Karna sat on a ledge on the outside of Chaldeas, watching the sun rise. The air was bitterly cold, nipping at his skin but Karna easily warmed himself. In fact, he found the contrast between himself and the ice-cold air rather pleasant, like the taste of salty and sweet.

Salty and sweet. Karna's hand slowly moved, dipping into a tiny hidden spot in his jumpsuit. He pulled out a cookie, filched from the cookie jar just this morning. It was one of Emiya's best creations, a sweet and salty confection studded with macadamia nuts. Karna gently warmed it in his palm until the white chocolate was gooey before biting into it. Surely this is Heaven.

Karna wanted to fully enjoy his cookie but found he could not. His mind kept going to that odd difference in himself. It had something to do with the last fragment he had absorbed, the one with Arjuna. But why would that be so? What did the Divine Spirit who looked so oddly familiar want him to learn about himself?

Karna heard the crunch of snow under a foot and glanced over. Somehow, he wasn't surprised to see Arjuna. The Archer had healed quickly and well from his injuries. Karna felt an odd tightness in his chest. Those wounds had been caused by him. Yes, he hadn't been in his right mind but the fact that so many facets of himself had turned on Arjuna indicated the animosity was still alive. Or, perhaps, those parts of himself had just been memories of hatred…

"May I join you?" Arjuna asked politely and Karna shook himself out of his reverie.

"If you wish," Karna responded, equally polite. Arjuna took a seat on the snow covered ledge beside him, gazing out over the sunrise. It was beautiful, becoming brighter and brighter, illuminating Chaldea with a pure light. "Would you like a cookie?" Karna had been unable to resist taking a few this morning, despite knowing that his chibi-self had demolished far more than his share. He simply loved these cookies.

"Mmm… I've never tried them." He hadn't? Why not? "If you wish." Karna did wish, very much, to show Arjuna the joy that was Emiya's salty sweet macadamia nut cookies. Karna pulled out another cookie – he always kept a few in his jumpsuit and no one seemed to notice, it was perhaps magic – and gently warmed it in his palm before giving it to Arjuna. He just gazed at the morsel for a moment before taking a bite then stopping in surprise. "You warmed it?"

"They are better warm, with the chocolate melting," Karna said softly and Arjuna looked at him for a moment, seeming to be troubled. Then he went back to the cookie, eating it slowly as he gazed over the snow covered mountains.

"…It's good," Arjuna murmured and Karna just waited. Words were such a hard thing but he was sure Arjuna would eventually get to the point. "Did you learn something about yourself?" …Ah. Karna gazed over the snow covered vista, his mind going to the disaster. He couldn't remember most of the things his chibis had done. However, as he glanced at Arjuna, eating his cookie, a vague recollection intruded on his mind.

"Why were you crying?" Karna asked without thought and saw Arjuna stiffen sharply.

"You remember," his brother said and Karna blinked at the harshness of his voice. He quickly hastened to reassure Arjuna.

"I do not. I only remember that you were crying and I was sorry. I do not recall the words," Karna said and Arjuna stared at him, assessing the truth of his words. Karna met his gaze evenly and Arjuna finally looked away.

"What does it matter?" Arjuna muttered and Karna frowned. He felt it did matter, very much. In fact, Arjuna's tears were at the core of what the Divine Spirit had wanted him to learn. "Why would you care?"

"I do care. My little brother should not cry," Karna said, feeling his way to the truth. Words were so difficult. Could he truly communicate like this? Yet, he could not simply step into Arjuna's mind and impart his feelings. Words were all he had. "In the course of my life, I hated you many times," he said and Arjuna's head snapped towards him. "When we were young, my hatred was intense." Karna had loathed Arjuna for so many reasons. The arrogant princeling who seemed so determined to deny him even the right to exist. "When my son died, I swore vengeance upon you." Arjuna flinched a little at that and Karna knew why. Arjuna hadn't meant to kill a child, his arrow had simply gone astray. "But over time, those feelings died," Karna said softly, meeting dark eyes. "You became nothing but an obstacle to me, something I knew I needed to overcome for the sake of Duryodhana." Arjuna's lips tightened and Karna felt a flicker of amusement. Arjuna did not like that his enemy no longer considered him important?

"None of this is new. What did you learn?" Arjuna's voice was rough and Karna sighed to himself. This was so difficult!

"I am trying to explain… I carry no regrets for my choices. When I gave Indra my armor I knew it would kill me, but there was no other choice," Karna said briefly and Arjuna frowned, still looking at him. "When I spurned Kunti's words I knew the path my feet were set on, but there was no other choice." Walk away from Duryodhana, his best friend, the man he'd held so dear? Had Kunti ever imagined Karna could? "I foresaw the consequences of my actions. I knew I would die, leaving Duryodhana bereft. I knew Vrushali would likely follow me." Karna had urged her not to but he'd known she likely would not listen. And ultimately, that had been her choice. "What I have learned is that I carry regrets, not for my actions or the consequences I foresaw, but the ones I did NOT foresee." Karna had to look away then. He gazed over Chaldea again, resting his elbows on his knees. He barely saw the snow covered peaks, his mental gaze turned inward. He'd read the Mahabharata after he arrived in Chaldea, curious to see what had occurred after his death. Karna had thought nothing of it at the time but now he understood.

"I did not foresee the harm that would be caused to you," Karna said softly. That had truly caught him by surprise. "Or all of our brothers." It still seemed very odd to him. Perhaps because his family had been so different, it was hard for him to understand that his 'brothers' would be so hurt by the revelation and in Arjuna's case, so weighted down by it. "I would not have wanted you to be burdened by my death. I regret this." It was strange. Karna knew he could not have, would not have changed a single thing. And yet, he still regretted this one aspect of the outcome. Arjuna started to shake and Karna looked at him in alarm.

"You… you dare…" Arjuna laughed, a harsh, brutal sound. He put a hand over his face, hiding his eyes. "You dare to pity me? You of all people – I cannot bear you, puta-sutra - you – " Karna stopped listening to the words. It would be too easy to be wounded by them because he knew Arjuna meant every bit of the venom spewing from his mouth. Yet, he still remembered his brother crying. He remembered being held against his chest. And actions were a much better way to communicate than words. So Karna acted and in one quick movement, dragged Arjuna close and held him tight to his chest.

"Juna," Karna murmured into Arjuna's ear as his brother yelped and struggled. "Juna. Juna." Karna just held him close, refusing to let go as he murmured that silly, truncated name over and over. Arjuna quickly broke down and started to sob into his chest, harsh, rasping sobs. "I would never dishonor my little brother with pity," Karna murmured, gently stroking black hair. It was so soft under his fingers, so fine yet so thick. "This is only regret, for the harm I have caused you." Karna realized now that he wanted to do something to make it better, to relieve Arjuna of this weight. This was what the Divine Spirit had wanted him to realize.

Karna held Arjuna until he had cried himself out, until his brother was limp and breathing shallowly. Then Arjuna pulled away and Karna let him go, watching as Arjuna scrubbed his face with one hand. His eyes were reddened and puffy now, something Karna had never seen before. It was strange, to think there were so many aspects of Arjuna he had never seen.

"You say you don't regret your choices, yet you still regret the outcomes. How can this be?" Arjuna muttered, still rubbing his face. Karna's lips curved in a small smile.

"If I had come back with Kunti to join you all as your brother, what would you have thought?" Karna asked and Arjuna stared at him for a moment. Then he snorted softly, unwilling amusement.

"I would have wondered what evil spell mother had cast over your mind." Yes. "I see… you're right. There was no other choice to make." No. "But where do we go from here?" Arjuna seemed suddenly lost. Karna thought he understood. Negative and hurtful as it had been, their enmity had been a cornerstone of both their lives. And for Arjuna, far more than Karna. And yet…

"We can only go onwards. But I feel the lesson is that we should no longer cling to the past," Karna said, gazing at his brother. Brother, it still felt like such a strange thought. "Shall we get to know each other, Arjuna?" Rather than the cold détente they'd had until now. Arjuna looked away, gazing out over the snow covered valley. There was a brief silence before he spoke.

"It is what our mother would have wanted." Yes, that was true. "I should honor her wishes… but Karna, there is one thing." What? "It's fine from a silly chibi that could barely talk, but that ridiculous nickname is unbefitting from you. Don't call me Juna." Karna's lips curved in another small smile.

"As you wish, Arjuna," he agreed. That was a small thing and he would readily agree to it. Although Karna thought he probably would end up referring to Arjuna that way again, perhaps when his little brother needed comforting… or a prick to his ego. Karna gazed over the valley, thinking about it.

This new chapter in their lives would be an interesting one.