Sorry, everyone. Koichi's chapter is taking longer than expected, so I won't be publishing it this month. I apologize for the inconvenience. :(.

Guest IG: I have read those CD dramas and factored them into the fanfiction. They are or will be there. You just have to find the clues. Also, your comment about Kouji's father moving around for work. What episode or CD drama did you find that from? I couldn't find it anywhere and don't think the father moves his family around due to work. If he did, Koichi wouldn't have located his brother so easily in the series unless the boy had some insane hacking skills. I just want to make sure, so that there are no discrepancies between the actual series and fanfiction.

Without further ado, here is the next chapter: Blinding Light, Lobomon

The Meiji Jingu Garden was located in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan right next to Yoyogi Park. It was the best place to feel the sacred atmosphere of Japanese historical shrines since the site was created between 1603 to 1867. People could walk through a peaceful forest and explore the beautiful inner garden.

Walking on the trail was a boy around 17 years old. He had black hair tied to a low ponytail and dark, blue eyes. He wore a blue jacket with yellow stripes on the sleeves over a yellow shirt with a blue neckline and sleeve trimmings, gray pants that ended at his ankles, long blue socks, and white sneakers with blue stripes. Around his neck, he had on a blue bandana with dark gray stripes. On his back was a brown, durable traveler's backpack. It was Kouji Minamoto.

Kouji Minamoto was the Bearer of the Legendary Warrior of Light. Before going to the Digital World, he had a tense relationship with his parents. His birth parents divorced when he was young. His father, Kousei, took custody of him and got remarried. The boy couldn't get used to his new stepmother and could never utter the word 'mom' to her.

He missed his birth mother, but couldn't see her anymore since his father told him she was dead. It made Kouji grow distant from everyone around him. He thought to himself 'What was the point of being close to family and friends if they're just going to leave you in the end'. And so, he grew apart from those around him and became a loner.

That all changed after Kouji went to the Digital World. There, he found real friends he could put his trust in even though they could drive him crazy sometimes. Most importantly, it was the place where he met Koichi. He was his older twin brother Kouji didn't know existed.

Turns out, his dad lied to him about his birth mother dying. She was actually very much alive and took Koichi into her custody. Both parents never told the other about their existence. They thought it would be better this way. Clearly, it was the wrong choice.

While trying to catch up to his brother, Koichi got into an accident with his soul going into the Digital World where Cherubimon corrupted him with the spirits of Darkness. He transformed into an evil legendary warrior and almost fought Kouji to the death.

After finding out the truth, Kouji was indecisive about how to handle Koichi. He just found out he had a twin brother. This was a lot to take in for him. But thanks to Takuya knocking some sense into him about the bonds between brothers, he was able to save his new sibling.

There was still some tension, but thanks to his friends and travels, the bond between them grew. Over time, they started to act like real brothers.

One time, Kouji finally decided to cut his hair short like Koichi in junior high. It made the twins look totally identical. It caused people to mistake them for the other. Since they went to the same school, a girl confessed to him thinking he was Koichi. He told her to meet his brother at a cafe later to continue their confession, but not before playing a little prank on him.

It was a spectacular event. Koichi had to apologize to the girl and her parents multiple times. When they met up again, they threatened each other with identity theft. It was really funny but normal. They really were starting to act like real brothers now.

Still, Kouji got tired of people mistaking him for his older brother, so he decided to grow his hair long again. This way, people could tell who is who. Unlike the rest of the group, they were the ones who would meet each other multiple times every week. They didn't know each other when they were younger, so they wanted to spend as much time with each other now. This was especially true since they were going their separate ways after graduating high school.

After graduation, Kouji decided to become a backpacker. It was a hiker who carried necessities and supplies in a backpack. They usually travel around the world going to different landscapes with just a backpack. Even when younger, Kouji always wanted to travel and see the world. It was the reason why he was at the Meiji Jingu Garden, for practice.

Although he had been through tougher hikes and travels like Mount Mitake and Mount Takao, he liked to see his brother who was interning nearby. It was really convenient for both of them. Besides, he loved taking in the scenery in the Meiji Jingu Garden.

Kouji usually came here a couple of times every change in season. Although the area was small with only 83,000 square meters, they had 150 species of irises totaling around 1,500 flowers in the garden. They were also surrounded by Japanese maple trees and other plants.

There was another site called Nan-Chi Pond. It would be the first place visitors would see when entering the garden. The pond was filled with 8,300 square meters of pure spring water. Some carp living in the pond are said to be the offspring of the carp released into the pond by a famous emperor a hundred years ago.

All of the features combined made the garden a beautiful place to go to. Kouji always loved coming to see the vibrant trees, plants, and ponds. It gave him a sense of peace and tranquility. He could lay against a hundred-year-old azalea tree and sleep there all day if he wanted to.

Kouji was now exiting the forest on the way to his brother's internship. It was getting around that time to meet up with Koichi. He couldn't wait to meet up and talk with him again.

Just then, a strange phenomenon happened. Fractal code appeared around and surrounded him. It covered the trees, land, and even the skies until everything was covered in fractal code.

When the code disappeared, everything returned to normal. The trees and plants still seemed to be the same, but Kouji felt something was off. Usually, when he walked around the garden, he would hear birds and other animals making noises. But now, everything was deathly silent. It was like they were afraid to make any sounds.

It could only be one thing. The animals and insects were trying to hide from something. When a predator was so powerful, the instincts of the other animals kicked in. They would hide where they could and pray that the predator would leave them alone. Whatever was causing the animals in the whole area to be this terrified, it had to be a powerful being. Judging from the recent fractal code, it had to be Digimon related even if it sounded unbelievable.

Kouji ran to the tallest Japanese maple tree, climbed on the branches, and used the leaves to cover most of his body. Taking out binoculars from his backpack, he scanned the surrounding area until he saw something abnormal in the distance.

In his sight was a big, red-eyed Doberman dog. His coat was black, but the fur around its muzzle, paws, and inner body was brown. Blades jutted out from each leg, and his paws had three toes with long claws on each. It had gear-like protrusions on its spine and knees, and in each thigh contained a red gem.

Dobermon: A champion, vaccine demon beast Digimon whose main attacks are Grey Noise and Black Beam. He is a ferocious Digimon who's a trained hunter. Once he sets a target, he'll stop at nothing to hunt it down.

The dog did not look friendly. A terrifying aura kept radiating off from him. Even Kouji felt a little bit of pressure from a distance. It was no wonder the local animals fled and kept their sounds to a minimum.

Currently, Dobermon sniffed the ground while checking his surroundings. It looked like he was on the hunt for something. Or someone. Slowly, he headed in the direction where Kouji was hiding.

'That mutt!' Kouji knew exactly what Dobermon was doing. He had a pet dog named Garm. When the boy came home, he would be greeted by his dog at the door every time. No matter what time Kouji was home, Garm was always there on time.

How did he know? The answer was simple: scent.

Dogs were 40 times more sensitive to smells than humans. They can actually smell between 1,000 to 10,000 times better than people depending on the breed. It's why hunters take dogs to hunt. They can track wild animals better than they could. Even the police use dogs for various purposes. If trained correctly, dogs could find drugs, bombs, and even dead people.

There was a type of dog called a man-trailing dog. They were used to track a unique scent of a particular individual through trailing or air scent. It's usually for people who have gone missing under suspicious circumstances or to track down criminals. Dobermon was currently using this method to find Kouji. It would only be a matter of time before he found him too.

Kouji quickly took out his handkerchief and sprayed deodorant on it. He sprayed on the cloth until it was drenched with the smell. Breaking off a stick from a branch, he tied his handkerchief to the wood and threw it as hard as he could. The stick went sailing in the air until it landed somewhere a hundred feet away. He then proceeded to grab the leaves and berries on the branch and rubbed them all over his face and body trying to mask his smell.

Dobermon paused momentarily but caught the scent again. He ran in another direction away from Kouji.

The boy let out a sigh of relief. His impromptu plan worked. Good thing he took all those survival training classes. It really came in handy. Unfortunately, this was only a temporary solution. Dobermon was bound to figure out his ruse. He needed another plan.

The question was how. He was completely outmatched and alone. Kouji needed help. He needed his spirits!

Just then, his cell phone started vibrating. Taking the device out, it showed a bright light and morphed into a dark blue and black Digivice. The screen glowed, and a GPS map appeared. It was a map of his area with two dots. One showed his current location while the other was not far away from here.

Kouji felt a sense of deja vu and smiled a little. This scene felt so familiar to him. Something was guiding him somewhere, and it looked like he would need to do a little tracking of his own. The boy jumped down from the tree and started to gather the dead branches on the ground. Although he wanted to follow his GPS coordinates immediately, he had to deal with the pooch first.

...

Dobermon sniffed the ground more diligently. When he finally thought he caught his prey, it turned out to be just a cloth on a stick. His senses must've been failing him. He had to up his game and put his senses on high alert. He was not going to let his prey get away and picked up the scent again.

Walking silently through the trees, he found a person in a blue and yellow jacket with a bandana on his head crouched down with his back turned to the dog. Dobermon's eyes lit up murderously. He found his target and his prey didn't even notice him. He was wide open.

Slowly, Dobermon stealthily made his way to Kouji. He was moving so quietly that the boy didn't even turn around. This made him grin. He was going to accomplish his mission sooner than expected.

Once the dog was at a close enough distance, he pounced at Kouji with full force and grabbed the boy's head with his jaws. Dobermon was going in for the quick kill. He ripped the head out from the body and swung it around like a rag doll. He then stopped in confusion.

When he first bit down, he should've tasted something like blood and soft skin. But all he could taste was something hard and bitter. He spat out what was in his mouth to see what he bit.

On the ground wasn't Kouji's head, but a piece of wood that came from a trunk of a dead tree. Kouji's bandana was there, but it was tied on the top of the wood covered in leaves. His supposed body was just a jacket that was stuffed with sticks and leaves.

Doberman growled in anger. He had been tricked! The human knew he was hunting him and made this distraction.

'Well, it wasn't going to work.' Dobermon thought. He already caught his scent again in the distance. The human wasn't going to get away again if he booked it. This time, he was going to hunt his prey down and end him.

'Snap' Just as Dobermon was about to chase after the boy again, the ground beneath him made a cracking sound. A second later, it broke apart causing the dog to fall 15 feet into the earth. It was a pitfall trap!

'Very clever, human!' Doberman silently cursed as he crashed to the bottom of the pit crushing some rocks. The pitfall trap was smart, but it wasn't going to be enough. The hole wasn't that deep and the dog could jump out of it easily. It wouldn't even be a second. Did this human really think this was going to be enough to stop him?

'Buzz Buzz', Tens of thousands of bees and hornets suddenly appeared and filled the whole pit. Their stingers looked ready to strike.

When Dobermon crashed to the bottom breaking some rocks, those rocks were not rocks. They were actually nests and hives around the forest. The dog accidentally destroyed the insects' homes.

Initially, the bees and hornets would be too afraid to attack due to Dobermon's immense pressure, but they just lost their homes and brethren. Who knows if they will be next? Their anger far surpassed their fear. All at once, they attacked him.

For the first few seconds, they had a hard time breaking his fur but were able to penetrate it after multiple tries. They also attacked his eyes and nose as well. The dog's whole body was being swarmed by the bees and hornets.

Dobermon howled miserably. He rammed his body against the wall and rolled around the ground in an attempt to stop the stinging. Bees and hornets were crushed as the ground and body met. Unfortunately, the insects were too numerous. For every one killed, another would take its place. The stinging seemed endless.

...

Out in the distance, Kouji was following the direction of his GPS. He smiled when he heard Dobermon's howling. It looked like the dog triggered his trap.

Before this place was covered in fractal code, there was an area near the trail that had a big naturally made sinkhole 15 ft deep. Authorities had to close off part of the area until they could fill the hole back up again. Kouji decided to use it to his advantage.

First, he searched the forest and located three beehives and 2 wasp nests. Very carefully, he took them out of the trees and placed them at the bottom of the sinkhole. Luckily, Dobermon's pressure was still affecting them, so they didn't sting Kouji as much.

Second, he found weak sticks to put across the hole and covered it with leaves. With the sticks as support and leaves as camouflage, the sinkhole looked like flat ground anyone could walk over. Those sticks would only support a fully weighted person for 5 seconds before they break causing them to fall in.

Lastly, he stuffed his jacket and bandana with leaves and sticks to make it look like himself and positioned it on top of the camouflaged hole. He angled his dummy in the direction where Dobermon would only see his back since his impromptu dummy looked nothing like him in the front. With one last finishing touch, Kouji sprayed the last of his deodorant on the thing and ran off to follow his GPS.

Kouji hoped the scent would be strong enough to attract Dobermon and attack the fake. It was. The dog fell for the trap hook, line, and sinker. 50-500 stings could cause death to a regular adult. A bee hive could house 60,000 to 80,000 bees, while wasp nests could house over a hundred wasps. Although a fraction of the insects didn't have stingers, the numbers would still be in the 10,000. The boy shuddered thinking about being stung that many times.

Even with that, Kouji didn't think Dobermon would die from the stings. The dog was a full-blown Digimon after all. But it would buy him enough time to find what he was looking for.

After ten minutes of jogging, his GPS led him to a teahouse. It was Kakuun-tei, a replica of a rest home for Empress Shoken by the order of Emperor Meiji at the time. The place was originally burned down during WWII but rebuilt again in 1958.

Kouji couldn't help but raise his right eyebrow looking at the tea house. Was his Digivice really telling him to go in there? This was a historical landmark. Tourists weren't really allowed to enter due to restoration purposes.

Still, it was either this or get mauled, so Kouji kept going. He moved apart the sliding doors and went inside. His eyes scrunched in confusion at what he saw.

Inside had the usual tagami floorboards, a short-legged table, and the other traditional furniture. It was the lighting that was the problem. The place was much darker than it should've been. Pockets of light could enter the room, but they were having little effect illuminating the place.

What was going on? Kouji walked deeper into the house. He looked around, but he couldn't find the reason for the lack of light. Why would his Digivice lead him here?

'Grrrr' Something growled in the dark environment. Following the sound, a big dog appeared at the door. Parts of his body had multiple bumps and swelling caused by bee stings. His eyes were staring ferociously at Kouji.

It was Dobermon. He finally caught up to the human, and he looked ready to murder. Who could blame him? Anyone would be mad from being almost stung to death. Without a second thought, Dobermon pounced at the boy. His claws aimed to kill.

Kouji was trapped. He couldn't go anywhere due to being inside the tea house. There was nowhere to run. All he could do was be attacked to death by Dobermon. Was this really it? Was he going to die just like that?

"Cover your eyes..." A mysterious voice said out of nowhere. Kouji was surprised by the new voice but complied with its wishes. He quickly shut his eyes ignoring the incoming deadly dog.

The small pockets of light suddenly got brighter and converged to a single spot between Kouji and Dobermon. It turned into a ball of light. As soon as Dobermon touched it, the ball popped like a balloon releasing an extremely bright light.

Dobermon got blinded and felt like he crashed into a wall. A force pushed him back and next he knew, he was outside the tea house. When his vision came to, he saw the entire house covered in a barrier of white light. It looked like someone wanted him out and to not be disturbed. The dog had a feeling who it was.

When Kouji opened his eyes, the previously dark room was now highly illuminated. It was like someone turned the brightness setting on their TV to the max. An average person would've had trouble seeing through all this light, but Kouji didn't have that problem. Being bathed in this light, he felt warm and familiar.

Slowly, a tall ghostly figure appeared and walked toward Kouji. He looked at the boy with nothing but love and respect. It was the Human Spirit of Light.

Kouji, in turn, gave a smile of his own. This was his Digimon partner who fought together with him in the Digital World 7 years ago. It was great to see him again.

They should've been talking but they didn't have to. Just by looking at each other, a silent communication was made. They didn't need to speak to know what the other was thinking. Their personalities were just that expressive and simple.

[Grey Noise] Outside, Dobermon howled at the tea house releasing a formless gray soundwave. As soon as the noise touched the barrier, the whole thing shattered like glass. The dog then started to emit a black glow. Whatever the pair was going to do there, they needed to do it now!

The Spirit of Light held out his hand to the boy. They needed to join together once again to fight the battle. Kouji took it without any hesitation. The spirit turned into its relic form and entered the Digivice. The Symbol of Light appeared on the screen.

It was time. [Execute! - Spirit Evolution]

[Black Beam] Dobermon fired a black beam from his mouth. The attack penetrated the doors like paper and wreaked havoc. Anyone inside would've been fatally injured, but those two weren't just anyone. A figure flew out and landed across from Dobermon uninjured.

He was a tall humanlike figure covered in white and blue armor. On his head was a helmet in the shape of a wolf's head covering his blond hair, along with a long scarf around his neck. He was currently radiating warm light.

Lobomon: A warrior, variable Digimon whose main attacks are Lobo Kendo and Howling Laser. He is the human descendent of the Ancient Legendary Warrior: AncientGarurumon. Although this Legendary Warrior appeared to be cold and aloof, he is actually a kind-hearted Digimon.

"So you found your spirit huh? It doesn't matter though. It'll make the hunt much more satisfying." Dobermon said as he fired another black beam.

[Howling Laser] Lobomon retaliated with his own attack. He lifted his left armguard, gathered energy, and fired off a white beam from his wrist.

The black and white beams collided causing an explosion. Smoke filled the entire battlefield. Lobomon protected part of his face from the blowback trying to find Dobermon. Unfortunately, the smoke was blocking most of his vision.

[Styx Striker] Suddenly, Dobermon came out of nowhere and slashed Lobomon across his chest. The armored wolf grunted in pain, then fought back and punched him. But all he hit was air. Dobermon already retreated back into the smoke.

This time, the dog came at him again from the side and slashed across his back. When Lobomon turned to face the mutt, he ran back into the cover of the smoke. Lobomon fired light bullets from his arm at the retreating figure, but none of them hit their mark.

Legs, arms, back, and chest, Dobermon popped out of the smoke and used his claws and blades to attack Lobomon's body each time. The armored wolf tried to fight back by punching, kicking, and firing lasers, but the dog would just retreat back into the smoke and attack in a different direction. This continued for some time.

'This freakin mutt!' Lobomon tried to take another swipe at the dog but missed. He knew exactly what Dobermon was doing. The annoying mutt was using the Hit-and-Run tactic on him.

The Hit-and-Run tactics are a tactical doctrine of using simple surprise attacks on your opponents and withdrawing before they can retaliate. They would constantly maneuver around their enemies avoiding direct confrontation. The purpose was not to decisively defeat, but weaken the enemy over time through small calculated attacks. Such attacks would expose more defensive weaknesses and have a psychological effect on their enemies with minimal damage to themselves.

After being attacked for the 10th time and missing his target, Lobomon just had about enough. Claw and blade marks became apparent on his armor. He needed a new strategy and closed his eyes.

He knew the Hit-and-Run tactic really well. Usually, small armies would often employ them in the short term in preparation for a full-scale battle under favorable conditions. Since his body was beaten and bruised from the attacks, this would be the optimum time for Dobermon to land the one strong, finishing blow on him. This would be the strike where the dog would be the most vulnerable after attacking.

And so, Lobomon closed his eyes and tapped into his instincts. He may not be able to see Dobermon, but he could feel him using his other senses as a Digimon. Slowly, he could hear the patches of grass being stepped on and the sounds of high breathing around him. From these sounds, Lobomon could imagine where his foe would strike next.

Dobermon finally came out from the smoke. This time he appeared behind the Warrior of Light's back. His claws readied to pin him to the ground, and his body glowed black. Lobomon was right. He was going to fire his black beam attack from blank range to finish the Legendary Warrior of Light off.

[Lobo Kendo] Lobomon opened his eyes and swerved to the right dodging the fierce attack. He then took out his Licht Schwert or Light Sword and made an upward motion slashing Dobermon who was still in mid-air. The blade made of concentrated light touched the dog's underbelly before slicing through and out his back.

At first, Dobermon only felt tingling but then the abrupt burning sensation came. He couldn't help but make a pained yelp. It wasn't the only thing.

The energy that he was storing up inside his body to unleash a black beam backfired. Lobo Kendo interrupted Dobermon's charged-up attack causing the energy to wreak havoc inside his body. It was like a plasma grenade going off inside your stomach. The pain felt unimaginable. Dobermon couldn't take it anymore. His whole body went completely black, and fractal code appeared around him.

"Soul that squirms in darkness," Lobomon said, pulling out his Digivice. "The holy light will purify you! Fractal Code, Digitize!" He proceeded to run his Digivice on the code.

Doberman's fractal code quickly entered the Digivice. As the last of his code disappeared, a normal-sized doberman pinscher took its place. The dog looked around in confusion. When he was Lobomon, he started growling at this unfamiliar figure.

Fractal code surrounded Lobomon transforming himself back into Kouji. He looked at the dog and pulled out a dog treat. Kouji always has some on hand for Garm at home. "It's okay, boy. I'm not going to hurt you," The boy offered the treat to the Doberman. "Here."

The dog, seeing a familiar human, took his guard down slightly. He cautiously walked toward Kouji and took a sniff at the treat. It smelled nice, so he took a bite and enjoyed the flavor.

"See," Kouji said gently, patting the dog's head. He then lightly scratched his stomach. The dog rolled over on the ground enjoying the pampering. "You like being scratched like this, don't you boy?"

The Doberman was too happy to even reply.

Kouji took advantage of the Doberman's relaxed state to properly examine him. Although the danger had passed, it was better to be safe than sorry. He also wanted to know why an actual dog appeared instead of a Digi-egg. Maybe some clues might be discovered from the canine.

After a quick diagnostics, he didn't discover anything abnormal. He found a collar meaning this dog was a house pet and had an owner. Whatever brought him to this weird place also brought the animals and insects as well, but it didn't look like Kouji wasn't going to get any more clues out of the dog.

One thing did stand out to him though. This Doberman had a very similar appearance to Dobermon. He just wasn't as big and didn't have deadly special attacks.

Kouji wasn't sure, but he had a feeling that this dog was just a vessel. Like how the Spirit of Light needed him to evolve into Lobomon, Dobermon probably needed something to evolve as well and took control of the canine. When he took his fractal code, he gave the dog back his freedom. Although it was just a hunch, it was the best the boy could figure out since this place wasn't the Digital World.

The question was why and how. Was the Digital World in danger again? And how was it related to this weird area similar to the Meiji Jingu Garden in Japan? There were so many questions and so few answers.

Before Kouji could think any further, a noise of glass shattering rang out in the distance. The noise spooked the Doberman, and he ran away into the garden.

Turning toward the sound, Kouji saw smoke coming out of a building in the distance followed by a huge slash mark from a sword on its outer walls. The same building where his brother was interning.

"Koichi!" Kouji quickly ran to the damaged building. If he was attacked, there was a high chance the others were targeted as well including his older brother.

Kouji needed to get to him fast. He just hoped his brother could defend himself until then.

When there's light, there's darkness. Only one person is left to be introduced. Koichi will be next. Again, I'm sorry that it can't be posted this month. I can only give out a little, but his story is slightly more complicated than the others to write about.

Please rate and let me know what you think about the chapter.