Hey, everyone. Welcome back to yet another chapter and more new characters to meet. Thank you all for your kind words last time. It makes me so happy to know you guys like some of the new characters already. You're going to love the rest as they come into the story. Want to say thanks to Stormsky68 and Yutyrannus28 for the favorites and follows.

Enjoy.

"Our next performer is Shun Kido. He will be performing 'Waltz of Chihiro' from Spirited Away."

Polite applause greeted a cobalt blue-haired boy as he strode out of the wings and toward the piano at the center of the stage. He wore a black jacket over a white button-up shirt with a royal blue tie around the collar, grey pants and brown loafers. His hair was combed nice and straight.

Shun Kido reached the bench at the piano and sat down. He adjusted the black-rimmed glasses over his chocolate brown eyes so that he could see the page of music in front of him clearly. He knew this piece backwards and forwards, but having to perform it to a crowd is an entirely different thing––something he thrived on doing because he was confident in his preparation.

Shun took a sharp breath and adjusted his jacket cuffs so they weren't in the way, briefly showing the silver Seiko watch with a black band around his wrist that his father recently gave him for his thirteenth birthday. He took a brief glance to the audience, noticing his family right off the bat seated in the middle. He smiled to himself before raising his hands up to the keys.

With one final breath, he pressed down on the first notes of the piece.

The sound from the piano was like the sweetest music in the world as it filled the air around him. For a few magical moments, Shun felt the music sweep him up from the bench and lift him up into the air. In that moment, he felt like Chihiro as she was finally leaving the Spirit World to go back to reality as a changed person. He always tried to find that little piece within the music that he could relate to, making his performance all the more genuine.

The crowd and the concert hall all faded away as he surrendered himself to the piano's magic spell.

xXx

Joe Kido beamed with pride as he watched his youngest son play the piano on stage. As an emergency room doctor, he was always on call for when something happened––that may have had something to do with him being perhaps the best doctor the hospital he worked at had––but he had a rare night off tonight to join his family for Shun's piano recital.

It was always a sight to behold for him every time he saw his son play the piano. He could never imagine having the confidence to do something like this when he was Shun's age, even though he had saved the world by the time he was a teenager. His youngest son continued to amaze him every day because he reminded Joe so much of himself. Even so, there were things Shun had that Joe did not know where he got them from––his musical talent being one such thing.

Joe looked to his right and saw the other members of his family: His wife, Jun––whom he just celebrated his eighteenth wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago with––and their two oldest sons, twins Makoto and Masato. The twins were sixteen years old, which Joe still had a hard time grasping.

Makoto and Masato were fraternal twins, which Joe was thankful for because it would give him so many headaches having to remember which one was which if they were identical; something that Masato would almost certainly exploit to no end. The younger of the Kido twins was always looking to make a practical joke at every opportunity. He no doubt got that from the Motomiya side of the gene pool.

Everything about Masato told Joe that he was more Motomiya than Kido. He had dark brown hair that was always shaggy and untidy and a tan complexion more reminiscent of Davis. His eyes were chocolate brown and he always carried this mischievous smirk on his face, like he was planning who his next prank victim would be every second of the day. Sometimes, he wondered if Masato was truly his child––others wondered that as well. Even so, his son was a kind boy who had the biggest heart of anyone Joe knew.

Makoto, the older of the twins, was more like him in almost every way, including his looks. His cobalt blue hair was combed over nicely and he wore sleeker, black-rimmed glasses just like Shun. His facial features were also more like Joe with a ski slope nose and narrow cheeks with no hint of fat on them. There was a small, dark freckle on his left cheek. His eyes were also darker than his brothers'––about the same shade as Joe's.

From the time he was little, Makoto always said he wanted to be a doctor, just like Joe. While that certainly made him happy, Joe was not going to force him into the profession like his father did with him. He was going to let his boys decide their own course in life and support them all the way.

Joe was proud of the fact all three of his sons were strapping, kind young men, but he sometimes felt like he had missed most of it because of the long hours his job demanded.

"Doesn't he look so handsome up there?" Jun whispered to him, her voice glowing with pride as Shun kept playing.

Joe snapped out of his train of thought to smile and nod. "He sure does," he whispered back, resting his hand on his wife's. "I hear him playing every night that I get home. He's worked really hard for this performance."

He listened for a little while longer. Soon, Shun reached the section near the end. He had not messed up a single note so far and had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand.

"And to think, he took up the piano because of a girl," Jun whispered to him.

Joe was about to respond back when a familiar, snide voice entered the conversation.

"Huh? Shunny's trying to impress a girl?" Masato asked, accidentally raising his voice just above a whisper. This earned him a shush from Joe and Jun. "Sorry." He then elbowed his twin brother. "Hey, Mako. Did you hear that?"

Makoto didn't seem to acknowledge him, keeping his eyes glued to Shun as he entered the final movement of the song.

"Don't tease him about it," Jun said sternly. "He'll never talk to me again."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I won't, Mom," Masato replied, but Joe heard the disinterest in his voice.

"I'm serious, Masato."

Joe chuckled nervously. "Let's save this for later, please."

His wife and son instantly went quiet as they watched the rest of Shun's performance. With one last echoing note, Shun visibly relaxed as his hands retreated back to his side.

A brief moment of silence passed before the crowd exploded into thunderous applause. Joe was sure he and his family were the ones clapping the loudest. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Jun, Masato and Makoto rise to their feet to give Shun an ovation as the boy took a bow.

He was the proudest father in the world.

"Shunny!"

Before Shun could do anything, he was instantly grabbed and squeezed so hard that he could hardly breathe. The familiar scent of his older brother filled his nose as he then felt the sensation of being swept off the ground and spun in a circle.

"You were awesome, buddy!" Masato exclaimed. "That was so cool."

"Masato, please let me go," Shun choked out, feeling his stomach get queasy. "Not only are you squishing me, but I think I might be sick."

Masato stopped spinning and put him down. "Sorry," he said, ruffling his hair.

Shun wrinkled his nose, but said nothing more. When he was little, Masato would spin him around so fast to the point that he would throw up. It wasn't done on purpose, but it was enough to make Shun wary of when he would do that again.

His oldest brother then came up and gave him a hug.

"Great job, Shun," Makoto praised.

"Thanks," Shun replied, hugging him back.

His parents then stepped up and lavished him with admiration and love, especially his mother. He had to beg for her to let him go before she would. As much as he loved his mother––and he did love her dearly–-he was a teenager now, and didn't need to be excessively fawned over like when he was little.

"We're so proud of you, sweetheart," his mother gushed. "You were wonderful up there."

Shun smiled with an embarrassed chuckle. "Thanks, Mom."

The world then slowed down as the boy caught a glance of someone he did not expect to be there. His cheeks turned a light shade of pink. What was she doing here? How come no one told him? Had she seen him perform?

A girl walked by and gave him a shy smile. Her large, green eyes sparkled like diamonds and her light brown hair cascaded down to her shoulders.

"You did a good job, Shun," the girl said. "It was really nice."

Shun stuttered as he tried to form words, but nothing came out. The girl giggled and walked away. He watched her the whole time until several people blocked her from sight. He couldn't believe it. The whole world went silent as her words echoed in his mind.

A sharp pain in his ribs snapped him out of it.

"OW!" he cried, turning to see who the culprit was. To his non-surprise, it was Masato.

"Who's that?" his brother teased, digging his elbow further into Shun's ribs.

"Masato!"

"Come on! Don't leave me hanging here!" his brother continued. "Who is that girl?"

"None of your business!" Shun cried. "Stop elbowing me."

"Name first, then I'll stop," Masato shot back.

Their mother then stepped in and pulled Masato away from him.

"That's enough," she growled before taking a deep breath. "Now, come on. We have a dinner reservation to get to. We'll deal with this later."

She gave Shun a wink as she said that. Shun swallowed and nodded his head before following his family out of the lobby. He looked back for any trace of the girl he saw before, but he couldn't find her in the crowd.

Back at the Izumi apartment, dinner had come and gone. It had been a delicious meal of sukiyaki with curry and rice and Naomi's special brownie sundaes topped with nuts, sprinkles, and churros for dessert. Now, everyone had split off to mingle with each other for the rest of the visit.

Shiro and Kenya retired to the Izumi boy's room to play the new video games that he wanted to show Kenya, as well as the other things he said he had. Naomi and Yuki were out on the terrace with their dads and Airi, while Mimi and Sora stayed behind in the kitchen to talk amongst themselves.

Mimi mixed some drinks to make margaritas for the two of them, which Sora did not hesitate to accept when offered. As a mother with three kids at home, she rarely got a moment to herself. If Airi wasn't demanding her attention, it was about making sure Kenya was okay and Yuki was doing his homework when he was supposed to.

Sora sighed, deep in thought at what could possibly be wrong between her and her son. It wasn't that she didn't try to understand him, but the two of them were more alike than she liked to believe. He reminded her so much of herself when she was younger and the relationship––or lack thereof––she had with her mother. It very much seemed like history was repeating itself, and yet, she could not understand why.

"Here ya go," Mimi said as she put a margarita in front of her. "One special margarita for one special friend."

Sora chuckled as she smiled. "Thanks."

She took a sip and let out a low, gentle moan as the taste of tequila and lime spread across her tongue. Mimi's margaritas were so good; she'd never have any others before hers.

"I've missed having one of your margaritas," Sora said. "You have to give me the recipe sometime."

Mimi giggled. "It's my little secret. Besides, it wouldn't be special if you had it all the time."

"Very true. How was your trip?"

"It was wonderful!" Mimi exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with happiness. "Izzy and I went down Broadway almost every night when the kids went to sleep and enjoyed every place along the street because there were so many great performers. We even did karaoke at this little place just off Broadway, which was fun."

Sora chuckled. "That does sound fun."

"It was. Izzy and I are planning to go to Miami for our anniversary in a few months and do the food tour around the Little Havana neighborhood and spend some time together on the beach." Mimi sipped on her margarita. "We were wondering if maybe you and Tai would be interested in having the kids over for a few days until we got back."

Sora smiled. "You know that's no trouble; we love having Naomi and Shiro over. But wouldn't it be easier for you guys to just hire a nanny to look after them?" she asked. "I mean, you're both very busy with your jobs."

Mimi frowned. "Sora, you know how I feel about that," she said sharply. "We're not going to do it. Izzy and I swore that just because we make a lot of money, we are not going to hire outside help to do our job as parents for us. Nomi and Shiro are my two proudest possessions, and I don't want to entrust their care to a stranger who didn't give birth to them."

Sora cast her eyes down to the table. Those thoughts from a moment ago came rushing back. She admired how much Mimi loved being a mother––and she was a very good one too, if Shiro and Naomi were any indication––but it reminded her of her own shortcomings as a parent.

"Everything okay?"

She snapped up to attention. Mimi must have noticed. A gentle, yet hesitant smile played on Sora's lips.

"Y-Yes," she replied sheepishly. "Why wouldn't it be?"

Mimi cocked an eyebrow as she smirked while sipping her margarita. "Spill it, Sora," she said. "I've been gone for three weeks, so you'll have to help me here with this. What's going on?"

Even though she was no longer the Destined Jedi of Sincerity, Mimi still had that uncanny ability to know when someone was not being truthful. Sora was usually the target when it wasn't her kids. Maybe it was because the two of them were closer to each other than they were with anyone else in their little group, besides their husbands. Sora adored Mimi as a friend, but there were times she wished she could hide her feelings better.

With another sigh and a sip of the margarita, she spoke.

"I don't know why things have been getting worse between Yuki and I," she said. "It seems like every time I try to bridge the gap, it seems to get wider. He's getting older, which means it's going to be harder for me to try and mend what's wrong if I wait too long. I just don't know how to get through to that boy."

Sora buried her face in her hands and leaned against the table.

"He's too much like me sometimes," she grumbled. "Why couldn't he be more like his father or Yuto? Why did it have to be me he took more after?"

As she wallowed there in exasperation, her thoughts drifted in several directions. Before long, she felt Mimi's hand rest on her back.

"You think it might have something to do with Yuto going away?" Mimi asked softly.

Sora pressed her forehead harder against the maple wood table. That was still a sore spot for her. Her and Tai's oldest child, Yuto, was attending university in Australia––she still had a hard time understanding why he chose to go there instead of staying in Japan. Ever since he left, there had been a dark cloud over the house, which seemed to affect the whole family. She knew how close Yuki and Yuto were.

"I suppose so," she muttered before looking up to meet her friend's eyes. "But this has been going on even before Yuto left for Australia." Air went out her nose slowly. "He's not the only one suffering from him going away."

"I know," Mimi replied, rubbing her hand along Sora's back. "No matter where he goes, Yuto will always be your first born. I know he's going to do great things. Know why?"

Sora didn't say anything.

"Because he has you and Tai as parents. You both raised him well, and now he's out to show the world just how special he is." Mimi took another sip of her drink. "With Yuki, just show him love and consistency and he'll come around. He's not Yuto, but he doesn't have to be. Don't force things with him. You'll both figure it out."

Sora smiled sadly and lifted herself up from the table so she sat properly in her chair.

"I hope so."

Out on the terrace, Izzy and Tai reclined back in lawn chairs that sat off to the side while puffing on cigars. The view of downtown Tokyo from here was spectacular: They could see all the way to Shinjuku and even Tokyo Skytree to the northeast. All the lights and sounds of Tokyo were on full blast, and Tai loved every second of it.

"So these are real, authentic Cuban cigars?" Tai asked as he let out two puffs of smoke. His stogie was still fairly long with the end barely burning as it rested on his middle knuckle.

Izzy nodded. "Yep. Straight from Havana," he said, taking a quick puff on his. "Only the best."

"I thought it was illegal to import these."

"Only in the United States because of the trade embargo."

Tai let out a sharp breath as he relaxed with his best friend while watching their children talk across the way. Airi sat in her brother's lap as he and Naomi chatted up about things. The new school term started tomorrow, so that was bound to be a topic of discussion.

"So, what's new?" Izzy asked.

The former soccer star shrugged his shoulders and took a puff on his cigar. "Nothing too big has happened since you guys left," he said. "Yuki scored the winning goal today to send us to the city playoffs with our undefeated record still intact."

"Congratulations." Izzy also took a puff. "I know he's going to be just like you one day. When I watch him play, Yuki reminds me so much of you…Orange Star."

Tai chuckled. "That's going to be on my tombstone instead of my actual name. I just know it." He settled down with another blow on the cigar. "I hope Yuki surpasses me, honestly. How about you? What's going on with you, Mr. C.E.O.?"

He saw Izzy give a small shrug, but it was the look on his face that made Tai take notice. Izzy's eyes looked downtrodden and upset. He wondered what the problem could be.

"I did that thing you asked me to do before we left for Nashville," the younger man said. "I wanted to wait until we got home to tell you."

Tai leaned forward, his eyes giving a small glimmer of hope. "And?"

Izzy sighed sadly and stuck the cigar between his lips. After a quick puff of smoke later, he removed it.

"Nothing," he said. "Tai, we've been doing this for twenty-five years and have come up empty every single time. I think it's time to accept that Daigo Nishijima is gone forever."

Tai's face fell as he sat back in the chair. He had a feeling Izzy would say that. Twenty years ago, he still held out hope that the man who had saved their lives in high school would be out there somewhere after he had disappeared a few years before. Every now and again, he would have Izzy try to trace where he could be, but it always ended the same way with nothing being found. Now, he was ready to accept the truth.

With a crestfallen nod, he said, "Yeah. You're right. Someone would have reported seeing him by now if he were still alive, but he's never been found in all these years. Usually, if these types of missing persons haven't been found by now, it's safe to assume they're dead. Mr. Nishijima is dead."

Tai took a long puff from his cigar and watched the smoke swirl into the Tokyo night air. He didn't need to look over at his best friend to know he was relieved to see him come to terms with the truth.

"Tai," Izzy said. He nodded to Naomi and Yuki. "Look at our kids."

Tai did as Izzy asked. He couldn't help but crack a grin watching Yuki trying to impress Naomi by replaying the game earlier. Airi seemed to enjoy it though, as she always did when her big brother talked about his games. Yuki was her hero, which made Tai's heart melt.

Izzy rested his cigar in a nearby ashtray and leaned forward in his seat to Tai.

"Mr. Nishijima brought us to where we are now. We owe him everything since he was there for us from the beginning. We've mourned him for twenty-five years. It's time to let him rest in peace."

Tai flicked ash into the tray. "Does he have any family?" he asked.

Izzy frowned while picking up the cigar again. "His mother passed away a few years ago," he said. "Cancer of the pancreas." Tai heard him mutter to himself as he put it back between his lips, "They still haven't been able to beat that one, even with all the advancements in medicine." After two puffs of smoke, Izzy plucked the Cuban cigar out and turned back to him. "No one else is left."

His mother? Did she die not knowing what happened to her son? That must have been so awful. Tai couldn't bear the thought of living the rest of his life wondering what happened to any of his children. The four of them were his most precious possessions.

Tai cleared his throat. "Then it's only right for us Destined Jedi to honor a fallen Destined Jedi," he said. "It's been far too long without Mr. Nishijima having a proper funeral." Tai then puffed on the cigar. "Izzy, we need to get the group together and hold one for him. It's the right thing to do."

He watched Izzy analyze his request in silence, and with concern. Eventually, the former Destined Jedi of Knowledge nodded in agreement.

"I agree. It'll do us all good, and it's the least that we can do for him."

Tai took another puff from the Cuban cigar, watching his son and Naomi again. He couldn't help but snicker. He heard Izzy join in as well. The lengths Yuki would go to impress Naomi was comical. It never ceased to amaze him.

"Really, Dad?" Yuki said with an embarrassed whine.

"Don't let me stop you," Tai replied, waving a hand. "Please. Do continue explaining how you found this superhuman strength to kick the winning goal."

Naomi raised an eyebrow to her best friend and folded her arms to the chest. "Yuki Kamiya. Did you stretch the truth again?"

"No! My team did win. I swear."

"I know your team won. I can always tell when someone's lying. I'm asking if you stretched it?"

"Bad Yuki," Airi giggled, patting her brother on the head. "Bad."

Tai's laughter came out in wheezes. He rested his hand on his stomach. His daughter was just too cute for words. She may have been five––two weeks away from her sixth birthday––but she knew how to read the mood perfectly.

Yuki glared at Tai, upset, to which the man replied after getting himself back under control, "It's all true, Naomi. He's easy to tease."

The boy gave his dad a grateful smile as he went back to talking with Naomi.

Izzy whispered to Tai with a teasing grin. "How much longer before you think Nomi realizes?"

Tai shook his head, grinning his famous Kamiya grin. "I don't know, man. Do you think I should give him that same 'get the girl' speech you gave me?"

Now it was Izzy's turn to shake his head. "Nah. There are some things that a father should stay out of." He placed the cigar back in his mouth.

"Yeah, I guess," Tai agreed with a shrug, also raising his cigar to his lips.

No truer words have been spoken, Izzy. Stay tuned to find out what happens next on Destined Jedi: Next Generations.

Hopefully you all had a good first impression of Shun and his brothers. In most stories, TK and Kari are the ones having twins, so I decided to shake things up and have Joe be the one that had twins. I can only imagine how he was when he and Jun found out.

You guys will learn more about Yuto as we go along, so stay tuned for more of that. For now, that's it.

As always, be sure to review and favorite and follow. I'm anxious to know your thoughts as I steadily introduce more and more new characters. You'll meet three of them next time.

Tootles.