fingers to the sides of Marron's head. He leant down, pressing his forehead to Marron's own.

 

"Marron..."

 

Celery froze stock still, trying to feel anything from the person beneath him, anything at all... for a moment he didn't feel anything, and he was worried in case whatever it was that Radish'd done had destroyed Marron totally... he breathed and lived, but was he alive?

 

Celery had been about to pull away, when he felt the hint of a voice in his mind.

 

"... don't go..."

 

"I won't, not while you're still here. Are you still here?"

 

"I don't know what you mean."

 

Celery paused, "... Do you remember anything? Do you remember what your name is?"

 

There was another pause while Celery waited for an answer.

 

"It's dark..."

 

"You can't remember... anything?"

 

"Is there anything I'm supposed to remember? I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

 

Celery felt anger momentarily at Radish; it seemed that it, whatever 'it' was, had worked. Maybe too well? Marron didn't even seem to remember his own name. Well, that might be what Radish would like. He'd get to build up a whole new life for Marron. What fun.

 

"Well... first, you have to wake up... I'll help you. Can you... can you feel me, in your mind?"

 

Celery pressed his fingers to Marron's head a little harder; Radish put his hand to Celery's wrist, "Oniisama, don't hurt him...", but didn't receive a reply.

 

"I can feel something..."

 

"That's good. Try and centre on that feeling. Take hold of it, as it were..."

 

Celery felt a slight change from Marron's side.

 

"Good, you've done that. I'm going to try and bring you back into the real world now; it might be a little bright there, but don't worry, it's not scary at all. You'll probably see me when you wake up. Do you remember me?"

 

"..."

 

Obviously not, Celery thought.

 

"Ah... well, I'm Celery Salt. I'm here with my brother, Radish Salt. He's sitting down next to me; I'm near to you, can you try... opening your eyes?"

 

Celery willed Marron to open his eyes; Celery did so alongside him, and felt a rush of relief when he saw an open pair of eyes facing his own.

 

Marron's eyes twitched and blinked a few times. Celery softly hopped from the bed, "I think it's safe now."

 

Marron turned to face the Salt brothers.

 

"You... you're Celery... and... you're... Radish?"

 

They nodded. Celery looked at Radish, and felt some kind of heaviness within him; Radish seemed so happy to have Marron awake again... the happiness, the relief... Celery turned away, looking back at Marron, who just seemed confused.

 

Radish nodded happily, "Y-yeah, I'm Radish. I'm Radish, he's Celery, and you're Marron. Okay? It's good to have you... back with us..."

 

Marron just blinked, looking fairly unemotional.

 

"I see... my name is... Marron?"

 

"Yeah, Marron Glacé."

 

Marron nodded, turning his head back to look up at the ceiling, his body trying to get used to being awake once more. His mind felt blank.

 

"I... see... so, you two share the last name... are you... related?"

 

Radish nodded some more, "Yeah, we're brothers. Anyway, are you... do you feel okay? Can I get you anything? A drink of water or something? You've been asleep for aaaggeesss, I was worried!"

 

Marron frowned slightly, "... Brothers..."

 

Celery heard Radish's slight gasp and decided to switch the conversation's track as quickly as he could.

 

"... Radish is right, you've been asleep for a long time, Marron. Are you alright?"

 

Marron turned to face the two of them again, looking at Celery.

 

"I don't feel... I feel... alright, but... I don't know what else I should feel... you seem like you're familiar with me... do I... know you? I... I don't remember you at all."

 

He looked back up at the ceiling.

 

"Or this room. Or anything else..."

 

There was a delicate silence in the room. Celery glanced at Radish, who glanced back. Marron just shut his eyes. No-one seemed to know what to say.

 

With a slightly nervous laugh, Radish eventually stood up.

 

"Ha ha ha... those bastards, what did they do to you, huh? Come on, let's go round a tour of the house. Maybe that'll... maybe that'll bring some memories back. I can tell you more about yourself and stuff as we go."

 

"Alright."

 

Radish gingerly helped Marron out of bed, worried in case he'd forgotten how to do that too; Marron accepted Radish's arm and let himself be pulled out. Marron stood up, and looked down at Radish. Radish gazed up at him, and attempted a small smile. Marron just stared blankly back... Radish seemed to remember something.

 

"Oh yeah, can't forget this..."

 

He whispered something, then waved his hand over Marron's forehead. Marron frowned, "What...?"

 

"Don't worry, it was just something I had to do, nothing big."

 

Celery was as confused as Marron.

 

"Otouto?"

 

"Look at his head, oniisama."

 

Curious, Celery did so.

 

He peered for a moment, unsure as to what it was he was supposed to be looking out for; he stifled a gasp as he looked and he realised.

 

Marron now carried a contrary triangle on his forehead.

 

"O-otouto!"

 

"I want him to think he's one of us as much as I can manage. If that means pulling an illusion all the time, then I don't mind. As long as he doesn't suspect, then that's the main thing... he can't know that he's not one of us, that he's a Parsoner... as long as he's with us, he's a Sorcerer. Okay, oniisama?"

 

"... You've got this all planned out, haven't you? What you're going to tell him, and everything..."

 

"All that time while he was sleeping, I thought of nothing else. What I'd tell him once he woke up... what I wouldn't tell him... but... yeah, I've... I've got it planned."

 

Celery was still wide-eyed, but accepted that his brother at least had thought about something before doing it, for once.

 

The three of them left the bedroom.

 

Radish motioned with his hand, "This is the corridor. We just went out of your room, Marron. See those two doors there... that door leads to my bedroom, and that door leads to Celeoniisama's bedroom. On the other side, there's the bathroom... okay? We don't really need to go in them right now, all the bedrooms are pretty similar 'cept for the stuff in 'em, and you know what a bathroom's like, I assume... um, anyway... see out of the windows there, pretty huh? In that direction, those are the woods of Qerada... on the other side, in the bedrooms, you can see Ehret's woods, but don't worry about that if you don't know what that means. A-Anyway... down the stairs..."

 

Radish seemed to fit comfortably into his role as the guide of the house. At the bottom of the stairs, Radish opened the door to his left, revealing the room that he'd brought Marron to those days before; the room was different now. Almost cosy. Soft chairs and a large sofa adorned it, as well as elegant looking lamps on tall holders. The walls were a warm red, and the trim of the room was shining gold, matching the lamps and the furniture.

 

"This is like... well, it's like, a relaxing room, a front room. I tend to do magic things in here, though. It's somewhere where I can concentrate, you know?"

 

Radish stepped back so he was in front of the stairs, smiling at Celery and Marron.

 

"Oniisama, did you want to do some more?"

 

Celery snapped out of whatever little trance he'd been in, and attempted a smile back.

 

"Oh, no, you're doing a perfectly good job of it so far, otouto. Feel free to carry on."

 

Radish nodded, "Okay then. Well, just here there's... well, you can see what that is, a table with some flowers on. Thought it brightened the place up a bit. There's a door that goes outside here, but we don't use it much. That door goes to a little room where we keep shoes and stuff, then it goes outside... we can go outside later."

 

Radish walked past the aforementioned door, walking past the stairs, "That bit between the next room and the stairs, there's a desk there. Celery uses that for writing, it's somewhere out of the way where he can concentrate, right, oniisama?"

 

"That's right."

 

Radish waved his hand at the dark wooden desk, and led his brother and Marron into the next room; there were more chairs, and the back of the room seemed covered with shelves of books. To the left side from the door was a series of windows that displayed the front garden, and to the right were the shelves; there was also a little door on the back wall of the room, which went beyond where Celery's desk was on the other side; it went underneath the stairs.

 

"This is the main front room, we like to sit and look outside from here sometimes if it's not good to go outside, you know, if it's raining or somesuch. The books there... they're mainly all magic books and stuff. Mainly all Celery's stuff, I don't go in for the whole book thing too much. That little door there leads to, well, I guess it used to be a pantry, but it's just got more books and stuff in it, I think. I don't really go in there, but I seem to remember books being there."

 

Radish walked on, "Careful, this doorframe's a little low."

 

Celery and Marron ducked their heads slightly as they walked through into the next room, which was the kitchen. Radish led them into the centre of the room, shrugging slightly.

 

"And this is the kitchen. See there, there's, uh, a sink, a cooker, table, things like that, nothing too exciting. The door there leads to another bathroom on one side, and another door to the outside on the other. This bit here," Radish gestured to a carpeted area with more comfortable-looking chairs, "is another place to sit and look out at the garden. See?"

 

Radish ran eagerly over to what seemed to be a glass wall, separated into two by black bars. He crouched down to fiddle with a catch near the floor, then pushed one of the panes of glass back; it slipped on some kind of roller, and noises from outside were somewhat more apparent.

 

"And that's the garden. There's garden that side and forest on the other side of the house. There's garden, and it like, drops down there, 'cause there's a river at the bottom there. On the other side of the river is the Qerada forests. See, here, we're on the edge of two regions; the Qerada region, which is over there, and the Ehret region, which is, well, the other side. But that doesn't really matter, there's nothing really special in either region, 'cause this is where we live, and that's that. Let's go into the garden!"

 

Celery smiled wryly as Radish hopped down the steps that led to the gravel track in front of the house. Radish seemed so excited to be showing Marron around the house... as they went outside, Radish pointed at another room on the side of the house.

 

"That's another place to study magic... I tend to use the other front room, Celery tends to go here, it's closer to the outside. Oh, he also keeps plants and stuff in there for some reason. Kinda like a greenhouse... my brother's got the green fingers for it, anyway. So... yeah! This is the garden! Isn't it pretty?"

 

Radish ran to the edge of the garden; Celery and Marron followed him, Marron glancing around quietly as he did so. He hadn't had any comments so far, content to just be quiet and take in the sights and sounds around him; if this place had been somewhere familiar to him, he wanted to be familiar with it. Best to get a feel for it from the beginning.

 

Radish pointed downwards; Marron looked over the edge of the garden to see a series of various kinds of plants and bushes that seemed to slope down after a steep drop; these went down to the banks of a fast-flowing river. A bridge at the extreme other side of the garden went from the garden, over the river, to some high ground in the Qerada forest. The river flowed beneath the bridge, rapids flowing at a point just beyond.

 

Marron looked across the river; tall trees stood proudly, high and mighty into the air. There was birdsong, but it was chiefly drowned out by the roaring of the river below. It was an impressive sight, though. Marron admired the sight until he felt Radish tugging at his robe sleeve, "Come on, we've got talking to do!"

 

A short while later, Celery had produced garden furniture from somewhere in his greenhouse, and the three of them were sitting on the front lawn, leaning on a table.

 

Radish sighed happily, "Well! Did anything come back to you as we went round the house?"

 

Marron glanced around again, noting the many varieties of flowers that seemed to be around the garden. Mainly in flower borders around the edge of the garden, but various bushes flowered near the front of the garden. Near to the river side of the garden, trees that bore fruit grew. Marron sighed.

 

"... It didn't, no. This place is quite beautiful, though. If... if this is the place that I live, then I'm happy for it... it's tranquil, I wouldn't imagine there'd be any disturbance here... I don't see how I would ever have forgotten such a place. Somewhere like this... I thought it'd be somewhere that someone would remember for all of their lives, but..."

 

Radish laughed, "Hey, hey, it's only a house and a garden and stuff, it's not that spectacular."

 

"It's... very beautiful."

 

Celery smiled, "That's true."

 

"Radish, you said that you'd tell me more about myself... please, tell me. I don't... I can't remember anything... and being somewhere like this, being with people like you... it almost worries me. I can't remember, but I want to remember..."

 

Radish paused; he'd been expecting something like this.

 

"Well... okay. This'll take some explaining. First off... we're on the Spooner Continent, right? The Spooner Continent is ruled by the Famille Empire, the head of which is the Stella Church. The head of the Stella Church is somebody called Big Mama... with me so far? She's like, this goddess-y type person who kinda rules over everything, but not really. See, there are Sorcerers, like you and me and Celery, and Parsoners, who... aren't. See, we can use magic. See the triangle on my head, and on oniisama's head? You've got one too. That... that means that we were born with the privilege of using magic. Parsoners, the people who can't use magic... they kinda got the short end of things a bit. They can't use magic, and so they mostly tend to get oppressed by Sorcerers, and they can't really fight back, so, you know."

 

Marron leant his arms on the table, lightly tucking his hands into the sleeves of his robe.

 

"That's quite unjust..."

 

"Yeah, well, what can you do? It happens all over the Spooner Continent, it's pretty much always happened, and it'll probably always happen. However, Big Mama, in her infinite wisdom, does at least try to fight for the Parsoners. She's got this 'secret' band of lackeys who run around and do her will. They're called the Sorcerer Hunters, and it's basically their job to hunt and kill evil Sorcerers. We've... had some run-ins with the Sorcerer Hunters in the past... and that brings us to you."

 

Celery listened carefully as his brother explained; he knew that Radish had a plan of some kind, but he didn't know what the plan was; he was intrigued. Radish sounded like he knew what he was talking about so far.

 

Marron waited expectantly for Radish to continue.

 

"... to me?"

 

Radish nodded, "Y-yeah... see... uh... yeah. A while ago, it's a couple of years ago now, we... had this big fight with the Sorcerer Hunters. I mean, it was a really big fight. Us versus them. If there'd been more of us and them, then it woulda been enough to start a war, I really think so. Anyway... you... probably don't remember, but... you're really powerful. In that battle, you were the one who had control... the battle raged for days and days, probably even months, until it basically came up to you against the Sorcerer Hunters. Celery and I were just beat, but you, you stood tall and proud and you were about to kick total ass, when Big Mama appeared, and... she didn't want you to kill the Sorcerer Hunters... she said she was prepared to kill us if we killed them, but if we surrendered, then she'd let us go."

 

Marron nodded, "And... then?"

 

Radish took a moment to remember where he was in his story. "I wanted us to carry on fighting, I knew you could beat them, but Celery said that you shouldn't risk fighting against Big Mama 'cause you wouldn't be able to win... you agreed with him. Big Mama then said she wanted to talk with you for a bit, and... and she did, and then... she took you away from us."

 

Marron frowned, "How do you mean?"

 

"She did something to you... we're not sure what, but suddenly, you weren't the same... she did something to you and made you 'good'. Said something about how powers such as yours were wasted being a Sorcerer, where your powers could be abused... be much better to use your powers for her great good, and so, she turned you upon us, and... she turned you into a Sorcerer Hunter."

 

"How did she do that?"

 

Radish shrugged, "I don't know, I just remember me fighting for you not to go, but you going anyway... and the next time we saw you, you didn't know who we were. Just that we were Sorcerers, and that we were evil... for a long time we tried to find you after that. You were with another crowd, Marron... the people who Big Mama put you with, the Sorcerer Hunters... I guess they became your comrades, and they wouldn't let us come anywhere near you... they stole you from us, and didn't want us taking you back. However, as you can see from being with us now... we managed to get you back. It took some long years, but... it's worth it now, just to see you again, have you back with us... I'm really happy to have you back, Marron. You can't know how much, but... I am."

 

Marron glanced down at the table, taking this information in, passing it around in his mind, thinking deeply for a few moments. Radish glanced at him, "Marron?"

 

"... Even after you tell me all of that, I... I don't remember it at all, none of it sounds familiar to me..."

 

Radish sighed, "Well, it did take some pretty powerful spells to reverse the stuff Big Mama put on you. I guess it mighta done something weird to you. This is only the first day, though... maybe your memories will come back to you with time? And hey, even if they don't, we're still around. Even if you can't remember your old memories, we'll help you create new ones... right, Celeoniisama?"

 

Celery blinked in surprise as he heard his name mentioned. He'd fallen out of concentration.

 

"Hm?"

 

"I said, if Marron couldn't remember his old memories, we'd help him create new ones. Right? Won't Celeoniisama help me create new memories with Marron?"

 

Celery paused, then nodded slowly, almost reluctantly.

 

"Yes, I'll help."

 

Radish smirked, letting on more than he was letting Marron know.

 

"Good."

 

His face lightened as he smiled again at Marron. "So, was there anything you wanted to do, anywhere you wanted to go? I don't mind what you want to do if there's anything special. Anything might help you remember your past with us, after all... wanna go down to the river and skim stones? Or go yell echoes under the bridge? Go skinny-dipping where the river isn't as fast? Anything's alright with me."

 

Marron stood up, pushing the chair underneath the table.

 

"If it's alright... I'd like to stand at the edge of the garden again. When I'm there, I feel relaxed somehow... I like it there."

 

Radish nodded eagerly, "Sure, sure, I'll stand with you if you want."

 

"... I'd rather be alone for a while, Radish. I want to try and remember things... maybe if I'm alone, then I'll remember."

 

Radish paused, the wind taken out of his sails somewhat. Well, that wasn't a personal slight, or anything. Marron was understandably confused, if he wanted to spend a little time alone, then Radish wasn't going to begrudge him that.

 

Radish stood up, smiling at Celery.

 

"Well... okay, while Marron tries to remember, oniisama, d'ya wanna come inside with me for a bit?" Radish smiled back at Marron, "We'll leave you for as long as you want. Just come back in whenever you want to, it's no problem."

 

Marron nodded back, "Thank you."

 

He headed off to the far edge of the garden.

 

Radish watched him as he walked, some kind of unsure emotion on his face. Celery noticed this, "Radish? Are you alright?"

 

Radish blinked up at Celery, nodding hurriedly. "Y-yes. Come inside, oniisama."

 

The two of them went side, Celery following Radish obediently.

 

Once inside, Radish sat down on one of the seats near the sliding doors; Celery sat opposite him, and Radish slid the glass door shut. He leant hunched forward, his chin leaning against his caged fingers. He just stared at Celery's feet for a while before anyone even said anything.

 

"Well?"

 

Radish's eyes flickered up as Celery spoke, "What?"

 

"You wanted to come inside, I assumed it was for a reason..."

 

Radish nodded, seeming somewhat distracted.

 

"Y-yeah..."

 

Celery waited for this reason to become apparent; it didn't, so he prompted his brother. "... And...?"

 

Radish shook himself back into reality and glanced at Celery.

 

"Oh... well... it... it worked, didn't it? The thing with Marron... he's... he totally doesn't remember anything from before, does he? Do you think that, well, my plan was good enough?"

 

Celery shrugged lightly, "It worked, didn't it? I wonder if, standing out there, he'll remember anything from his fabricated past with us? I hope he doesn't remember anything from his true past... that would barely calm Radish down."

 

"I don't know... but... he's someone living with us now, isn't he? I don't quite know what to do..."

 

"Do?"

 

Radish nodded, "Y-yeah. I mean... he's, he's really beautiful, and there's no obstacle this time, I don't have to worry about anything that's uncertain, because there's nothing that is uncertain, anything that we tell him, he doesn't have reason to disbelieve... but he's almost something that's still distant even though he's so close to us... I don't know how to react to him, I guess. Was I okay when I was showing him around the house?"

 

"You were fine, Radish. I don't think you need to worry. It could just be me, but you do seem to have been quite a bit quieter these past few days, ever since you started watching over Marron... maybe it's a good thing or a bad thing, but I don't think you need to worry about how you react to him. As you said, anything that we tell him, he doesn't have reason to disbelieve, right? Even if you did something stupid, I think he'd believe you if you apologized sincerely."

 

Radish slipped off the chair and helped himself onto the floor. He sat on the carpet between his brother and the chair he'd been sitting in, looking out into the garden. Marron was visible, standing quietly in one of the upper corners of the garden, near-motionless as he watched the river and the forest.

 

"I guess. It's just weird to see him up and moving around, I guess. Those couple of days when he was asleep, I just watched him for all that time, it's like, I got used to him sleeping, and while he was asleep and I was thinking, nothing could go wrong, you know?"

 

Celery smiled gently, "Even though nothing's uncertain, my otouto still is?"

 

Radish looked a little confused, not taking his eyes off the garden.

 

"... Something like that."

 

"Well, I guess we can only do what we can. And, after all, if this thing with Marron keeps my brother's mind off of randomly exploding towns and villages for a little while, then all the better. At least it keeps Big Mama and her Sorcerer Hunters off our backs for a bit longer."

 

Radish glanced up as Celery stood up, "Oniisama?"

 

Celery smiled back down, "Now that the panic's over, I'm going to go and catch up on some of my reading, alright? Unless you wanted me here for something..."

 

"N-no, that's okay, you go and read."

 

A nod, "Just come and get me if you need anything."

 

"Thanks, oniisama."

 

Celery couldn't get over the fact that Radish seemed so quiet and kind suddenly... he didn't mind it, but he found it a little amazing to behold. Still, his brother's thanks were something nice to have, and he carried it with him with a warm feeling inside as he walked to the area underneath the stairs to study quietly.

 

Radish watched his brother as he left the room; his gaze held on the door for a few moments more, then he turned his eyes back to the garden, back to Marron.

 

"Exploding villages... gettin' chased the Sorcerer Hunters... wantin' to kill Big Mama... none of that seems important now, somehow... but I guess oniisama's right, if it keeps things quiet for a while then that's better than it not being quiet, 'cause I'd rather anyone didn't disturb us like this... at least oniisama set up the barriers around the house good. Don't have to worry about anyone disturbing us there, I trust him to have the place well done up..."

 

Radish leant back on his hands, his legs stretched out in front of him.

 

"I wonder how much longer he's gonna stay out there for? I almost wanna talk to him, but I don't know what I'd say..."

 

Radish sighed, feeling strangely confused as he watched Marron for a little longer. Such feelings were new to him, and he didn't know how to react to them... they weren't emotions that could be solved through fire or violence, and there wasn't anything he could really do about them, so, he thought, perhaps it was best to just let them wind their course for as long as they wanted to go, even if it WAS painful, in a strange sort of way.

 

Radish wondered what was going through Marron's mind as he stood in the garden. The thought of maybe poking into his mind a little, looking around to see what was there occurred, but somehow, it didn't seem so appealing anymore. His memory had started that morning, almost; what would there be in his mind to see other than that which Radish had been there to witness? There was Marron's own personal opinion to such things, but, Radish wondered, did he even have an opinion yet?

 

Marron had seemed quite taken with the natural beauty of the house and it's surroundings, though. Even now he watched the landscape so quietly... Radish smiled slightly, it seemed that Marron had an appreciation for natural things. He wondered if Marron'd been like that in his old life... somehow, it seemed to fit. The scenery was beautiful, and Marron was beautiful to fit in it...

 

The temptation to go outside and talk to Marron was great, almost too great. Radish managed to stop himself before he got up and did so, though. He held the thought in his mind, the spoken phrase that Marron had wanted to be left alone; he'd wanted to be alone. It'd only be good manners to let him have that time alone.

 

Celery had gone too, but not with any malice or spite. The two hadn't been at their home for quite some time now, Radish didn't mind if Celery wanted to go and read for a while where it was quiet and he could be undisturbed. So Marron was doing his own thing, and Celery was doing his own thing... and Radish felt quietly trapped but distant between the two of them. He felt like talking to somebody, though he wasn't sure what he'd say. Would Celery mind him hanging around? He'd wanted to read, though. Would Marron mind if he went outside and spoke with him for a while? He wasn't sure. He didn't want to disturb Marron, though. Whatever Marron wanted to do, whatever made him comfortable in his setting, Radish wanted to allow.

 

He still couldn't quite figure out what to do with himself for the time being, however.

 

****

 

Tira smiled, feeling light-spirited for the first time in a few days.

 

"This place is where Hazelnut Brazil is, isn't it? It's quiet, but... it's somewhere where people live, definitely... it's peaceful. I hope we won't disturb too much."

 

The Sorcerer Hunters and Milphey stood on a hill that overlooked what it could of the Marata region; as far as the eye could see, it just seemed to be fields, empty green hills, a few dotted trees, grassland... nothing too special, but Tira was right; the place was peaceful.

 

The only landmark anywhere nearby was a cottage of some kind a few hills away from where the group stood currently. Smoke wound slowly out of the chimney on the side of the house, getting caught up with the wind and eventually falling invisible. To the side of the cottage were what seemed to be vegetable patches, wooden fences surrounding nearly furrowed earth.

 

Milphey smiled, "I'm sure he won't mind us visiting. We're friendly people, aren't we?"

 

Friendlier than Radish and Celery in a bad mood at least, Milphey thought.

 

As the group stood and watched for a moment, the distant sound of a door opening was heard. Down at the cottage, someone had opened a door, and was currently knelt next to one of the vegetable patches, tending to something there. The group watched quietly, until Carrot launched himself down the hill at top speed, "HEYYY, PRETTY LAADDYYY!!!!"

 

The rest of the group just watched. Gateau blinked.

 

"How can he even see that it's a lady from this distance?"

 

Chocolat shrugged her shoulders, "I... don't even want to know. Milphey, who'd that be?"

 

"I'm guessing it'd be Hazelnut's wife... he doesn't have any daughters, not that I know of. Either that, or it's Hazelnut himself, and Carrot's got himself mixed up. In any case, we should go and rescue whoever it is that Carrot's hitting on, right?"

 

"Right."

 

The group made their way to the cottage, reaching the vegetable garden to see what it was that Carrot was doing; he was there with a reasonably attractive woman, somewhat older than Carrot or the others, with greenish-brown hair down to her ankles. She wore a red headband with some kind of white flower tucked between it and her ear, and she seemed somewhat confused.

 

"Ah, um, can I help you?"

 

Carrot seemed infatuated, as usual.

 

"Ohh, pretty lady! In such a quiet place, you're such an undiscovered beauty! How can you stand to live alone as you must do? Let me live with you, let me discover you! Living such an isolated life... there's so many things that you're missing out on! I can show you so much! Pretty lady, what's your name?"

 

She blinked.

 

"Um, I'm Olive Brazil..."

 

"Aaah, such a beautiful name for such a beautiful woman! Lady Olive, let me take your hand and show you true heaven!"

 

There was a loud SMACK as Chocolat and Tira brought their fists down on Carrot's head in practised unison. Chocolat growled, "Darling, don't act like such an idiot in front of new people!"

 

Tira coughed, "I'm sorry about that, he's, um, well, he's Carrot, he always acts like that. You said that your name was Olive Brazil... this is where Hazelnut Brazil lives, isn't it?"

 

Olive nodded, Carrot grappled onto her arm somewhat; she ignored him, speaking evenly to Tira in a soft voice.

 

"Yes, he lives here. He's, ah, my husband."

 

Carrot fell over, narrowly missing the vegetable patch. Olive gasped, "Be careful! We only planted the seeds a short while ago, I wouldn't want them being disturbed..."

 

Carrot rolled over, "Right, right, you're married, right."

 

Milphey knelt next to Carrot, smiling happily. "First Salad Chips, then Olive Brazil... maybe Carrot has a thing for other people's wives?"

 

Chocolat snarled, "I hope not! However... when me and darling marry... I wouldn't mind if he wanted an affair with me... oh, darling's so sinful!"

 

Tira frowned, "If you were married to him, how would it be an affair?"

 

Chocolat didn't seem to be listening, caught up in her own little dream. Tira blinked, turning away from her sister's passionate moans, turning her attention back to Olive.

 

"Um, I'm sorry, my sister, um... she... yes. Anyway, Hazelnut Brazil... lives here..."

 

Olive nodded, not quite sure what to make of this band of travellers.

 

"Y-yes, he does... did you want me to go and get him?"

 

Tira nodded politely, "That'd be helpful, yes."

 

Olive nodded again, and turned to walk back into the cottage. She was gone for a few minutes, in which Carrot managed to pick himself up and look generally presentable again, and Chocolat managed to snap herself out of her daydream.

 

Eventually, the door opened again, and Olive was there, this time accompanied by somebody else.

Hazelnut Brazil was in his thirties, but appeared to be much younger than that; Milphey looked at Hazelnut and then at the Sorcerer Hunters around him; he didn't look too much older than them. He carried himself with a lot more grace than the Sorcerer Hunters did, except perhaps for how Marron carried himself.... Hazelnut appeared almost boyish in his looks, gracefully boyish and feminine. His hair was short and a vibrant chestnut-brown; it covered his ears and curled in around his cheeks; the sun shone on it, it seemed warm.

 

Hazelnut wore the clothes of a Parsoner, but wore them with sophistication. His boots came to just below his knee, and his shirt was grey trimmed with red. A sword hung on a belt around his middle; the sword was long, and appeared to have quite an intricately detailed handle. He had the air of somebody who was used to battle.

 

He looked curious as he saw the band of people standing next to his vegetable patch.

 

"Can I help you at all?"

 

Milphey stepped forward, "Yes... Hazelnut Brazil, am I correct?"

 

"That is my name."

 

"We come under order from Big Mama of the Stella Church; we require the power that we hear you wield. I am Milphey-Yu, and these are my companions, Carrot Glacé, Chocolat Misu, Tira Misu, and Gateau Mocha. I trust we're not causing you inconvenience?"

 

Hazelnut nodded, realising who these people were as Milphey introduced himself. Shiffon had alerted him to the situation during his visit, and his face softened in realization as Milphey spoke.

 

"No, no, it's no inconvenience at all. I've been awaiting your arrival, Mille Feuille."

 

"Just Milphey is fine."

 

"Alright then... Milphey. I suppose you want to see Walnut Brazil's grave?"

 

Milphey turned his head, "Is there something that we need to see there?"

 

"In a manner of speaking. Follow me."

 

Olive busied herself with tending to the vegetable patch as Hazelnut guided the others past the front of the house, leading them behind it, down the hill that the house resided on. A little past the house and where it was, was another hill; the hill seemed to have some kind of entrance to it, but the door was closed at the moment.

 

"This is where my ancestor rests... or he rested, until recently."

 

Chocolat folded her arms, "Something happened?"

 

"I'll tell you once we go inside. I think it'll be a situation that you're familiar with."

 

The others remained silent as Hazelnut opened the door to the tomb. It creaked open, revealing the darkness within. He took an unlit torch from a holder on the wall, and lit it with a quietly whispered fire spell. He held the brand aloft, "The main chamber is down this corridor..."

 

Milphey nodded, Hazelnut leading the way for the others to follow. The corridor was long and dark, but Hazelnut's fire lit it adequately enough. After a quiet journey down the cool corridor, the area seemed to open out; Hazelnut lit a few other torches around the room with his first one, and stood back in silence as the crackling of fire permeated the silence of the room.

 

The room was generally empty, except for the large stone box at the back of the room, in the middle. The group stood in front of it, Hazelnut gestured towards it.

 

"That is where Walnut Brazil is. This was his grave, undisturbed for much longer than I have lived for... he stayed in this place, his body and his magic in resting unison... only his body remains here, though."

 

Carrot frowned, "What happened?"

 

"The magic was something that I used to draw on; I wanted to learn his magic, take it into my body and perhaps pass it down to my family... I trust you've heard of how powerful he was? Walnut was... he was an expert on seals and barriers. I wanted to know that power, but it was taken from me..."

 

Carrot scowled, "Celery and Radish, right?"

 

Hazelnut walked forward, and knelt at the edge of the coffin. He leant his arms on it, glancing up at a large painting that adorned the wall behind the coffin; the others hadn't noticed it before. Chocolat gasped, "Is that... him?"

 

Hazelnut looked over his shoulder at Chocolat for a moment, then nodded.

 

"Walnut Brazil? Yes, that's him."

 

"He looks a lot like you..."

 

A smile, "I know, anyone who sees that picture always says that I do... I suppose I do, I suppose I do. No, but... those which took the magic from this tomb, I didn't know their names. I barely knew that they were here... it was Olive who alerted me, she said that she saw some people heaving into Walnut's Tomb. I tried to fight them, but... it wasn't possible to stop them, by the time I found them, it was too late. They'd disturbed him and somehow managed to take his magic... I didn't know their names, but the description I have heard since means that it could be no-one but them..."

 

Carrot stepped forward, "They got away with the magic... does that mean that you can't, y'know, work it out? 'Cause... the thing is, Celery and Radish, they've got my brother kidnapped, see... and they like, set up this barrier around where they've got him kidnapped, and no-one could break the barrier... but Kahlua, one of Big Mama's Haz Knights, he said that the power was like Walnut Brazil's power, so that's why we're here, 'cause we wondered if you could break down the barrier, 'cause Kahlua couldn't..."

 

Hazelnut nodded, "I am aware of the situation. I have powers of my own, Carrot Glacé. I couldn't cast a spell like my ancestor could, but I think I could feel the barrier for myself, and work out how it would be broken... I'll accompany you to where this barrier is, and do what I can..."

 

"Good, good... but... how come you already know all this stuff? I mean, well, we've only just met, and stuff..."

 

Milphey was already ushering Carrot out of the main room, a happy smile on his face, "Don't worry about it, he's probably got some magic thing that lets him know about that kind of thing. Don't knock it, okay? Let's just go, we've got to hurry, Marron could be in danger, right?"

 

Carrot sighed, "What's with the hurrying all of a sudden?"

 

Milphey just smiled back, trying not to give away his deeper thoughts.

 

"Hey, I thought you'd want to hurry and get Marron-chan back!"

 

"Sure, sure, I do, but you're suddenly hurrying!"

 

Milphey just laughed slightly, and gestured to the others, "Let's go. Hazelnut, are you sure that it's okay?"

 

Hazelnut nodded, "This cottage is safe enough in Olive's hands, I trust her to take care of it while I'm away. At any rate, we shouldn't be gone for too long, should we?"

 

"Well, it's a couple of days from Eden to here, and then longer to Qerada... but I wouldn't worry about it, you're right, it shouldn't take too long. Probably just over a week or so in total, something like that."

 

Hazelnut put a hand on his sword's handle, "That's fine with me."

 

"That's good... well then, Carrot-chan, everyone... let's get back as quickly as we can."

 

****

 

"Would you... like something to drink?"

 

Marron looked up, taken slightly by surprise at Radish's suggestion. He smiled slightly, shaking his head.

 

"No, I'm alright."

 

Radish had been holding the jug with cordial in ready to pour into a cup that he just happened to have with him. He set both down with a sigh, "Something to eat?"

 

"I ate this morning, I'll be fine."

 

"Oh, okay. Um... anything else you want? I don't mind if there is..."

 

Marron just shook his head, "I'm content just to stay out here."

 

"Oh..."

 

The two of them were sitting on the front lawn again; it was a pleasant sunny day, the sun shone in through Celery's barrier as if there was nothing there at all; indeed, Marron didn't seem to have noticed the barrier, and it didn't cause anyone any inconvenience, so Radish hadn't mentioned it at all.

 

It'd been a couple of days since Marron had initially woken up, and Radish felt frustrated because talking to Marron still didn't seem to come any easier to him. Celery didn't seem to say much to anyone at all, he tended to keep himself to himself, reading and suchlike, while Radish occupied himself with Marron.

 

Marron had seemed to warm up to them fractionally over the past few days; if anything, he seemed to regard Radish's behaviour with distant good humour; Radish's day was usually occupied with making sure that Marron was okay, making Marron feel almost as if he'd gained a personal servant from somewhere.

 

Radish wasn't sure what to do next; he poured himself some of the juice, and sat down across the table from Marron.

 

"So... you're sure that there's nothing you want?"

 

"I'm certain. It's a nice day... I like to just sit out quietly and watch the clouds go by... the sound of the river is calming too."

 

"Oh, I, I see... I'm not disturbing you, am I?"

 

Marron glanced over at Radish, "No, not in the slightest. I could ask you the same thing, or something similar..." Marron smiled warmly, something that made Radish blush slightly. "You always seem so concerned about me, you're always asking me if there's anything I want, always making sure that I'm alright... are you sure that that's not an inconvenience for you? Don't you have other things to do other than dote on me all day?"

 

Radish sat up straight suddenly, eager denial rushing to him.

 

"No no no no no, it's no inconvenience! I just wanna make sure you're okay, y'know? I mean... you were gone for so long, I wanna make sure you're totally comfortable now you're back with us."

 

Radish also felt slightly guilty whenever he saw Marron's smile, but he wasn't about to tell that to Marron.

 

Marron leant his head on his hand, still smiling.

 

"Have you always acted like this?"

"Huh?"

"Always doting on me. Before Big Mama turned me against you, did you always act like this with me too, or is it just because I went away and came back?"

 

Radish laughed nervously, "Oh, ha ha, probably a bit of both. I've always liked to take care of you, Marron. I just wanna make sure I do an extra extra special good job of it now! I've been waiting for you for ages, now you're back, I want it all to be perfect, ya know?"

 

Marron laughed good-naturedly, "I don't really, but I accept what you're saying. You just do what you want, I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually."

 

"Ha ha ha, I hope so. His warm smile is so NICE..."

 

The two fell into occasional chat as Celery watched them from the front room with his books in. They seemed so happy as they talked and chatted on the lawn like that... Celery felt happy that his brother was happy, but even so, it never failed to make him feel a little uneasy... he wondered if Radish had totally forgotten of their prior relationship, even. Ever since Marron'd been around, he hadn't even spoken of that, not really... let alone started anything... Celery scowled, sighing with bad temper. He supposed he was just being jealous; his brother was happy, that was the most important thing. Never mind that he felt almost suddenly abandoned in favour of this pretty young Sorcerer Hunter.

 

It also made Celery unsure, because he'd never seen his brother like that before... all the other times when he'd liked someone, when he'd gone after them... usually, it was just Radish and his hot temper, 'Oniisama! I want that person!', but as the two had discussed many times in the past, it'd never really worked like that. Celery was happy that Marron hadn't ended up dead like all those other people, but it still made him uneasy. Not just because of Radish's behaviour, or what'd gone on before... Celery remembered the other Sorcerer Hunters, he remembered Radish talking about Gateau's feelings for Marron, he remembered the feelings for Carrot that he'd felt in Marron's mind... even with the barrier around the place, was he supposed to believe, like how Radish seemed to, that they'd be peaceful and left alone now that they had Marron? Celery couldn't believe that. Those two brothers had had a strong bond... the whole group seemed like it had, even. That strong bond... Celery hoped that Radish's power was enough to suppress those feelings, those bonds... if Carrot and the others did happen to turn up, he didn't want his brother getting hurt too badly...

 

Celery sighed and turned his attention back to the open book on his desk. It was open, but he'd not really looked at it... he found it hard to concentrate. He didn't want to disturb his brother or his brother's new toy, but he didn't feel like consigning himself away to various magic studies, again... it seemed to be all that he was doing recently.

 

He stood up, deciding to go and sit in his bedroom for a little while. The sun always shone nicely into the room, and it was nearly always cool in the room despite that... it was a nice place to be.

 

Quietly, Celery placed a bookmark in his book, shut it, and made his way up the stairs. He glanced at paintings and other such decorations that hung on the wall... they'd always been there, but Celery was compelled to just look at them for a little while. They were mainly things that'd been 'acquired' throughout the years on various excursions out... if a Parsoner - or even a Sorcerer - had a pretty item Radish wanted, he usually killed them and took it. Most of these items now decorated the Salt household.

 

Celery stopped again as he reached the top floor, the floor with the bedrooms on. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, making the place seem warm and inviting... Celery sighed. The house was a nice one, it was maybe somewhere they had to come back to more often.

 

He walked over to one of the windows, looking back out onto the garden. Radish and Marron were still talking... Celery doubted that Radish would want to leave again... the house was a nice place to stay, though. If Radish did want to stay, and keep Marron with him, Celery could think of worse places for it to happen.

 

Celery stepped back momentarily. He didn't really want to spend too much longer looking out of the window; the longer he spent looking out of the window, the more it reminded him of his brother.

 

Well, of course it would. His brother was only sitting outside, after all.

 

Celery remembered why he'd come upstairs in the first place; he retreated away from the window, and headed over to his room. He paused as he opened the door, letting the 'click' linger in the air before he stepped inside.

 

His room wasn't too different to Radish's room, to Marron's room. Some books were scattered on the floor, he walked over and picked them up. He looked around the room; there were some bookshelves. He carefully slotted the books back onto the bookshelf, idly dusting himself down as he did so. Old books got dusty sometimes.

 

He slipped his feet out of his shoes and jumped onto his bed with considerably less grace than he did most actions. He didn't care about being graceful. Being suddenly home... being suddenly home, he felt he suddenly had to cope with the feeling of not having anything to do... there was studying magic, there was magic studies and all that that involved, but Celery couldn't quite be bothered somehow.

 

Before he could prevent it, his thoughts drifted back to times in the past. Other times when he and Radish had returned home. Other times when they'd been in the house, just the two of them... cries of passion echoed in Celery's mind, the thought of Radish's touch echoed on his body.

 

Celery let out a noise of frustration. His brother wasn't the only one who had needs, but Radish's libido was usually enough to satisfy the both of them. Celery never needed to ask his brother for such things, because Radish was always the one asking them of him...

 

Celery wondered if he'd be asking Marron of such things now. Celery wondered if Radish dared to.

 

For the time being, Radish seemed strangely quiet and kind, which, while being nice to see, was a little strange. "My brother doesn't usually act like that with anyone...", Celery thought.

 

He never usually acted like that. Not even with Celery.

 

Celery closed his eyes, leaning his arms against the pillow on the bed. He undid the catch of his cape, his body pulling on his cape as he lay there meant it pulled around his neck. He pulled it out from underneath him, and threw it to some spot on the floor somewhere. It didn't really matter where, Celery decided.

 

"With Marron, he seems suddenly so gentle... it's sweet to see, for once, my brother doesn't know how to react with someone... his first impression was that that he WANTED Marron, and he has him now, I suppose... and now he has him, he doesn't know how to react. That's typical of my little brother."

 

Celery shook his head, smiling slightly. He wondered if Radish would even dare ask Marron about a sexual relationship... Celery could see his brother dancing delicately around the subject for as long as he could... he sighed. Well, if he couldn't work out how he wanted to ask Marron, there was always someone else that Radish could ask sexual favours from, Celery supposed.

 

He wondered if it was strange, as he stared at the ceiling. Their relationship had always been a strange one, but it'd always been something he'd just accepted... now, was that relationship at risk? Did that relationship even exist anymore? Celery supposed it was a good thing that his brother was going out and meeting new people, in a way... it was good that he was having different relationships with different people, experiencing something a little more normal with a nice, normal person... okay, so Marron and Radish were two guys, but things like that weren't exactly unheard of. Two brothers, though... Celery was sure that that was something a little more unheard of. Not that the two of them had ever worried about what outside society thought, but...

 

Celery rolled over, not quite sure what to think. His thoughts rambled around, but they didn't seem to go anywhere... the more he thought, the more unsure he felt. He closed his eyes, wondering if perhaps sleep could occupy his time instead of thinking... the absence of thought seemed like a nice place to be. Thinking caused more thinking, and it wasn't something Celery could be bothered with. It seemed that, the more he thought, the more it hurt. So perhaps it was a better idea to just... not think.

 

Sleep didn't come easily, though. Celery felt bad for what he felt; his line of thinking seemed so jealous, didn't it? He liked that his brother seemed happy, but... yes, he admitted it. He was jealous that his brother was happy with someone who wasn't him.

 

He sighed. Was he selfish for thinking such thoughts as that?

 

Celery tried to placate himself with thinking that, as much as his own thoughts were selfish, so were Radish's feelings; if Celery was selfish just for loving his brother as he always had, then surely Radish's feelings were a lot more selfish; he'd randomly decided he had feelings for someone else, and wasn't that selfish too, to just abandon his loyal brother like that?

 

Celery wondered what could be classified as being selfish anyway. His thoughts were selfish, his brother's thoughts were selfish, so who was the worst out of the two?

 

In a childish way, Celery heard himself say "Well, HE started it."

 

Had he, though? Radish had been the one to choose to find someone else, but he'd never asked for Celery's unconditional love in the first place... Radish had always had the power and the control, and he certainly seemed to love Celery in some kind of way, but... Celery frowned, opening his eyes slightly. He supposed that he didn't really know how Radish felt about him, not really... they had quite the involving sexual relationship, or at least, they had done... and Radish always spoke about how he didn't want to live without his oniisama, how he always wanted Celery around...

 

Thoughts of that occurred to Celery, and calmed him down a little. Yes... even if Radish did want a relationship with Marron and not with him anymore, then... at least Radish didn't want Celery not to be around at all... he had a feeling that Radish would miss him if he was gone.

 

That thought calmed Celery into his eventual sleep.