Hello, everyone. Welcome to the next chapter. We are getting closer and closer to the real excitement, but first, some more moments for you all. I'm so happy with all the feedback you all have given me. Thank you all for it. Now, enjoy the next installment of Next Generation.

"Hey, Kei! Wait up!" Ichigo Motomiya cried as he ran to keep up with his best friend.

"Come on, slowpoke! We don't want to be late for the surprise!" Keiko shot back with a cackle.

The two of them raced off down the street from their school, which was not far from their homes. Keiko and Ichigo lived fairly close to each other in the Ueno district of Tokyo, making it easy for them to see each other often. Their laughter filled the air as they rushed down the sidewalk, making sure to avoid running into people. They'd been best friends since they were in diapers, which made sense due to her parents and Ichigo's father being close.

"What's the surprise you've been wanting to show me?" Ichigo asked as he kept up his pace.

Soon, he found himself neck and neck with Keiko. Playing soccer helped his endurance tremendously, especially getting to play on the soccer team coached by Keiko's uncle and playing with Yuki.

"Not going to say until we get there. Be patient, Ichi," Keiko replied.

"That's what you've said all day."

"And it stays in effect. Now, come on."

"I'm supposed to play in a playoff game tomorrow, and you have me running all the way to this secret place? It better be worth it."

"It will be."

Ichigo kept his breathing steady as he ran alongside his friend. He snuck a glance out of the corner of his eyes to peek at her joyful expression. It all seemed to pass by in slow motion as they continued running like the children they were. The way her sapphire blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight made them look like the jewels they took after. His face got hot, which made him look away just in time to avoid running into another pedestrian.

Why had that happened? Every time he looked at his friend, his stomach felt funny like he was constantly hungry. No helping of his dad's noodles afterwards could do anything other than give him a stomachache. Keiko was more like one of the guys as she hung out with him and Yuki all the time rather than a girl in the traditional sense. Still though, what were these weird feelings coursing through him?

"We're here."

The boy noticed Keiko had stopped, and so he did too. The pair now stood in front of a plain white building that went up two stories. A stairwell led to the bottom level, which looked to be the first floor. Ichigo was curious about why they had come here.

"What are we doing here, Kei?" he asked.

Keiko beamed. "This is the surprise I told you about. Right this way," she said, beaming down the steps as quickly as she could.

Ichigo followed her inside. As they stepped into the entrance hall, he finally realized why they were there. His eyes bulged out of his skull, followed by his jaw slacking a few inches. This had to be the greatest day of his life so far.

Surrounding him and Keiko were posters of manga drawings that had been colored in. He instantly recognized his father in one of them, fighting the Digimon Emperor on a rocky cliff. He remembered that to be when they had found out the true identity of the Emperor. But the apple of his eye was a cardboard cutout of his father posing with his lightsaber. The boy could hardly speak. This was pure heaven to him.

A pat on the shoulder snapped him out of his trance.

"My dad said it was okay for me to bring you in to watch him work since you love manga so much," Keiko said with a smile. "That's what the surprise is."

Ichigo hugged his friend tightly. "You're the best, Kei! This is so cool!"

His stomach again felt like it had butterflies flying through it. What was this? Was he feeling sick or something? He tried to ignore it as he continued thanking Keiko for this amazing opportunity. He was finally going to watch her dad work on his all-time favorite manga.

"You're welcome," she said with a chuckle. "But come on. We don't want to make too much noise here. My dad's working right now."

Ichigo put a hand to his lips. "Oh. Sorry," he whispered.

Keiko giggled and took him by the hand again. They walked through one of the doors in the reception area that led into the studio. Ichigo knew that to have an entire studio building dedicated to the production of a manga was a great honor that not many mangaka got to have. Most of them had home studios that they worked out of, while the really popular ones graduated up to their own studio.

Ichigo could hardly contain his excitement as he looked around the space. One wall had a mural of all the big events that happened in the first story such as the battle against Devimon, VenoMyotismon, the duel between Tai and Matt, and then the Dark Masters too. The others were blank, but Ichigo hoped that the theme on that one wall would be repeated as the series went along.

Right smack in the middle of the room was a collection of desks placed against each other. Seven people, a mix of men and women, sat and worked with desktops in front of them. But his eyes instantly went to the head of the group of desks. This one was wider and had a bigger monitor than the others. His excitement was ready to burst out the top of his head as he saw whom the desk belonged to.

T.K. Takaishi, the creator of the series and Keiko's father.

T.K. didn't seem to notice the two of them were there, instead focusing on the monitor in front of him. Every so often, he would press a touch pen to the screen to draw something. His golden blonde hair was slightly disheveled and his sapphire blue eyes that were usually so full of life looked tired. It was a Wednesday, which Keiko had told him was the final day before he had to submit something to the editors. Ichigo was a little worried about intruding on him like this.

"Are you sure this is okay?" he whispered to Keiko. "He looks busy. I don't think we should disturb him."

His friend waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah, it's fine. Don't worry," she whispered back.

Keiko walked away from him, slowly sneaking up on her father. Some of his assistants noticed her, but Ichigo saw her put a finger to her lips. They didn't say anything, only continuing on with their work. Ichigo bit his lip to control his giggles as she got closer to T.K., who still had no idea his daughter was there.

Keiko leaned into her father's ear and proclaimed quite loudly, "Hi, Daddy!"

T.K. jumped in surprise with a yelp. It was so strong that his chair tilted back and spilled him onto the floor.

Ichigo could not control himself anymore and laughed hysterically, which also included some of T.K.'s assistants as well. He pounded the floor with a fist as his laughs sounded more like dolphin noises now. What made it extra funny was that his favorite mangaka did not even expect it. And he thought he was the master of pulling pranks, besides his cousin Shun of course.

"Keiko," T.K. admonished as he pulled himself up. "How many times have I told you not to do that? Especially when I'm working."

His daughter struggled to cease her laughter, but she managed to get a few words out. "I'm sorry, Daddy. I couldn't help myself. I really got you this time."

The man chuckled nervously and gave her a hug. "Oh yeah. You got me." He quickly to his assistants and told them to keep going before giving the two children his attention. "Sweetheart, you know better than to come on a day like today. Whatever it is, can't it wait until later?"

He bit his lip.

"Not to mention your mom and I asked you to limit your time spent out right now because of that letter your Uncle Tai got."

"Daddy, did you forget? You said it was okay for me to bring Ichi here," Keiko whined.

"I'm sorry, honey, but we're a little bit more behind than I had anticipated. Maybe another time."

Ichigo's face fell. Just as he thought he was going to be getting the experience of a lifetime.

"Aw! Come on! Please? He's a huge fan of yours, and he actually wanted to see what you do on a day like today when you are working. I promise we'll be quiet and stay out of your way."

Ichigo's eyes widened as T.K. made contact with him. His smile was so easy on the eyes and had a way of making one feel at ease when they saw it. Ichigo was no different. Even though he and Keiko had been friends for years, Ichigo had never gotten a chance to watch her dad work before. He was always curious about the process that went into making manga.

"Hi, Mr. Takaishi," he said with a shaky wave.

T.K. snorted a laugh. "Hey there, Ichigo. There's really not much else to see here other than a bunch of people sitting around and drawing all day," he said. "Did your dad say it was okay for you to come over here? I don't want to keep you for too long."

"It's okay. He said it was fine," Ichigo replied. A sly smile grew up the left corner of his mouth. "And I don't mind watching a bunch of people draw all day."

That statement made T.K. laugh. It was a rich sound that sounded like an angel choir to the ear. The man put a hand on his shoulder, followed by the other on his daughter's as he nudged the two children along.

"Okay, you two can stay," he said as he led them back to his desk.

Many papers were taped up on the divider in front of him, featuring character designs for each of the characters. Ichigo's eyes were drawn to the one featuring his dad. He had always heard from his teacher at school how much he looked just like his father, but it never quite hit him until now how right she was.

"Wow," he breathed. "It's so cool seeing the whole manga come together. So, what's the chapter featuring this week?"

T.K. smiled as he got himself situated in his chair. "The time that we all had to rescue Miya and Ryuji's mom from the Emperor after he took her prisoner," he explained. "Speaking of which, my honored guests should be arriving any time soon, which is why we're racing to get this done."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "Honored guests?"

"Sensei, could you check this one part for me please? I'm not sure if I did it right," one of the assistants cried out.

T.K. nodded. "Sure thing."

He opened one panel on the computer and looked it over. Ichigo peered over his shoulder to get a look. It was a close up of the Digimon Emperor with a psychotic look in his eyes. They looked almost reptilian. The text bubble on the left featured him saying something about how his brother was a fiend. It unnerved him just looking at it.

"Nope, I think it looks fine," T.K. said. "I'll run this by Ken when he comes just to make sure, but I think you did a great job."

The assistant sighed in relief. "Thanks, Sensei."

"Wait. Mr. Ichijouji is coming?" Ichigo asked.

T.K. nodded. "Yeah. Every chapter we do, I have whoever is featured most in the chapter come by to make sure I captured what they remember correctly," he explained. "Before I even do my storyboards, I interview them to get the story and then I use it to create the chapter."

"So cool!"

Ichigo heard a giggle to his left. Keiko craned her head to the left to try and hide her expression, but he knew it was her. He could recognize that giggle in a large crowd of people.

"What's so funny, Kei?"

Keiko giggled some more. "You are," she said.

"How am I funny?"

"It's so cute how into this you are. I've always admired your passion for whatever you're into, Ichi."

Ichigo's cheeks warmed slightly. She really thought that? He scratched the back of his head with a nervous grin.

Another chuckle was heard.

"You two already feel like an old married couple," T.K. said.

The redness in Ichigo's cheeks spread further.

"Daddy!" Keiko cried.

Masato looked around for his twin brother as he came out of the locker room following track practice. He took a gulp of his protein shake while scanning the school grounds. The sun was still high in the afternoon sky, making it almost uncomfortably hot. He wanted to get home already.

'That four-eyed mole face,' Masato grumbled to himself. 'Don't tell me he ditched me. If he did, I'll just mess with his homework and replace it with a hentai manga.'

He continued looking for any sign of Makoto. Due to their twin connection, it usually wasn't that hard to find where he was, but that wasn't the case today. Though they argued at times – usually over their grades and school ranking – he felt lost without his twin. He was Masato's first friend and lifelong companion.

Then came this strange tingling on the back of his neck. It was this short stabbing that tried to warn him about something. He'd felt this sensation before when something came his way that didn't feel friendly. This must have been what Spider Man felt every time his spider senses acted up.

Masato looked around, but saw nothing. The tingling on the back of his neck didn't cease, however. He felt more uneasy by the second. When this feeling arose, it was usually accompanied by the presence of…

"MASATO!"

The attack came swiftly like a tiger pouncing on unsuspecting prey. A strong pair of arms wrapped around his neck, followed by the crushing weight of someone falling on top of him. After an hour and a half of running, Masato couldn't handle it and collapsed to the ground. His protein shake fell out of his hand and spilled all over the ground.

He let out a "GAK!" as his neck was squeezed over and over, along with the sensation of cheeks rubbing against each other. He cursed himself for not running away when he had the chance as he didn't need to look to know who it was that tackled him.

"Hi, Yuka," he sighed.

"I wondered where you were hiding, silly boy," Yuka Hashimoto giggled as she continued her affectionate rubbing on his cheek and hugging his head close to her. "I'd been looking for you since practice ended."

Of course she would, Masato grumbled to himself. That girl was cuckoo for him with a capital "CUCKOO". Sure, her looks were noticeable to any guy with her short brown hair and cute face, but for some reason, she chose him to chase after every day.

"You know you don't have to hide from me, my love."

The younger Kido twin had to completely disagree with that. Sure, the two had been friends in elementary school when Yuka transferred into his and Makoto's second grade class, but since middle school, Yuka had started referring to him as "her love" and various other nicknames while chasing after him at every opportunity. This was in spite of him telling her to stop or to get lost every time. The girl just could not take a hint. He hoped that he'd be able to escape her in high school as he and his twin got into one of the top private schools in Tokyo, but like some recurring nightmare, Yuka followed him there too.

"Yuka, could you get off, please?" he demanded. "You're crushing me."

Luckily, she seemed to be receptive to that and kindly let him up.

Yuka begged to look him over for any injuries, but Masato kept her at a distance as he dusted himself off. Man, this was getting annoying.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to do that!" he growled. "One of these days, you're going to break something and that'll be the end of my track career. Can't you just say hello like a normal person?"

"But a simple hello is not enough to express how happy I am to see you," Yuka replied. "Seeing you is the best part of my day. It's the one thing I look forward to every single day."

Masato fixed his hair and adjusted the strap on his athletic bag. "I wish I could say the same," he grumbled. "Every time I run into you, I'm either tackled or almost choked to death."

"Hey, love birds!"

He was ready to slug whoever said that. Masato whirled around to see who it was, only to find his twin brother standing under a nearby tree. Makoto had a wide smirk on his face, which the reflection in his glasses accented.

"Mako!" he yelled, which earned a laugh from the older twin.

"Thanks for the help, Makoto," Yuka said, grabbing him and holding him against her tightly. "I never would have found him without you telling me where he was. I owe you one."

"It's no problem, Yuka," Makoto replied. "I'm always happy to help my twin brother."

"You can help by getting me out of here!" Masato pushed Yuka off and stormed away. His legs seemed to have found a second wind. He grabbed Makoto by the arm and pulled him away from the school.

"Have fun with your girlfriend?" Makoto teased.

Masato answered that by punching him in the shoulder. "I'm going to get you for that, you four-eyed mole face!"

At least his nightmare was over…until the next day.

Sweet, soft music carried through the room as Shun swept both Usagi and himself on a cloud of happiness. His confidence around her had grown as they spent more time together, but he still could not figure out what her angle was. Right now, he didn't care as he played a piece from Princess Mononoke.

During these two weeks they had spent together every day after school, he found they had more in common than he realized. They both liked some of the same anime, manga, and had similar tastes in music. To his surprise, she had never read the Destined Jedi series, so he took her to the manga café he frequented recently and got her started on it. She had been hesitant about it at first, but thanks to his coaxing, she seemed to like it and wanted to know more.

The song soon ended, bringing them both back to reality. The air popped around Shun's ears, signaling to him that the imaginary bubble he encased himself in had fallen.

"I could listen to you play piano all day, Shun," Usagi said with a dreamy tone. "I feel so happy whenever I hear a piano."

A smile spread across his face. "Me too. The piano is my happy place whenever I need to unwind," he said. His face then fell slightly. "It's the place where I can be myself."

"Something wrong?"

Oh no. She must have seen his expression. He shook himself out and put a smile back on.

"No, nothing," he said, but she still looked concerned. It was like she could read him like a book. "Okay. I don't have the biggest amount of self-confidence. As the youngest son, a lot of expectations fall on me. I know my dad tells me that I don't have to push myself so hard when I study, but I don't want to fall behind my brothers. The piano is the only safe place for me where I don't have to worry about those expectations."

Shun felt relieved. It felt good to tell someone all the insecurities he'd been hiding since he turned thirteen. Now was the time for him to step up and prove himself worthy of the Kido name.

He nearly jumped when he felt Usagi rest her hand on his shoulder.

"You shouldn't worry about that, Shun," she said with a gentle smile. "You're talented enough to stand out by yourself."

Usagi looked away for a second. Shun swore that he saw a hint of pink on her cheeks, which made his feel warm as well.

"Sometimes I wish I could do that," Usagi continued.

"Why's that?" he asked. This was the first time she had opened up to him about anything other than their common interests. He wanted to know more.

Usagi shook her head. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

She looked like she didn't want to talk about it anymore, so Shun decided to not press the issue. Hopefully in time she would be able to open up to him more. For now, he'd just take whatever he could get with her.

"Okay," he said.

Usagi slid a hand through locks of her hair. "Hey, I was wondering if you'd be willing to go somewhere with me."

Shun's eyes bulged out of their sockets. She wanted to go somewhere with him? Him? Shun Kido? This was so unexpected.

"Uh, sure," he said with a nervous chuckle. "Where were you thinking?"

Usagi's eyes cast down to the piano keys. Shun anxiously waited for what she would say. This would be his first time going anywhere with a girl.

"I've always wanted to see Mt. Fuji up close," she said softly. "I love to paint, and being able to paint Mt. Fuji would be a dream come true for me. Since I've enjoyed being with you every day after school these last two weeks, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go with me."

Shun felt like something had sucked the air out of him. For a few seconds, he froze on the piano bench, looking like a statue of a performer. His heart raced as his brain struggled to wrap around the request. This was the chance he had been waiting for.

He gathered his composure, taking a deep breath.

"Sure," he said. "I'd like to do that. Mt. Fuji is always a beautiful sight to see." But then he remembered something. "Is it just going to be us or–"

"Yes. Just us."

He nodded. "Okay. I only asked because I'll need to arrange some things with my parents for us to do that. I'm free next weekend. Want to do that?"

Usagi smiled. "Yes. Let's do it."

This had to be the greatest day of his life.

A cold, dark fury filled the room as King Drasil marched into it with loud, booming steps.

"Have you idiots found anything?" he shouted to his subordinates.

They all shook their heads. The group of Digimon were a miscellaneous mix of creatures.

"No, my lord," squeaked a Vilemon with a shaky voice. "We've looked everywhere you told us to, and found no trace of this being."

"What about the lakes? The marshes? The forests!" King Drasil shouted, growing more agitated by the second. "Have any of you searched there?"

A Gotsumon nodded. "Yeah. We searched everywhere, but there is no trace of him. I don't think there is something out there. Gennai was destroyed long ago by you after all."

King Drasil marched to the offending rock creature and stood before it. He saw it cower and shiver in fear. It was pathetic to even look at. He didn't want to waste his energy on lowly servants.

"After three-and-a-half thousand years, we have searched for him," he said in a low voice before walking to a monitor. "Once you get rid of one, another will pop up not long after and call for the Destined Jedi. We have to find him and stop him before he can do that."

After a few clicks on the keys, a transmission appeared in front of him. The figure was dark all over with a samurai helmet on top of its head and a mask over its face.

"Yes, my master," the figure said.

King Drasil smirked behind his mask. "Have you found any trace of the being known as Gennai yet?"

The figure shook its head. "No, but I've detected a sliver of Force energy at the base of the mountains. I'm pursuing it right now as we speak. This coward will be found soon enough, Master."

"Good. Hunt him down, my faithful assassin. Do not stop until he is found. We will not allow him to call the Jedi here."

"It will be done, my king."

The transmission ended. King Drasil sneered back at the group of Digimon.

"You are all dismissed," he said. "I have no further use for any of you. My apprentice will find Gennai and bring him down himself."

The Digimon scurried out of the room. He chuckled and looked back at the monitor, showing a map of the Digital World.

They were getting very close. Soon, this long conflict would end.

"My lord, you have another transmission coming in."

King Drasil turned and saw another figure, this time with a beige hood over their head. He smiled. This was exactly whom he had been hoping to see. Now, they were getting somewhere.

"Give yourself up, Gennai," he said. "This game has been going on for too long. Just give yourself up and it will all be over."

"Like I'm going to give myself away," Gennai taunted. "That would spoil the game. You can send all your little minions after me, but you'll never find where I'm at. Never. I'm enjoying this game far too much to end it."

King Drasil's anger rose by the second as Gennai laughed.

"You insolent little–"

"Easy, big guy. There are children watching."

"Enough! Just give yourself up while you still have a chance. I am merciful to a degree."

Gennai dropped his hood to show his face. His clear blue eyes twinkled mischievously, only adding more fuel to the fire raging inside of the evil Digimon.

"Soon, the Destined Jedi will be here, and you will be purified this time," he said. "A snake can only hide for so long before it comes out to feed. When that happens, you'll be defeated once and for all."

Gennai pulled down on his eyelid and blew a raspberry at him.

"Ta-ta."

And Gennai was gone.

King Drasil pounded the control panel in rage. He and Gennai had played this game for many years, and it was wearing down on him. Not only was he nowhere close to finding him, but this news that Gennai would bring back the Destined Jedi concerned him. How could that be? Only Homeostasis had the power to give the chosen few the ability to fight. Was there something he had missed?

He stormed out of the room and let out a loud roar that echoed through the entire castle.

"FIND HIM! FIND HIM!"

Things are getting interesting both in the human world and the Digital World. Find out what happens in the next chapter of Destined Jedi: Next Generations.

For those of you who are anime-inclined, Yuka does have some characteristics from Kagura in Fruits Basket. She's definitely one you guys will want to take notice of going forward.

For TK, I hope you guys enjoyed that little peek into what he does on a daily basis.

Next time, things take another turn in the Yuki/Naomi/Kazuma triangle. You'll definitely want to stick around for that.

As always, leave a review and subscribe while you can. Things are going to get interesting, boys and girls. That's all for now.

Tootles.