Hello, everyone. Welcome back. Three weekends in a row of updates. Starting to get my groove back. Let's keep this ball rolling.

Enjoy.

"That was so totally awesome!" Yuki cried, throwing his head back onto his mat in excitement. He clutched his pillow tightly around his midsection. He was already dressed down to his black tank top and fundoshi for the night. He locked eyes with Shiro. "I thought you were really going to be in trouble there, Shiro, but you guys pulled it out. How did you know where the Digimon was going to break the surface?"

Shiro looked at him with a blank stare as if Yuki should've known the answer. "I could hear its movements underground," he said. "Nothing that much to it."

"So you have extra special hearing like your dad did?" Kenya asked, sounding amazed by that prospect.

His friend gave a shy smile. "I guess so. Not that I'm surprised. I'm very like my father."

All of the boys had gathered around in a circle in their bedroom. Candlelit lanterns were scattered across the room, giving it light as they shared in their experiences that day. Yuki sat between his younger brother and Ichigo. It was more or less a continuation of the groups that day with the three of them sitting together; Kazuma, Shun and Masato were sitting with each other. Shiro and Ryuji sitting together was the only difference.

The red-haired boy looked at Ichigo now.

"What I am more curious about is what you did, Ichigo. How did you acquire that much power in a short amount of time? I thought Yuki and Kenya were done for."

"Yeah," Masato added. "Where did that come from?"

Yuki turned his head and saw Ichigo shrug. "I don't know," he replied. "I saw that the two of them were in trouble and it was like something inside of me just…snapped." He raised a finger to his chin, looking up at the ceiling in thought. "I don't know. It's hard to describe. I blacked out in all honesty."

He unfolded his left leg and raised it with his foot planted on the sleeping mat. Yuki moved to the other side as the rest of the guys came in for a closer look. There was a marking just above his ankle. It looked like an 'M' if viewed up close, but it was styled in a way that you'd have to look hard to see it. Was this his Destined Jedi mark?

"A light came from under my pant leg and then I blacked out," he explained. "I don't know what it means, but I think this is my Destined Jedi mark."

Yuki nodded and showed off the sun emblem above his ankle. "This is mine."

Everyone gathered to take a closer look. Yuki rubbed the spot almost reverently. It had taken a while for the reality to sink in that he was the inheritor of the mark of Courage, but that day he felt he had proven himself worthy of it. If only his dad had been there to see him in action. Tai probably would have been extremely proud.

"Is that Dad's?" asked Kenya.

He nodded with a wide grin. "Mine now. I'm the Destined Jedi of Courage in this group."

The look Squirt gave him made his heart swell with pride. He looked at him like he was the coolest guy in the whole universe. Not that he didn't already – Kenya told him that all the time – but seeing it once in a while made him feel good.

Shiro lifted his leg up. Yuki looked at it and sure enough, there was a mark above his ankle too. It had two circles connected by a line, one bigger than the other. He remembered that to be the one that Mr. Izumi had when he was a Destined Jedi. That meant –

"That makes me the Destined Jedi of Knowledge," he proudly proclaimed. His face then twisted into a sneer. "Not that I'm surprised. I'm smarter than you."

"Hey!" Yuki cried, but it was blunted by a chuckle. They already had a lot of momentum going with this, so who would be next? He looked at Shun. "Shun. Come on. Let's keep it going. What's yours?"

The younger Kido brother nodded and showed everyone his leg. A crucifix with what looked like arrows pointing in opposite directions on the top and on the bottom was etched into his leg.

"Reliability," he said.

Masato threw an arm around him. "Heck yeah you're reliable!" he gloated. "My reliable little bro."

Yuki chuckled with the rest of the group as they watched Shun try to push his brother off, but failing miserably as they bickered back and forth. Every time he tried to shake it off, Masato would think up another excuse to keep it there. In the end, Shun won out and Masato's arm went back down to his lap.

Shun looked to Kazu, who showed he had the mark of Friendship like his dad. Yuki saw how that seemed to bother him because of the drama between the two of them and Naomi. Not that Kazu would acknowledge that to the group. Because of that, he decided to cut him a break for now. He still saw the blonde as competition for his girlfriend's affections, but it could wait for another day. Kazu was still his friend and he cared deeply about him.

"Reading everyone's emotional feelings is great," Shun said.

"Yeah," Masato gave a thumbs up. "Think of it as helping keep everyone's head straight."

Kazu then put Kenya up to show off his mark. The boy nodded and showed everyone his leg. Yuki wasn't sure exactly what mark would suit his little brother best, but once he got a look at it, he couldn't help but feel it was absolutely perfect.

"Isn't this the one Aunt Kari had?" asked Kenya as he looked down at it. His finger traced it. "What was hers again?"

The mark looked like the combination of a snowflake and a star, but Yuki knew it was more of the latter than the former. It did look a lot like his aunt's. Too much to be a coincidence.

"Yeah, it does," he said. "She was the Jedi of Light. That meant she had a special relationship with Homeostasis that allowed it to use her as a medium to speak to our parents."

Those words scared him as soon as the words left his mouth. He hoped that Kenya didn't suffer the same fate. He remembered getting freaked out when hearing his parents tell the story of when they were teenagers and Homeostasis had possessed his aunt's body. The thought that could happen to his little brother too made him uneasy.

"I haven't heard anything from Homeostasis, so I don't think it wants to control me," said Kenya.

Yuki chuckled and gave his little brother a hug. "Not yet anyway. But I hope it doesn't."

The next person to go was Ryuji. After some gentle prodding from Shun and Masato, he showed everyone his leg. A rosebud marking sat there. Yuki remembered that to be the one Ken had. That meant Ryuji was the new bearer of Kindness. He thought that was a great one for him, even if he was not so kind to him earlier whenever Miya was around. It was weird how possessive Ryuji was of her, but Yuki figured it had something to do with his Asperger's.

"That's great," Yuki said. "You're just like your dad."

There was that scowl from Ryuji again.

"I think it's cool too," Masato said as if trying to ease Ryuji's hostility. "Your dad's the coolest of them all and you have his mark. I bet you can sense others physical needs like he could too."

It took a few seconds, but a shy smile formed on Ryuji's lips. He then nodded. Everyone else chimed in, agreeing with Masato.

So why did Ryuji scowl at Yuki as soon as he agreed? Somehow he had a feeling Ryuji had something against him.

Wonderful. First Shiro and now Ryuji. Maybe it wasn't so much the Asperger's?

That left only Masato. But as he showed off his muscled, tan lower extremity, Yuki saw there was nothing there. Even the other leg yielded nothing. That was weird. How did Masato not gain a mark like the rest of them did? He saw the older teen's face fall in shock.

"What?" Masato gasped, sounding like he was talking to himself. "Why don't I have one?"

"Maybe you didn't bring it out the right way?" Ryuji suggested.

Masato chuckled. "That was more of a question to myself, buddy. I wasn't asking all of you guys."

Ryuji nodded with an embarrassed smile. They were all used to Ryuji having a hard time distinguishing between rhetorical statements and genuine questions so they didn't give him a hard time about it. Kenya crawled over and patted him on the back. The dark-haired boy instantly seized up at the first sign of contact. Kenya froze and put his hand back down on the floor, seemingly upset that he had been snubbed.

Yuki patted Kenya's shoulder, assuring him that it was okay. "Remember, only if Ryuji says it's fine to touch him."

Kenya bowed his head and apologized. Ryuji didn't answer as he pulled his knees to his chest and lightly rocked back and forth. He muttered something under his breath. Yuki didn't know what he was saying. He did know that Ryuji would eventually be fine if given the space. It appeared that everyone else picked up on it too.

Despite Masato attempting to laugh off not having a mark again, perhaps to distract everyone from Ryuji recovering, Yuki sensed that he was clearly bothered being the only one of them that did not receive their Destined Jedi mark yet. It made no sense to him. It was because of Masato that Shun and Kazu were able to defeat Greymon that day. Why did he have to be the one to not receive a mark?

"I think you should ask Master Gennai about that," Yuki said to the older teen. "Maybe he would know."

Masato nodded, but Yuki thought it seemed a bit half hearted. It was strange seeing him like this.

"Yeah, I probably will."

The door to their room slid open. Their master stood before them dressed in just his night robe as if that were his cue to enter. The robe was white and the material was thin enough to see through.

"Okay, boys. Lights out," he said before taking a step away.

"Master?" Ichigo said.

Master Gennai turned around to face him. Yuki also turned to look at the burgundy-haired boy. "Yes, Ichigo?"

Ichigo turned so that his mark was visible for their master. "What does this mark mean? I've never seen it before."

Master Gennai stepped toward him and knelt down on the tatami mat. He lifted Ichigo's foot with his hand to have a better look. Yuki could see the man was inspecting it closely like a jeweler inspecting a diamond to make sure that it was real. After a few moments of this, he put Ichigo's foot back down.

"It is the mark of Miracles, Ichigo," Master Gennai said. "You have the ability to turn the tide of a battle back in your all's favor when things seem grim. Like what happened today when Ikkakumon was about to turn Yuki and Kenya into fish sticks."

So that was what happened earlier, Yuki realized. Ichigo glowed like that and gained so much power because they were about to lose the battle. That would definitely come in handy down the road while fighting King Drasil's forces, though he hoped he wouldn't have to use it that often.

"However, it doesn't work if you panic and give up hope during the battle as well," their master added. "So you had better learn to keep a level head, my young friend. It could mean the difference between saving your life or one of your teammates' lives."

That last sentence sounded grim. For some reason, Yuki got chills thinking about that scenario. The weight of his words seemed to blanket the whole room.

"Oh, I forgot to mention," Master Gennai added to the rest of the group. His face wore a frown as his voice sounded deathly serious. "Don't get lazy and make Ichigo use his ability multiple times. Not only would it be an embarrassment and an insult to me, but you'd also end up draining him of energy."

"What does that mean?" Yuki asked, staring his master down nervously.

"Did I stutter? Energy. Life force. Whatever the hell you want to call it. You're not as good as your parents. You never will be. For whatever reason, Homeostasis had a plan and I have to see this through. Think of Homeostasis having pity and giving this new mark to keep you all alive a little longer."

"You've got to be kidding," Yuki said, stunned. "We have a trump card at the expense of his life?"

He saw Ichigo stare at Master Gennai anxiously, like he was trying to figure out how to ask for a new mark, but then he nodded.

"Don't worry, Ichi," Kazuma said. "We'll make sure you'll never have to use it."

"Not on my watch," Shiro chimed.

"No wonder I felt tired after the fight," Ichigo stated with concern. He yawned loudly. "Excuse me."

Their master then stood up from the floor and walked to the door while the rest reassured Ichigo.

"If that's all, it's time for–"

"I don't have a mark on my leg," said Masato, showing his bare ankle as proof. "Why is that, Master Gennai? Everyone else has one. Why don't I?"

Yuki saw Master Gennai take a sharp breath, like he was annoyed at having to answer another question, before looking back at him. He clearly wanted nothing more than to go to sleep right now, or whatever it was that he did in his bedroom. Maybe there were…other guests in there too. The orange-haired boy nearly gagged at that thought.

"That means you still have more to learn," he said in an even tone, answering the question. "Not about saber dueling or your knowledge of the Force, but something of far greater significance – yourself."

That word sent chills through the room once more. What was so wrong with Masato that he needed to understand himself better? For as long as Yuki had known him, Masato was always so confident and sure of himself. He was always the one to make you laugh and bring a smile to everyone, no matter the mood they were in. Sure, he wanted to surpass his twin in academics and other things as well, but that was just natural sibling – twin in his case – rivalry.

"What does that mean?" Masato asked. "How do I do that?"

Master Gennai gave a sarcastic smile. "Only you can answer that." That smile instantly vanished turning into a death glare. "Now, to bed. All of you."

"Hold the hell up!" Masato protested. Yuki and the others flinched at the intensity of his voice. "In your eyes we may be trash, but we still need guidance! How about just answering the question since you already know and -"

The hair on the back of Yuki's neck stood as he watched Master Gennai's stare practically penetrate Masato's soul. He even saw Ryuji scoot closer to Shun's side, seeking shelter while everyone waited in anticipation for the answer.

"Everyone's childhood ended the second they were chosen. Life isn't fair. Boo hoo. Get a grip and figure it out." Master Gennai then went haywire; the glitch was acting up. It stopped after a few seconds. He clenched his teeth. "Do it fast before you're the reason that Ichigo or anyone else dies." He turned. "Now go to bed."

He left the room without another word or glance; probably before either one of them could ask another question. Yuki still did not understand him and why he did some of the things he did, even after spending these last couple of weeks with him. Eh, whatever. Some people were just like that, even digital ones.

Masato stood to his feet and punched the wall in frustration. "Ow!" he cried, holding his hand close to his side. Shun and Kazu were first to go over to talk him down. Yuki watched as Masato took a deep breath to calm down while swearing under his breath. He shook his hand out as he sat down.

"Hey, Masa. How about we try to figure out what your mark is supposed to be?" Yuki suggested.

"Good idea," Shun followed. "Because if we do that, it could help you figure out what's missing."

Masato rubbed his eyes after a beat and nodded. "That makes sense. So let's see," he said. "We have Reliability, Friendship, Miracles, Knowledge, Kindness, Courage and Light. That means with the girls and me we're missing four more marks."

"That doesn't make sense," Kazuma said. "If we're following my uncle's manga and our parents' stories, there should be three more marks."

"Ichi's mark didn't exist until now. If it did, we'd have known about it," Yuki countered.

"So, another new mark?" Shiro gasped.

Masato grinned. "Yep. Another new mark."

Shiro waved a hand in the air with excitement and demanded everyone to quiet. "Shh! I hear the girls talking about their marks. Master Gennai must have talked to them too."

It felt like an eternity waiting for Shiro to spill the beans. Yuki couldn't stand it much longer. He needed to hear what mark his girlfriend had.

"Hurry it up, ya runt!" Yuki spoke through his teeth, impatient for the answer.

"Shut up, Casanova-wannabe," Shiro said with a click of his tongue.

Yuki rolled his eyes. If only Shiro wasn't Naomi's brother…

"Whoa!" Shiro said as he looked around the group with the juiciest gossip to spill. "Keiko's the one with the new mark - Luck! I guess it makes sense since she had those visions before we were attacked back in the courtyard. And she knew where Digmon would surface."

Everyone expressed their surprise, minus Masato, Shun, and Kazuma, until Shiro interrupted again. That was weird.

"My sister is Sincerity - she can tell when someone's telling the truth just like my mom."

"It fits her," Kazuma said with a sad smile. "She's always been able to since forever."

"It sure does," Yuki agreed, frowning at him. "Her ability must enhance it then."

Shiro interrupted their conversation again. He sounded like if he held onto the information any longer, he would explode. "And Miya is Hope - she can slow down time like Mr. Takaishi."

Ryuji's mouth dropped. "That's why it felt like she moved super fast with Garurumon."

Yuki saw where this was going as he faced Masato. "So that means you're either the Destined Jedi of Love -"

"Or I have a new mark too," Masato finished the thought.

The boys went quiet, perhaps lost in thought. Yuki folded his arms over his chest and cocked his head to the side, joining them there.

"No way," Shun said. "You have to be Love. All you do is smother me with hugs and kisses."

"All the better to love you with," Masato countered, sticking his tongue to tease.

Shun shoved Masato's face away when he got too close. They traded more verbal jabs before Kenya's voice ceased their squabbling.

"It does, but it doesn't make sense," Kenya said. "What would you need to learn when we all know you love us?"

"He has a point," Yuki sighed.

Masato slowly exhaled as if trying to make sense of the possibility. He eventually shook his head. "I've got nothing. At least the plus side is that if I really am that, I'll be able to heal anyone that gets hurt."

"A lot of good that'll do us if you can't figure it out soon," Yuki said, crossing his arms at his chest. "That peace treaty is ending any day now."

"No shit, Sherlock," Masato retorted. "Our supposed master is also fucked in the head. Our parents never had it this hard while figuring things out."

The door slid open with a sharp "whoosh", surprising all of them. Master Gennai stood there with an even angrier look than before.

"Go. To. Bed!" he roared. It was so loud that Yuki wondered if it could be heard all the way up to the surface. "I won't tell you boys again."

Before he closed the door, he shot Masato a dirty look and quipped, "And Naomi thinks you should be the leader of this group? Heh. I doubt anyone will want a leader with no mark."

Masato practically had steam coming out of his ears as the man laughed. He leapt to his feet with the intent to strangle him. Yuki saw Shun and Kazuma grab at his tank top to stop him from stomping up to their master. Master Gennai quickly slid the door shut. There was a long silence as Yuki tried to wrap his head around what just happened. The rest of the boys seemed like they were trying as well.

After all, there was no way everyone, or even his girlfriend, would choose Masato over him. Yuki was the Destined Jedi of Courage. That meant he was destined to be the leader, just like his dad. It was inevitable at this point. No one ever heard of a Destined Jedi of Love being leader before, though his mom did take charge sometimes whenever his dad was not around.

Wait a minute. He overheard his dad talking to Mr. Izumi about Daigo Nishijima, the man all the former Destined Jedi were obsessed with finding, many times. There was one time he recalled, though it was fuzzy, that he was the leader of his group – the first team of Destined Jedi. Mr. Izumi theorized that if Nishijima could heal his ex - the one that caused so much havoc in the city and pain to Mrs. Ishida - before she passed, that perhaps he wouldn't have disappeared without a trace.

No way. Mr. Nishijima, the former leader and Destined Jedi of Love? Courage only came second to Love? No freaking way. He couldn't let that happen. He had to win against Masato.

"You heard what he said, guys," he said, miffed at the idea that he might have competition on the leadership front too. "Time for bed."

"Masato," Kazuma said. Yuki looked over to see the blonde's hand resting on Masato's back. "Let it go. Getting hissy over this is not going to do you any good."

"Stop feeling me out," Masato rebutted in frustration.

It looked like the oldest Destined Jedi stopped himself from verbally lashing out with a drawn out exhale of air.

"I'm the Destined Jedi of Love. It's this feeling deep down inside that I can't shake," Masato declared. His voice was deep, low and confident.

What made Yuki feel on edge was when Masato looked him dead in the eyes as he spoke his next sentence. It was as if he naturally took charge of the room, yet gave a direct order to him.

"My mark may not be activated yet, but that doesn't mean I'm not part of this group. I'll figure out what's wrong with me and fix it. In the meantime, Ichi isn't allowed to use his ability under any circumstances. Is that clear?"

Yuki gulped. What the hell?

"But what if -" Ichigo said, trying to plead his case to Masato.

Masato knelt down and hugged Ichigo. His command was soft, yet firm. "I said no. Not until my mark is activated. I will not sacrifice your life for the sake of others. Uncle Davis would kill me."

The oldest then let go of his cousin and spoke to the rest of the group. Somehow, it still felt like to Yuki that he kept staring at him more than the others. Why was he the one getting picked on?

"It also means that since we're all forced to be Jedi, we fight together as a group. No one goes off on their own."

Yuki raised an eyebrow. "Why are you looking at me?"

It was even more offensive that after a pause, Masato chose not to answer and continued his speech.

"Shunny, work on being able to expand that shield of yours. Everyone is covered no matter what, even if you're at your limit. Is that clear?"

A worried expression spread over Shun's face, but he nodded. Yuki didn't like the way Masato was already giving directions. Didn't everyone else deserve a say in this too?

"Kenya, work on reading our enemies' minds while in battle. Anything that tells you what's going to happen next is your cue to shout to us where to head."

Yuki saw that Kenya shared the same look as Shun, but he nonetheless nodded in agreement. Okay, that was it. He couldn't hold his peace any longer.

"Now wait a minute," he said, rising to his feet.

"Shiro," Masato ignored Yuki. "Focus on the fight while listening to the ground, sky and all around. One slip can get Shun tired from keeping the shield up."

Shiro gave a salute. "Got it."

"Ryuji. Listen to everyone's needs. I don't care what it is. Do it to keep the fight up. If you need help to make it happen, get me. Is that clear?"

Ryuji scrunched his eyebrows as he nodded.

"I'll have to think about what everyone else's roles need to be. We can figure that out with the girls tomorrow."

Yuki had to nip this in the butt, and fast. "Excuse me! No one made you the leader yet. I'm the one that's supposed to be the leader."

Masato paused and stood to his feet. As he stepped up to face him, that same unnerving look returned. "This isn't a competition, Yuki. Master Gennai is an asshole because of becoming corrupted, but he fought through it for a brief second when he came in here the first time. Remember?"

"Remember what?" Yuki said exasperated. It ticked him off more that Masato wasn't the least bit intimidated by him.

"He said 'Do it fast before I was the reason anyone died'. That was his way of telling me which mark I have. I bet he's been trying to tell us more stuff, but the corruption won't allow him. We're all too busy being butt hurt that we were pulled into this. We may not have voted on a leader yet, but like hell I'm going to let anyone die on my watch."

"I know you're not saying I don't have what it takes to be a leader," Yuki growled as he balled his hands into fists.

"No," Masato answered in a tone that remained even and firm, everything Yuki imagined his dad was during battles. It ticked Yuki off more. "I'm saying a leader puts everyone's needs before his own. He directs and listens instead of being a dictator. He makes decisions that might be unpopular, but are for the better of everyone else while still maintaining their respect."

"I do all that on the pitch!" Yuki shouted. "You're not taking this chance away from me!"

"This isn't a popularity contest! Being the leader just because you feel entitled to it is going to get Ichi killed!"

"You're just pulling the oldest kid card!"

"You're just being a brat!"

The two of them stopped their shouting match for a brief second. Yuki watched Masato take a deep breath to try and regain his cool. As much as he wanted to keep it up, he knew that it was setting a bad example for his brother and Ryuji. He took a breath of his own.

"Imagine everyone is on the brink of death and the situation calls for you having to sacrifice your life to save the others. Don't tell me you have the guts to do it so that you'll look cool in front of the others, Yuki, because I know you don't. Nor would I want you to," Masato snarled. "I would fucking die for you!" He turned to Shun. "And you!" Then Ryuji. "And you! I would fucking die for all of you and the girls. We may not all be related by blood, but I've watched you guys grow up. I feel responsible for all of you and I'm not ashamed to say I love you all."

Yuki scoffed. "That's nice. Now the perfect angel card. Those are strong words for someone that can't activate his own mark."

Masato gripped Yuki's tank top at his chest and yelled, "You're not your dad! I'm not mine! None of us will ever match up, damn it! Whoever is picked, that's fine, but that doesn't mean I won't be there to guide you all."

Yuki sneered. "Only to steal the glory."

"Dude!" Masato shoved Yuki away as he let go of him. "Not everything is a competition!"

Yuki gritted his teeth, unable to think of a comeback. Being here in the Digital World seemed to bring out the worst in both him and Masato, but the latter especially.

He heard Masato grunt, but did nothing else. Why was that? Yuki looked behind him and saw that Ryuji had gone over to Masato and hugged him from the backside in the middle of their argument.

That hug worked like magic. Masato instantly dropped to his knees and hugged Ryuji, who surprisingly didn't push him away.

What. The. Hell?

Before Yuki could react, he felt someone hug him from behind.

"We should finish this conversation tomorrow, you hardheads."

Yuki turned to see it was Kenya who hugged him, but it was Kazu, who stood next to him, that gave the suggestion.

Kazuma then added, "We'll all have clearer heads tomorrow. Besides, the girls need to be included in this discussion too."

"Yeah, but -"

"Before you say anything else that you'll regret in the morning," Kazu laid a hand on his shoulder. "It's not helping your case."

"It's time to go to sleep, big bro," Kenya said.

Yuki sighed and silently agreed. He knelt down to return his little brother's hug. He really needed that right now. It felt like a small taste of home. The thought of home instantly made his heart ache. They had been in the Digital World for what felt like years. Home almost felt like a distant memory.

One by one, the lamps' candles went out as everyone turned in for the night. Yuki was the last to lay down on his futon, feeling completely upset. He couldn't believe how no one agreed with him or even said he was the rightful leader. He didn't care what Kazu or Masa thought - there was no way he was the one being childish right now.

It was like even Ryuji chose Masato and completely ignored him.

What a brat.

The only thing that Yuki took away from tonight was that he was going to do whatever it took to be the leader. It was his birthright and no one was going to take that from him.

One last thought went through his mind as he extinguished the candle to his lantern.

How much longer would it be before he could hug his dad again?

Even a hug from his mom would be the best thing in the world.

Seems as though Yuki is homesick as well. Will the children be able to go home soon? Find out next time on Destined Jedi: Next Generation.

Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter. It was originally supposed to be more, but then it became what it became. I am so happy with how it turned out though, and I hope you guys liked it too. Next time: we return to the real world.

As always, leave a review with your thoughts and comments and be sure to subscribe if you haven't yet. There's plenty more still to come.

Hope you guys have a good week and I'll see you all soon.

Tootles.