Guest: I can't tell you much since it would spoil the story, but mostly everything I write has a reason. I'm very surprised though. You managed to analyze and figure out so much from just reading a few chapters of my fanfiction. It's quite impressive actually. I'm also still new to AO3 and fanfiction, so some tags may have been forgotten or maybe I did so purposely. Sometimes tags can spoil the mystery of a story but really mostly I forgot. I'll add him if I get the time.
Kazemon95: Thanks for the comments. I'm glad you like my story so far and hope you like the future chapters.
Here is the next chapter of my fanfiction: Bringing the Thunder, Beetlemon
HonDai University, or HU for short, was a college where musical geniuses were trained. It was located in Suginami City, Tokyo, Japan. Besides the core classes, the college taught a wide variety of musical courses like orchestra, opera, and pop. A lot of famous musicians and singers came from this University.
Colleges were a little different from high school since students could choose their own classes. It was also the best time to relax and goof off. In Japan, most people put in all their studies and work from middle and high school. If one got into a prestigious college due to their middle school and then high school exam scores, they were basically set to get a great job out of college.
Once your workplace knows what amazing college a student graduated from, getting a job would be as simple as pressing a button. It created a very lax environment in universities. Four years of college was actually the best vacation most people in Japan got before they joined the workforce. Although there were exceptions, it was the social norm here.
In a certain classroom, a teacher was explaining to his freshmen class of around 25 people about the core probabilities of mathematics. The classroom was set up like a room in a high school. The desks were arranged apart in a set, so each student sat in pairs.
There was a particular stout boy in one of those pairs. He had spiky brown hair and eyes and wore an orange shirt, blue jacket with yellow pockets, khakis, white socks, and blue and yellow sneakers. It was Junpei Shibayama.
Junpei Shibayama was the Bearer of the Legendary Warrior of Thunder. Before becoming a Digimon, he was always surrounded by people and known for his magic tricks. Although he seemed to be quite popular in school, he never really had any close friends. One time, he walked by himself in the rain without an umbrella. It was depressing. The boy felt alone but never showed it, saying things he never really meant and hiding his real feelings.
During his adventures in the Digital World, Junpei learned a person should be vulnerable and themselves. Only by trusting others and being honest can real friends be made. These experiences have made him many friends in school. He teaches them magic tricks every now and then. In turn, the boy learns something from them as well.
Now, Junpei has more friends than he could count. He wasn't the lonely boy walking in the rain anymore.
Since he was the oldest of the group, he was the first to go to college. For his major, he decided to go into the musical arts, specifically opera. He first got inspired by Shizuka Arakawa in the Turin Olympics singing. Although Mr. Arakawa is a great, inspirational person, it wasn't the real reason why Junpei got into opera singing.
The real reason he got into the art was due to a certain female companion. He wanted to have a closer relationship with Izumi Orimoto since the opera played in the Olympics was Turandot by Giacomo Puccini.
Giacomo Puccini was an Italian composer known mostly for his opera. From his lifetime to now, the man is regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of creating opera music.
Since the man was an Italian composer and opera's origins are in Italy, Junpei decided to take up music as a major to learn more about Italian culture. Music was one of the big ways of understanding different people and cultures without actually speaking. One performance could reach people better than words ever do and touch them beyond their lives and cultures.
If the boy trained and mastered the music, he would become closer to understanding Izumi and her falling in love with him. It was one of the many steps in his plan to capture Izumi's heart. Some of them usually don't work out. Ok, all of them never work out, but Junpei was not going to give up. He was going to win over his friend one day. Besides, singing was actually quite fun for him. His voice projection was amazing.
Right now, Junpei was writing stuff down in his notebook attentively while also checking the time on the wall. It looked like he was waiting for something.
"Alright, it's close to that time." The math teacher said as he finished the last part of the lesson. "Why don't we call it a day, today? Class Dismissed!"
"Junpei..." A girl who sat next to him said, but she never finished the sentence as the boy jumped up from his seat, grabbed his stuff, and bolted out of the room. He did not want to hear what his classmate had to say.
The girl just looked at her classmate's retreating figure. "Why does he always run?" She said putting her stuff away and leisurely went after him.
Junpei burst through the glass doors of the school building. There, he saw the bus that would take him to the train station and ran like crazy. If he could get on that bus, he would get off the campus and be scot-free.
Just as he was about to make the bus, two men in suits came out of nowhere and grabbed him. From their attire, they looked to be bodyguards. Junpei tried to break free, but the men's grip was too strong. The students at the bus stop looked at the spectacle and continued to board the bus.
They should have been worried that a fellow student was being held against his will in broad daylight, but they were used to seeing this every day and moved on. Once everyone boarded, the bus closed its doors and drove off. Jumpei slumped his shoulders in defeat. It looks like he wasn't getting away today.
"Do you guys really have to do this every day?" Junpei said annoyingly at the bodyguards. "Don't you guys ever get tired or bored of doing this?"
"We're just under orders." One of the bodyguards said. "Now, do you want to be escorted back, or do we need to carry you again like that other time?"
"Let's go," Junpei said, picking the former option. The boy walked back toward his school building until he was near the entrance. The bodyguards flanked him on each side to prevent any escape.
"Junpei Shibayama!" A female voice shouted.
In front of the entrance was a girl who looked about the same age as Junpei. She had aquamarine eyes and wavy, long black hair. Her outfit consisted of a white cotton t-shirt, a navy blue jacket, a gray pleated skirt with white socks, and brown shoes. It was the same girl who called out Junpei earlier in the classroom. She had her arms crossed and was looking pretty peeved.
If anyone saw her, they would describe her as a refined girl who had an aura of a royal princess. She was very beautiful. Most boys would be in awe of the girl's appearance and try to impress or flirt with her, but Junpei just groaned.
"Saya," Junpei said annoyingly at the girl. The boy was completely immune to the girl's appearance. He had known her for some time after all and only had eyes for Izumi.
"Why do you always do this?" The girl called Saya walked until she was in front of Junpei. "You know we have to practice on our vocals every day after classes, and you keep running away from them."
"Those are just simple exercises to strengthen our lungs," Junpei replied. "I can practice those anytime when I'm alone."
"Yes, that's true, but I'm your opera partner, remember?" Saya pointed to herself. "We need to do these exercises together, so our voices can be in sync and harmonized."
"We don't have to be together almost every day for that. A few times is enough." Junpei closed and leaned back a little to relax. Talking to this girl took a lot of mental strength from him. "Also, you need to stop using your bodyguards to restrain me. They have better things to do than catch one person."
"Stop running away from me and I will." Saya stared accusingly at Junpei then turned to the bodyguards. "Toshiro, Makoto, good work."
The bodyguards nodded to the girl in acknowledgment and continued their job blocking Junpei's escape.
"Practices make perfect after all." Saya continued turning her attention back to Junpei. "Now, are you going to continue to struggle or come with me to the studio?"
The boy inwardly grumbled about how unfair this was.
Introduction needed to be in order. This girl was Sayaka Hashimoto or Saya for short.
It was at the beginning of his first year in opera class when Junpei met her. The way she walked in the classroom had a regal feel to it, and her looks stunned the whole class. It would have stayed that way for a while too until she opened her mouth and started singing.
It sounded like an angry banshee screeching. Junpei and everyone in the classroom had to cover their ears. It was awful. The boy could've sworn he heard glass shattering far away. Could someone really sing this badly?
Once she was finished, no one said anything for a few minutes. Their ears were still recovering from the singing. Junpei thought the teacher would kick her out or at least berate her, but he just put on a strained smile, politely gave her some pointers, and to try again. Saya didn't take them and continued to sing. Outside, birds were quickly fleeing when hearing the sound.
This continued for three days. Earplugs were becoming a thing in the classroom. The weird thing was that no one was saying anything. The teacher tried to teach her, but she wasn't listening to his advice.
Junpei couldn't take it anymore. If this continued, the boy was gonna go crazy. On the fourth day of enduring this terrible singing, he got up from his seat and lashed out at the girl with a lot of words. He let out all of his pent frustration for five minutes straight.
Saya was red in the face from being insulted. She took her stuff and ran out of the classroom in angry tears. Everyone looked at Junpei in shock and thought he was really brave.
What Junpei didn't know was that Saya was the daughter of the man who owned Hashimoto Industries. It was one of the biggest businesses in Japan. They had a lot of power and recently donated a large sum of money to the university to let Saya attend even though she had an awful singing voice.
There was also the news when she first entered the university, an older college student tried to woo her. When he listened to her sing, he insulted her similar to what Junpei did but a little more harshly. The result was the boy got kicked out of the university and could never come back. A teacher tried to defend him, but he also got kicked out and fired as well.
Everyone knew about it, which is why her classmates and teacher didn't say anything about her voice. Well, everyone except for Junpei. Most of the time, he was always the last person to know about these important things. One of his classmates took pity and told him everything.
Junpei's eyes went wide at the news, but he didn't regret it. Although he could get expelled, he would just go to a different university. There were plenty around that focused heavily on music after all. He had to prepare for the worse.
Contrary to expectations, Junpei didn't get expelled from entering class after two days. He surprisingly became Saya's opera partner. It was quite the sensation for everyone, including Junpei. It didn't end there.
In every classroom Junpei attended, whether it was math, science, or history, Saya now appeared and always sat right next to him. The boy tried to change his seating or classes, but the teachers and classmates adamantly refused, so he was stuck with her.
It should've been great getting attention like this from a pretty girl, but Junpei was just annoyed with her. He had to endure her singing and deal with her in his regular classes. The boy got a splitting headache when he was always with her.
She's also been dragging Junpei to one-on-one vocal sessions since their music teacher recommended it for their endurance and vocal cords. Practicing with your partner would help harmonize and enhance each other's voices, so Saya forced the boy into these sessions every day for the practice.
Junpei couldn't believe she picked now to listen to their teacher. He also had a feeling that this girl pulled some strings in order for all of this to happen. He just didn't know why. Was this some unique way of torturing him? If it was, it was working.
The boy could have transferred schools, but it was a lot of paperwork. Junpei didn't want to go through that since he wasn't getting expelled. So he did the next best thing, he ditched his sessions and ran.
When his classes were over every day, Junpei would run away from the girl and leave the campus as quickly as possible. Her influence could only be in HU. If he could get out, she would have no power over him. It worked for the first few times, but unfortunately for him, Saya was a rich, stubborn girl.
On the fourth day of his escape, he was stopped by two bodyguards. They were told to restrain and escort him back to the school building where Saya was waiting. Junpei tried to resist the first few times, but the bodyguards just picked him up like a sack and carried him all the way back.
At first, the students on campus were shocked at the scene and started panicking, but the school was already notified in advance about it and calmed their students. Turns out, Saya got 10-12 bodyguards stationed at the exits of the campus to prevent Junpei from leaving. They were ordered to use any means, except for violence, to bring him back to the girl.
No matter where the boy ran, he would almost always get caught. He then understood that this girl was never going to leave him alone.
As the year went by though, Junpei got kind of used to being around her. Although she was stubborn and hard-headed, she was very driven and determined. Thanks to their practice sessions and finally listening to their teacher's advice, Saya's voice improved significantly. Now, the girl has become one of the top students in the class and has an amazing voice. Junpei respected her a little for it.
Still, it didn't stop him from trying to escape. Saya still insisted on doing practice sessions with him even though she was exceptional now. Although he got captured 9 out of 10 of the time, he'd still take those odds. Plus, it was a really good exercise for him. Students and faculty were already used to their game of cat and mouse which continued all the way to the present day.
Typically, Junpei would just give in and follow Saya to the studio for practice. The boy was about to agree but stopped. He felt something bad was about to happen.
Suddenly, fractal code appeared and blanketed the surrounding area. It covered everything including the two bodyguards that were next to Junpei. The only things they didn't cover were him and Saya.
Junpei was shocked. What was fractal code doing here? The only time when fractal code appeared like this in Japan was when Lucemon almost popped out in Shibuya. Was something similar happening now?
Soon, the fractal code disappeared leaving only an empty campus. It looked like Junpei and Saya were the only two people left in the area.
"What just happened?" Saya said, freaking out. It was an understandable reaction. She just witnessed this weird phenomenon and the next thing she knew, everyone around her just disappeared. It was unnatural. "Toshiro! Makoto! Where did you go?!"
"Saya, we need to relax and think," Junpei replied in a calming voice. He noticed his opera partner's frantic tone and wanted her to stop panicking. The boy wasn't as afraid due to being familiar with fractal code. "Let's try calling and see if we can get a hold of someone."
Saya nodded and pulled out her phone. She started dialing her father, the police, or anyone who could answer her calls quickly.
Junpei, on the other hand, tried dialing Izumi, Takuya, or any of the other Legendary Warriors. If anyone knew what was going on right now, it would be his other companions who went to Digital World with him.
Unfortunately, no matter who they called, no one answered. It just created a buzzing sound. It looked like they were alone in this predicament.
Junpei was thinking about the next plan of action when Saya screamed all of a sudden. "What the heck is that?!" Her eyes stared fearfully into the distance.
The boy followed her line of sight, and his body shook. Flying in the air was an insect-like beetle the size of a truck. His body was covered by a red, sturdy shell and had pincers sticking out between the sides of his mouth. Those things looked like they could crush a boulder easily into powder.
Kuwagamon: A champion, insect, virus-type Digimon. Special attacks are Scissor Claw and Power Guillotine. The menacing insect is known for its tenacity and powerful pincer attacks. Once he clamps on to his opponents, he will squeeze until their life is put out. It is highly advised to not be near his pincers.
[Scissor Claw] The insect Digimon readied his claws and flew toward Junpei and Saya like a torpedo. He was going to dive bomb and bisect them with his claws.
Junpei quickly ran to get away but stopped when he noticed Saya wasn't with him. Turning around, he saw that the girl was still staring at the Kuwagamon. "Saya! What are you doing?! You have to move!"
But Saya wasn't listening. She was like a deer in headlights too stunned to budge. The gap between Kuwagamon and Saya grew closer.
Just as the ferocious insect was about to slice the girl into two, Junpei grabbed her arm and yanked her to the ground. Kuwagamon flew past them and rammed through the glass doors of the school building. It was like a falling helicopter crashing right through the revolving doors of a retail store.
"Come on!" Junpei grabbed Saya's wrist as they ran away. Judging from the sounds of destruction Kuwagamon was doing inside, it would take a while before he could get out of that building.
Once the pair were at a safe distance away, they stopped to take a breather. Saya was starting to come back to herself. "Junpei, what's going on? What was that thing?" She asked. "You know something, don't you?"
Junpei may have also been afraid of Kuwagamon, but it was more of a surprise than fear. He didn't have the initial fear that Saya had. The girl was smart and from his earlier actions, it felt like Junpei was already used to this kind of danger. These factors led Saya to believe her opera partner somewhat knew their current situation.
"It's kind of hard to explain." Junpei didn't deny it, scratching his head. "But it's probably after me. If you stay away from me and hide, you should be fine."
"And what about you?"
"I'll think of a plan to lure the insect and stop him. Once everything is fine, I'll call and let you know to come out."
Saya gave the boy a hard look. "No."
"No?" Junpei looked at Saya questionably. "What do you mean no?"
"I'm not going to let you face that thing alone," Saya answered. "You're gonna need help. My help."
"Saya, I can't let you do that," Junpei tried to dissuade her. He didn't want to put the girl in danger. "It's way too dangerous! You were almost cut in half a few minutes ago!"
"I was unprepared. It won't happen again." Saya answered back fiercely. "Besides, you saved my life. It doesn't sit right with me. I want to pay it back; nothing you say or do will convince me otherwise. Now, are you going to let me help, or should we argue until the beetle catches up and eats us?"
Junpei let out a long inward groan. Even now in this dangerous predicament, this girl was being extremely stubborn. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to stop her, and he did need help. "Fine, but you have to listen to me. If it gets too dangerous, you run. Got it?"
The girl nodded in confirmation, and the pair ran into a different part of the campus.
...
Crash. Glass shattered as Kuwagamon finally broke out of the building after untangling himself from the mess inside. He flew high into the air to search for his prey.
"Kuwagamon! If you want me, I'm right over here!" Junpei shouted. His voice resounded in the air.
The flying insect followed the sound and found Junpei standing on a large stage surrounded by stone stands and chairs in a semicircle. This was HU's University outdoor stage. Many showcases and concerts were performed by students on this stage to show off their musical talents. Now, it was going to be the area of confrontation between a human and Digimon.
Kuwagamon flew toward the stage and landed right in front of Junpei. His face looked menacingly at him like he wanted to eat him alive.
"Whoa there," Junpei said, backing away a little. "I just want to talk."
He looked up at the insect trying to ignore his threatening jaws and tried to reach out. "What are you doing here? Are you lost? Maybe I can help."
"Orders... Lords..." Kuwagamon growled slowly, uttering his intentions through words instead of sentences. "Kill!"
Kuwagamon widened his pincers and positioned them between Junpei. He didn't care what the boy had to say and would squeeze him like an orange.
"Saya!" Junpei shouted, pulling out a microphone.
Near the middle area of the stands, Saya was there with headphones on messing with the soundboard. She raised the volume on the thing to the highest output. "It's done! You're good to go!"
There was a big chance that things weren't going to end peacefully with Kuwagamon, so Junpei stood at a specific spot on the stage as insurance. He initiated the talk to make sure the insect wouldn't attack immediately after seeing him. When Kuwagamon landed in front of Junpei, he was positioned right next to the loudspeakers.
These weren't just regular loudspeakers. These were 165 decibels speakers with an output of 30,000 watts. Listening to sounds higher than 85 decibels would cause permanent damage to the inner ear leading to hearing loss. Sounds at 110 decibels can cause instantaneous hearing loss. What would happen when exposed to 165 decibels at close range?
"Figaro!" With a wave of his hand, Junpei turned on his noise canceling earphones and unleashed his bass singing voice to the microphone. His sound blared out from the speakers and hit Kuwagamon like a tidal wave. The force knocked the insect back to the edge of the stage.
Kuwagamon's body kept twitching violently. His ears felt like they were on fire. It looked like the sound attack did a real number on him.
Junpei smiled and gave a thumbs-up to his opera partner. Saya, in turn, returned it with a smile herself then her expression changed. "Junpei! Get out of there! The thing's not down yet!"
Kuwagamon shook off the pain and roared out, unleashing a sound wave of his own. The force caused Junpei to fall back a bit. The boy tried to sing again, but Kuwagamon flew quickly towards him.
[Power Guillotine] With a swing of his head, he hit the boy with one of his pincers causing him to fly across the stage. He then grabbed the loudspeakers and used his pincers to crush them like a trash compactor. Pieces of metal and paper fell to the ground as the sound equipment turned into a pile of scraps.
Once the insect finished destroying that demonic sound device, he turned his sights to Junpei. It was time to end the little gnat. Slowly, he approached him. His claws were ready to tear him apart.
Junpei clutched his chest still recovering from the earlier blow. There were no broken bones, but it hurt like crazy. Now he knew what a baseball felt like when it got hit by a baseball bat during a game. He could see Kuwagamon coming for him, but there was nothing he could do. The pain was too much. He couldn't even get up and run.
Then out of nowhere, headphones came flying and hit Kuwagamon. "Leave him alone! You stupid beetle!"
"Saya! What are you doing?!" Junpei shouted fearfully. The person who threw the headphones was obviously Saya. "I told you to run if the situation got too dangerous. You have to get out of here!"
But Saya didn't listen and proceeded to throw anything she could get her hands on at Kuwagamon to stop him from approaching her opera partner. Junpei didn't abandon her when she stood frozen in fear. She wasn't going to abandon him when he was helpless.
"I told you to leave him alone!" This time, the girl threw the whole soundboard at the insect. It took both her arms to throw the thing, and the heavy sound tech landed right on Kuwagamon's temple. That got his attention.
Kuwagamon roared ferociously at Saya causing her to fall backwards. He then flew and landed right on top of the girl using his four arms to pin her from escaping. He lowered his head closer toward Saya. His mouth was dripping saliva as he closed in.
Saya screamed in fear. This insect was going to eat her alive. She tried to pound his arms to get out, but Kuwagamon did a really good job trapping her. There was no way to escape.
"Don't you dare lay a finger on her!" Junpei yelled. His pain was slowly subsiding. He pushed himself up and walked toward Kuwagamon and Saya. "Don't you dare hurt my friend!"
This was the first time Junpei ever called Saya a friend. Although she annoyed Junpei to no end and was forceful in some ways like a spoiled brat, she wasn't a bad person at heart. With all the time they spent together, there was a type of trust that developed between them. He considered Saya kind of a companion now, and never wanted to see the girl in pain.
"No," Unfortunately, there was still nothing Junpei could do. Even if he was in tip-top shape, the insect Digimon was too strong for him. All he could do was watch as Kuwagamon's jaws came closer to the girl. "Saya!"
Saya looked at Junpei and smiled. She was still afraid, but it was as if she was telling him it was going to be okay. The girl didn't regret a thing.
That shook Junpei. Tears started to come out of his eyes. Kuwagamon's mouth was finally in range. One chomp from his jaws, and it was all over for the girl.
"Please don't do this!" Was there really nothing Junpei could do? No, he wanted strength. He wanted power. He wanted the power to protect the people he cared about once again.
"STOOOOOOOPPP!"
Lightning suddenly came out of nowhere and struck Kuwagamon, electrocuting him. The attack paralyzed him temporarily and created an opening in his arms. Saya took this opportunity to break out from his hold and escape to safety.
Junpei was stunned. He should've been surprised that lightning came out from such a clear sky, but it felt so familiar to him. Looking up, he saw a transparent, humanoid figure floating down toward him.
"Yo," The figure greeted. He gave Junpei a kind look like he was meeting an old friend after a long time. "I hope I'm not too late."
"Just a little," Junpei laughed, wiping away his tears. All of the worry and anxiety he had felt earlier disappeared. Right in front of him was his partner in the Digital World, the Human Spirit of Thunder. All types of nostalgia welled up within him. "It's good to see you again. Have you been doing well?"
"It's good to see you as well, but we should save any further talks for another time." The Spirit of Thunder said, turning to look at Kuwagamon. The insect was slowly starting to break out of the paralysis. "Right now, we need to take care of this bug."
Junpei nodded his head. He had enough of Kuwagamon hurting his friend. This bug had to be squashed before he could do any more harm. He pulled out his cell phone which glowed and morphed into a blue, yellow Digivice, and pointed it toward his partner.
The Spirit of Thunder transformed into his relic form and entered the Digivice. The Symbol of Thunder appeared on the screen.
It was time.
[Execute! - Spirit Evolution] Kuwagamon finally broke out of the paralysis and turned to face Junpei again. Except, he wasn't Junpei anymore. In his place was a large humanoid-shaped beetle Digimon. He was covered in blue and yellow armor-like exoskeleton and had a large horn on his head. Small sparks of current electricity emitted around his armor. If anyone touched him, they would be shocked by his static electricity.
Beetlemon: The human Legendary Warrior of Thunder whose main attacks are Thunder Fist and Lightning Blitz. It's a variable, android Digimon who is descended from the Ancient Warrior: AncientBeetlemon. Despite his large build, he has keen movements which are actually techniques used to produce high-voltage electricity from his body. Combined with this and his combat prowess, he is a force to be reckoned with.
"I'm ready for round 2, bug," Beetlemon said. His fingers crackled with electricity.
"Junpei?" Saya said at a safe distance from both Digimon. When she saw Junpei transform into a powerful, muscular man beetle, she looked a little stunned. Was this her opera partner? Unfortunately, Kuwagamon wasn't as affected by his enemy's new appearance.
[Power Guillotine] The insect flew at top speed and rammed his pincers straight at Beetlemon. The impact caused a shockwave causing smoke and broken rocks to fly everywhere.
"Junpei!" Saya screamed. That looked like it really hurt, but the surprise kept coming.
When the smoke cleared, both Digimon were alright and at a stalemate. Kuwagamon's pincers gripped against Beetlemon, but he couldn't pierce through him. He crushed and pushed, but the Bearer of Thunder didn't even budge. Beetlemon's armor was too thick.
"What's the matter?" Beetlemon said. "It looks like you're having trouble with your jaws. Let me help with that."
Beetlemon grabbed the pincers and pushed them apart, freeing himself. He then lifted Kuwagamon up until he was mid-air. With a mighty roar, he swung the insect around and threw him at the stands. The chairs and rocks broke like paper as Kuwagamon crashed through.
[Thunder Fist] Strong electricity erupted from Beetlemon's fists. He jumped off the stage and clasped his hand together into a double-hammer fist. With the electricity condensed into his hands, he brought the attack down. It was like slamming someone down with the hammer of Thor.
The sound of thunder was heard as the attack connected. It pushed Kuwagamon down creating big cracks on the ground. The insect felt like he just got hit by a 15 story brick building and then struck by lightning. Electricity spread throughout his body electrocuting him.
Even if Kuwagamon had strong vitality, this attack was too much for him. Soon, fractal code appeared around him.
"Soul that is infused with evil," Beetlemon said, pulling out his Digivice. "Be purified by my thunder. Fractal code, Digitize!"
Beetlemon swiped on the code causing the fractal code to enter his Digivice. Kuwagamon soon disappeared and what was left in its place was a saw stag beetle.
Fractal code surrounded Beetlemon as he transformed back into Junpei. The boy stared at the saw stag beetle in confusion and picked it up for examination. After poking it a few times, he concluded that the beetle was just a normal everyday insect which was weird. Normally when a Digimon was scanned, a Digi-egg would appear, but it didn't appear this time. Was it a phenomenon for entering the real world?
"Junpei?" Before the boy could continue, Saya said his name out of the blue causing him to release his hold on the beetle. The insect flew off and escaped to the nearest forest.
Saya walked to her opera partner cautiously. There was a little fear in her eyes as she approached him.
Junpei could understand that. They were just attacked by a terrifying, man-eating insect and he just turned into a menacing electrified beetle. If it was his first time witnessing this, he would be freaked out too. It was her next words that surprised him.
"Are you okay?" Saya said, grabbing Junpei's hand to check the pulse. Although she was still in shock by these recent events and had a lot of unanswered questions, the concern for her opera partner outweighed everything.
"Uhh," For a moment, Junpei didn't know how to answer that. He wasn't used to seeing the forceful girl so concerned for him. Just as he was about to reply, fractal code once again appeared and covered their surroundings.
"Not again!" Saya freaked out while Junpei gripped his Digivice ready for another fight.
The fractal code soon disappeared and everything returned back to normal. College students appeared again around them and continued to walk around the campus.
"My Lady!" Someone shouted in the distance. "My Lady! Where are you?!"
Relief flooded Saya as she heard those words. It looked like they returned to their world. "Toshiro! Makoto! I'm over here!"
Moments later, her two bodyguards came rushing over. They relaxed slightly when they saw their lady unharmed. "Thank goodness you're alright. When you and Mister Shibayama disappeared, we thought of the worst." Toshiro said.
"You guys didn't see us run or go anywhere?" Saya asked.
"Both of us had eyes on you and Mister Shibayama the whole time. One second you both were there and the next you were gone." Makoto answered strangely. "We thought your runaway used a new magic trick on us again and took you with him."
"Although this latest magic trick was pretty neat," Toshiro added. "The way you both disappeared so fast and moved here. It felt as if you stopped time."
'That's a new tidbit,' Junpei thought. The boy still does magic here and there, but mostly as a hobby. There were times he was able to trick some bodyguards like Makoto with a sleight of hand to get away, and it worked. Unfortunately, this would only work so many times and the bodyguards were used to his tricks now.
"How is that possible?" Saya asked again. "You guys disappeared on us and just a few moments ago, we were attacked."
"Attacked?" The bodyguards pulled out their tasers and aimed at their surroundings. They were prepared to fire any threat in sight. "Where and who?"
"It's gone now," Saya answered. "But it was a giant red beetle. You should have seen it. It almost ate me for crying out loud!"
"A giant red beetle?" Makoto lowered his taser and looked at Saya skeptically. "My lady, I know it's not my place to say this, but I think you've been watching way too many monster movies."
Saya was about to defend herself but stopped when Junpei grabbed her shoulder. He shook his head silently telling her that it would be pointless. Her bodyguards would never believe their outlandish story.
The girl relented. Even Saya wouldn't believe it if she hadn't experienced it herself. "You're probably right. Still, could you guys patrol the area? I need to have a moment with Junpei."
The bodyguards consented and left. Saya turned her full attention to her opera partner when they were alone. "Junpei, Explain. Now!"
"It's kind of complicated," Junpei answered. He didn't know where to start, so he asked a question first. "Have you ever heard of Digimon or the Digital World?"
Junpei wanted to know if Saya experienced something similar to Junpei and his friends, but seeing the confused look on her face, it looks like she never heard of those terms before. "Was that the name of the creature that attacked us earlier or the macho man you turned into?"
'Macho man?' Junpei's mouth twitched a little at the nickname, but it deeply made the boy think. If Saya never heard of or been to the Digital World, why was she dragged into that data-like real world when her bodyguards weren't? There were many unanswered questions. One thing was for sure though. Something big was happening, and the boy needed to get to his friends.
"I'm sorry Saya, but I have to go." Without even waiting for her reply, Junpei left and headed to the nearest bus stop. Checking the time, the bus would take 15 minutes to arrive again, but he wished it would show up sooner.
Just then, a limo pulled up in front of him. When the window lowered, an old man in a suit was in the driver's seat. He looked at Junpei and said. "Mister Shibayama, I was instructed by My Lady to take you where you wish to go."
'Saya?' Junpei thought, surprised. He parted ways from the girl for 2 minutes. How did she get a ride so quickly?
"Junpei Shibayama!" In the distance, Saya was there with her arms crossed. "I still don't know what's going on, but I expect you to tell me everything after you finish what you have to do."
Although she wanted to know what was going on now, it must have been pretty big seeing Junpei's serious expression. Since she wasn't going to stop him, the girl decided to help him a little by calling her transport. He did kind of save her life after all.
Junpei stared at Saya for a moment before giving her a sincere, genuine smile. "Thank you, Saya. I really appreciate it. You're pretty awesome, you know."
"I don't need you to tell me that," Saya said, turning around. "You just better come back. We still have vocal lessons together." She then walked back into the campus.
Junpei silently thanked Saya again and entered the limo. He told the driver to head to the nearest train station. In the middle of the drive, his cell phone started ringing and his whole face lit up at the caller ID.
"Izumi!" Junpei squealed enthusiastically.
"Junpei, are you alright?" Izumi asked, slightly concerned. "Were you attacked by Digimon in any way? "
"How did you know?"
"It happened to me and Takuya a little earlier. We were afraid they were going to come after you guys as well."
"Wait, why were you already with Takuya?" Junpei asked with a trace of suspicion. He didn't like it when his other guy friends were with his long-time crush. They were his competition.
"I was tutoring him in Italian when it happened," Izumi explained. "You know how dense he is when it comes to learning, school, or mostly anything that involves a lot of brain power."
"Hey!" Someone else shouted through the phone. It was definitely Takuya.
"Well, it's true!" Izumi rebutted. "If you want to prove me wrong, start by having a real Italian conversation without just saying the word 'si'." It was followed by sounds of grumbling.
Junpei couldn't help but laugh. His trace of suspicion disappeared. Learning about Takuya's antics was always an enjoyable thing and a good running gag for the whole group. Junpei and Izumi then briefly explained their recent encounters.
"This is worse than we thought," Izumi concluded. "Junpei, we all need to meet up. How fast can you get to our usual hangout?"
"The place inside of Shibuya Station?"
"That's the one."
Junpei thought for a moment and said, "I'm heading in that direction right now and will be there in under 2 hours."
"Sounds good, we'll see you then."
"Yay! I can't wait to see you again Izumi!" Junpei hung up his cell phone and told the driver new directions to the Shibuya train station. He looked out the window giddy with excitement.
Although there would probably be a ton of danger in the future, he would spend more quality time with Izumi. It would mean more opportunities to capture her heart. Junpei couldn't wait to see her again.
Junpei has reunited with the spirit of thunder. There are only two people left now.
The light will be next, but since it can't exist without darkness, I'm thinking about posting 2 back to back chapters next month. They are twins after all. What do you guys think? If I do this though, there might be a delay in posting the next chapter the month after.
Please let me know your thoughts on the reviews. Until next month everyone!