Hello readers,
Guest IG: Cerberusmon was a rare case because he had two forms at the Ultimate level. He needed another vessel that coincided with his werewolf form.
SplashSJQ: Don't worry. I haven't stopped posting yet.
This chapter has a little emotional element to it. I'm not very good at expressing feelings with words, so I hope you guys will understand it.
Without further ado, here's the chapter: Sukomobanare Island.
Sukomobanare Island is one of the islands of Amani Islands of Satsunan Islands, Japan. It's about 6.4 kilometers south of Eniyabanare Island, and about 5.6 kilometers southwest of Sukomo Village on western Kakeroma Island. The landscape is rectangular-shape 2 kilometers long and 400-700 meters wide. It's one of the many islands administered by Setouchi, Oshima District in the Kagoshima Prefecture.
The perimeter around consisted of rocks and sand like a beach while the inland had mountain-like terrain with a cluster of trees and plants covering 90% of the island. Due to the size, only small animals like lizards and birds lived there. The place was left untouched by man, and vegetation overlapped everywhere.
The area was devoid of people, but two teenagers were traversing through the forest right now. It was Kouji and Izumi.
Before departing, Izumi changed out of her school uniform into something more casual. The girl wore a blue and white t-shirt under a mauve jacket and a mauve skirt with matching yoga pants underneath. When she was in the Digital World, Izumi lost count of how many times her skirt got in the way when traveling. Well, not this time! She was going to travel more comfortably without her needing to pull down her skirt and stop anyone from wondering what was underneath.
And finally to complete the look, a high-quality elastic purple waistband or haramaki* wrapped over her hips with her jacket slightly covering it. It was her signature style. For most reader models, they had a specific clothing or accessory that defined them. It was like their brand or logo, and the waistband was Izumi's. So whenever people saw a waistband, most of their first thought would be the reader model Izumi Orimoto.
Back when the gang met up again at the soba noodle shop for the first time in a while, Takuya had this crazy theory that Izumi was going to make them create waistbands to increase their popularity. Little did they know that it actually happened without their intervention after she became a reader model. Izumi, on the other hand, had no doubts about her signature brand. The waistband had a lot of different uses.
Not only was it fashionable in Japan. It kept your stomach warm and improved blood circulation in the abdominal area helping people with cold hands and feet. The haramaki was also helpful with pregnancy which was why Bokomon put Sheraphimon's Digiegg inside his haramaki keeping the egg warm and safe. With the right materials and quality, a waistband can be a cute dependable accessory and/or a weapon depending on the situation. Right now, it was doing a great job protecting her stomach from the leaves and swinging branches.
When the private jet dropped Kouji and Izumi off on the nearest runway, a small motorboat was already waiting to take them to their destination. Saya spared no expense when helping her new friends. They were now trying to make their way to the center of the island.
"Tell me again why your beast spirit decided to reside on a deserted island," Izumi said as she moved around some branches. "There's only plants and lizards here."
"Maybe that's why," Kouji replied. "Because there's no people, the place is quiet and peaceful."
"But there's nothing here," Izumi gestured everywhere to the cluster of trees. "What could anyone possibly do here?"
"You'd be surprised. With a little exploration, there're many things you can learn about the place," Kouji pointed to some nearby fruit trees. "Look at those fruits for examples. Most of them are ripe, but only some of them are on the ground partially eaten. It tells us some animals were here but left shortly. Possibly birds during migrations. I also see…"
Kouji then moved on from the fruits to another plant explaining its features. His explanation was detailed and knowledgeable by observing the plant's current state. The more he talked, the more enthusiastic he became. The Bearer of Light would've continued his analysis but stopped when he heard Izumi's laughing.
"What's so funny?" Kouji asked.
"I'm sorry…," Izumi answered, stifling her laughs. "I was just thinking about the first time we met. You've become a lot more open compared to before."
Kouji thought back to who he was before and smiled. "People change. And I wasn't that bad back then."
"Wasn't that bad?," Izumi repeated and looked at Kouji like she heard the funniest thing in the world. "Back when Grumblemon first attacked us, you rather risk falling splat down a mountain than taking my hand."
"I could've climbed back up and didn't need your help!" Kouji said in defense.
"Oh! There it is. There's that cold, loner attitude I know," Izumi exaggerated. "I take back what I said earlier."
"Quit that," Kouji knew the girl was teasing and ended it. "I admit I wasn't exactly the nicest person to get along with back then, but going to the Digital World and getting to know all of you guys was the best thing that happened to me. I'm going to be traveling soon, and it's exciting. Talking to you guys about it makes me feel the most comfortable."
"I know," Izumi grinned. "It's just fun to tease you all sometimes, but I still can't believe your parents finally let you go out and travel the world. Was it hard to convince them?."
"Yes," Kouji confirmed. "It was."
When Kouji was 13 and first talked to his parents about traveling around the world after high school, they adamantly refused. College was a very important time for their son. How could he take classes if he was exploring somewhere on another continent? Not to mention the distance. When would he even have time to visit them?
The boy anticipated their reactions which is why he already thought up solutions. While traveling the world, he would take online college classes. They were similar to the real college classes, but digital and with a lot more freedom. This way, he can still attend an accredited university while exploring the world on his own time. He also promised them to come back and visit them at least once a year if it helps ease their worries.
The Minamotos still weren't convinced, thinking that their son was going through a phase, but they underestimated the boy's persistence. It was his dream to travel the world, and he showed them it wasn't a phase.
To prove it, Kouji bought travel magazines and brochures on campsites and hiking trails. He left them all around the house not making a mess, but enough to let his parents see them. He also bought portable camping gear and went to a local campsite to stay overnight. His dad practically had to drag him back home the first time he tried this.
This continued for 10 months.
And finally, after seeing their son's spirit and conviction, they allowed him to travel the world, but only on two conditions.
The first condition was he had to keep up with his grades in school, especially classes pertaining to foreign languages. If they saw one grade go down, they wouldn't let him go. If Kouji couldn't even do this sort of thing, it meant he wasn't passionate enough about traveling.
The second condition was that he had to take survival classes. There were a lot of dangers when traveling the world. The Minamotos didn't just want Kouji to explore. They wanted him to survive, so he had to take survival courses.
Kouji agreed, and his training to become a backpacker began. For the next 4 years besides going to school and hanging out with friends and families, the Bearer of Light went through a lot of survival training. His parents spared no expense and enrolled him in all kinds of courses. He learned many things about the wildness and the skills a person needs to live off the land. The boy even knew how to skin a rabbit-which hopefully he will never have to do because those little guys are adorable!
In the end, Kouji kept both of his promises and was ready to journey off into the world. His time in the Digital World helped him realize that, so he had to do everything he could to save it.
"I still can't believe your parents put you through all of those survival classes," Izumi pointed out. "They must really worry and care about you."
"Yeah…," Kouji said, agreeing. "But they're my parents, and they love me in their own way even if it's a little coddling sometimes." He then reminisced about his parents and inwardly smiled.
Shortly after returning from the Digital World, Kouji became more accepting of his stepmother, but there was still some tension between them. It also didn't help that his dad lied to him about his biological mother dying. Some issues still needed to be worked out.
Luckily, everything changed when Mr. Minamoto found out that Kouji had been visiting his ex-wife and Koichi recently for a few weeks. It did not start out very well.
…
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'VE BEEN VISITING YOUR MOTHER AND NOT TELL ME!" Mr. Minamoto yelled angrily at the top of his lungs.
"WHY SHOULD I TELL YOU!?" Kouji shouted back. "You've been lying to me my whole life! Why can't I keep a secret of my own?!
"Why you…,"
Mr. Minamoto had been noticing his son was leaving early and coming home late. When he asked him about it, Kouji responded saying "It's nothing." That translated to "It's something really important but not going to tell."
So the man decided to tail his son on one of his long travels. After following him for 95% percent of the journey, Mr. Minamoto stopped. He recognized these streets anywhere. This was the route to his ex-wife's home. Why would his son come here? Unless…
Mr. Minamoto became furious. His son must've been visiting for weeks and didn't tell him. The man returned back to his house not wanting to meet his ex-wife. When Kouji returned, he confronted him about it, and the boy reluctantly admitted everything knowing about his birth mother for a while. Mr. Minamoto couldn't contain his anger anymore and erupted leading to this wonderful conversion…
"I lied to you," Mr. Minamoto said, gritting his teeth. "Because it was in our best interests not to see her again, She had her life, and we had ours. I didn't want us to be affected by it, and we both agreed not to see each other again."
"So you told me she died while she was alive a few towns over?" Kouji argued. "Do you know how much that affected me?! I grew up thinking my mother was dead! Sometimes I thought it was my fault that she was gone. Did you have any idea how that felt?"
Mr. Minamoto's expression turned a little softer. He watched his son grow up and knew the boy's pain well, but the man wasn't backing down. "You do have a mother," He stated. "She lives here with you."
"IT'S NOT THE SAME AND YOU KNOW IT!"
Clatter. The sound of something dropped. Looking toward the sound, Kouji and Mr. Minamoto saw Mrs. Minamoto standing there with a bag full of groceries near her feet. She looked hurt and devastated.
"Satomi…," Mr. Minamoto said to his wife. All of his anger turned into worry. "How much did you hear?"
"Everything," Mrs. Minamoto answered in a sorrowful tone and turned to Kouji. "So your mother is alive? That's good to hear."
Although Mrs. Minamoto said those words, Kouji and Mr. Minamoto could tell she took it differently. Her whole body was trembling and her eyes were on the verge of crying. The woman looked like she was going to break down any minute.
"I'm sorry! I have to go!" She turned away and ran to the front door trying to leave the house.
"Sweetheart! Don't go!" Mr. Minamoto called, but his wife didn't listen and kept running. She was about to open the door and leave when Kouji spoke up.
"Mom, wait," Those words caused her to stop. Although Kouji started calling her mom recently, those words still affected her. She turned to look at her son. The boy looked pleading and remorseful.
"You-," Mrs. Minamoto started to say. "You still think of me as your mother?"
"Of course I do," Kouji answered, confused. "Why would I think I wouldn't think of you as my mom?"
"You found out that your real mother is alive and has been meeting her. What you said was true. I'm not your mother."
"That is not what I said," Kouji stated. "I said 'it's not the same'. My biological mom may have given birth to me, but you've raised me. You're just as important to me."
"Kouji…" Tears were about to spill from Mrs. Minamoto's eyes again but for a different reason this time.
"I know I haven't been the best son," Kouji continued. "You had to deal with me and my attitude all this time. It must've been difficult. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything."
"You don't have to apologize for-,'' Mrs. Minamoto began, but Kouji interrupted.
"But I do! You've been raising me for all these years, while I've been rejecting you like a disease. It wasn't right, and I shouldn't have done that to you," Kouji broke eye contact with his mother and looked embarrassed. "You're important to me, Mom. I love you."
Mrs. Minamoto couldn't contain herself anymore and ran up to her son, hugging him tight. Her whole body was trembling with happiness. Although Kouji gave her flowers calling her mom, and their relationship was improving, she still felt some tension. But now after hearing her son's sincere words, the final barrier broke between them. Kouji has truly accepted her as his mother.
"I love you too, Kouji…," Tears couldn't stream from Mrs. Minamoto's eyes. It was one of the happiest things she ever heard. "You're the best son I've ever had."
Kouji awkwardly hugged her back. He still wasn't used to openly expressing his feelings, but this felt like the right thing to do. He meant what he said and loved his stepmom. Mrs. Minamoto was a critical part of his life, and he didn't want her to go. He could have two moms, and she's family.
"I've just been going to my other mom to help my brother," Kouji stated as they separated from the hug. "He says my presence helps with her health."
"Your older brother?" Mrs. Minamoto's eyes widened. "You have a brother?"
"Oh right. I guess you don't know," Kouji then explained how he met his older twin brother, Koichi. He started with their first meeting at the Shibuya Train Station. At first, the Bearer of Light was shocked to see someone who had the same face as him. It then led to some truths, disputes, and fighting.
He didn't say anything relating to the Digital World, but he did say enough for Mrs. Minamoto to get the picture. When the fighting ended, there was just confusion and distance. But as time went by, they started to bond and get to know each other, becoming closer. After a big event leading Koichi into a hospital ER, they wanted to be in each other's lives and scheduled meetings at the Kimura's residence for them and Ms. Kimura. The brothers have been talking ever since.
When Kouji finished the story, Mrs. Minamoto took a second to take everything in but then smiled.
"I approve," She said. "You should keep visiting your mom and brother."
"Really!" Kouji responded, surprised and a little happy. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. You have the opportunity to get to know a family you barely knew. I want you to take it."
"Thank Mom!" Kouji took the initiative this time and hugged his mother. "You're the best!"
Mrs. Minamoto hugged back. Her eyes were gentle. She had never seen her son so affectionate before, and it made her happy as well.
"Now what just a minute," Mr. Minamoto interjected. He was swept up by the feelings of happiness between mother and son, but when his wife approved Kouji to continue visiting the Kimuras, he came back to reality. "I don't approve of this!"
Mrs. Minamoto pulled away from the hug and looked at her husband strangely. "And why not?"
"Tomoko Kimura is my ex-wife," Mr. Minamoto answered. "We both agree never to see each other again, and I don't want Kouji to be spending time with her either! I'm actually surprised that you're okay with this?"
"I'd be lying if I said I am completely okay with this," Mrs. Minamoto said. "But I knew what I signed up for when I married into your family. Tomoko is also Kouji's mother, and he has the right to meet and think about her."
"I don't care! We have a great life, and I don't want her ruining it!" Mr. Minamoto's tone became angrier. "If you're going to allow something, you should at least talk about it together with me first."
Mrs. Minamoto was surprised at her husband's rejection. Her husband really didn't like the idea of anything to do with his ex-wife, and she turned to look at Kouji.
His face showed clear anger, but there was something more underneath: hurt and longing. It felt like someone took his lollipop and whacked him in the face with it.
Mrs. Minamoto always thought that she was the problem that Kouji never opened up to her. She wasn't his biological mother after all, but maybe she wasn't the problem. Seeing her husband's rejection and son's pain made her think differently.
Mr. Minamoto was letting the separation of his first wife affect him and forcing his stance on Kouji. It wasn't right, and she had to do something!
"You're right," Mrs. Minamoto agreed. "We should talk about this. Let's start with lying about your ex-wife being dead. Could you tell me why you told me she passed away when she was actually a few towns over?"
"Ummm," Mr. Minamoto was silent. He did not expect this conversation to go there.
"I mean lying to our son is one thing," Mrs. Minamoto continued. "But lying to me, your wife. You do realize I would've still married you even if she was alive, right?"
Mr. Minamoto's whole body started to sweat.
"And there's a brother too. A twin in fact," Mrs. Minamoto wasn't done yet. "When were you ever going to tell me about this?"
"I didn't want you and Kouji to find out," Mr. Minamoto replied in a consoling tone. His wife looked like on the verge of erupting, and he tried his best to calm her. The man never seen her like this before, so he was walking on uncharted territory. "I hoped my sons would never meet each other at all."
"Hoped they wouldn't meet?" Mrs. Minamoto looked at her husband incredulously. "They only live a few train rides over and are twins! They literally have the same face! It was only going to be a matter of time until they found each other."
"It worked for years. I hoped it lasted for a lifetime. I never wanted to be involved with my ex-wife again. This is my family matter. You shouldn't even care about this! It doesn't concern you."
Silence followed. The sound of a nut cracking broke inside Mrs. Minamoto's head. Her husband just stepped on a landmine.
"Family. Matters. It. Doesn't. Concern. Me?" She iterated each word slowly in calm anger. Her body trembled.
"OF COURSE IT CONCERNS ME!" Mrs. Minamoto yelled in explosive fury. "HOW COULD THIS NOT AFFECT ME? HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT!"
The woman then ranted and lectured her husband on family and communication! If Kouji was affected by his dad's "family matters", then it affected her too. The boy was her son, and she was going to fight for him!
Mrs. Minamoto gave the man an earful and vented out all of her frustrations on the current situation. She told him the importance of family communication, how stupid it was to hide the fact that his ex-wife was alive, and to think about the well-being of their child. Some of the furniture vibrated a little due to the shouting.
Kouji looked at his mom in surprise and shock. He's never seen her this angry before. He always thought she was a kind, but meek woman. Not anymore. This was a new experience for him, and he wasn't the only one.
For every sentence, Mrs. Minamoto shouted, her husband's figure got smaller and smaller. For one of the rarest moments in his life, Mr. Minamoto felt intimidated. He has never seen his wife so angrily passionate before. The sight left him amazed and scared all at the same time.
What seemed like hours but actually a couple of minutes, Mrs. Minamoto stopped shouting, breathing heavily. All of the tension left her body. She felt a lot lighter now.
"I understand what you're saying," Mr. Minamoto said, trying not to look scared by her previous outburst. "But I still don't see why letting Kouji keep seeing Tomoko and Koichi is important to our family."
"Seriously?" Mrs. Minamoto looked at her husband in exasperation. "Just by Kouji meeting them has made our family better. Or have you not noticed our son being more open with us?"
Mr. Minamoto went silent after that. He hated to admit it, but their son has been more open with them lately. Let alone the boy's loving words to his mother a few minutes ago, Kouji looked happier now. For every family walks or dinners they had, he didn't seem so mindful of their presence anymore and even talked with them while smiling. He always thought it had something to do with their one-on-one talk he had with him calling Mrs. Minamoto mom, but maybe it was something more.
Looking back, Kouji becoming more open and calling his stepmother mom for the first time did start when he left for long hours at a time to meet his biological mother and twin brother. Did meeting them make Kouji a better person?
Mr. Minamoto started to feel some guilt in his heart since he was the one who told Kouji his mom was dead but shook it off. No matter what was said or done. Tomoko was still his ex-wife, and he wanted his family to have nothing to do with her. His pride wouldn't let him.
Mrs. Minamoto witnessed all of her husband's expressions. Her anger was rising once more. She knew what he was thinking.
"Kouji, could you take Garm for a walk right now?" She asked. "I need to have a talk with your father alone."
"Sure…," Kouji answered, understanding his mother's implied meaning. "I'll take him to the park and be back in 30 minutes."
"Make it 45 and bring your cell phone with you in case of emergencies, sweetheart." Mrs. Minamoto said kindly then turned her attention to her husband glaring at him.
"You and I are going to have a very long and detailed conversation about this."
…
Kouji never knew what his parents exactly discussed while he was walking Garm. When he came back, his dad consented. There were still some other details they had to work out, but the boy was allowed to keep visiting Ms. Kimura and Koichi.
It made the boy ecstatic, and the final barriers between them broke. Kouji has never loved his family more. It was a day he'll never forget- especially his mom's aggressive outburst. Or what he liked to call it: Mama Bear Mode.
Usually Mrs. Minamoto was a kind and gentle woman. She liked to worry and coddle her son which was extremely annoying to Kouji most of the time. But if something were to happen to him and his well-being, she would unleash ferocity. For such a quiet woman, she had a voice that could cause a building to quake.
Mr. Minamoto and Kouji learned a very important lesson:: Do NOT activate Mama Bear Mode. Mr. Minamoto witnessed it first hand personally and still shudders to this day. He would never hide anything from his wife ever again.
Luckily, Mama Bear Mode rarely happens. Back then, Mr. Minomoto lied about his ex-wife being dead, made Kouji's mental state a mess, and basically told his current wife she wasn't part of the family. Those three factors really did put her over the edge.
It was a new experience, and Kouji's respect for his mother went up a few levels. In some ways, Mama Bear Mode was awesome, but he didn't want to be on the front end on that stick. So he made sure not to make his mom too angry.
"Earth to Kouji," Izumi waved her arm in front of Kouji's face trying to get his attention.
"Huh?" Kouji snapped out of his thoughts. "Sorry, Was thinking about my family. What were you saying?"
"I asked how were your language classes going?" Izumi said.
"Oh? They're going great! I can speak around 8 different languages. I haven't completely mastered the pronunciations of all of them yet, but I can hold a decent conversation."
"I figured as much…," Izumi sighed. "Then why does Takuya have trouble with just mastering one?"
"You know Takuya is more of a physical and instinctual kind of guy, right?" Kouji answered, smirking. "He's not a person who can sit still while learning."
"Still though! How is he going to survive in Italy if he can't speak the language?" Izumi grabbed her head in frustration. "He's driving me crazy!"
"And yet, you still tutor him." Kouji pointed out. "It's almost like you want him to drive you crazy."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Come on, Izumi," Kouji said, flatly. "You've been tutoring him for eight months. If he was that annoying and hopeless, you would have given up a long time ago, but you haven't. Face it. Out of all of us, you like spending time with the idiot the most."
"I do not!" Izumi countered. "If any of you guys needed my help, I would do it no matter how long it takes."
"Really?" Kouji asked, raising his eyebrow. "What about that time when I asked you for help in learning Italian and we stopped after one month?"
"That's different," Izumi responded. "When I taught you, you were incredibly quick to learn the language. In just two short weeks, you already mastered the core words and sentences. After a month, you basically could speak Italian fluently. There was no need for me to keep teaching you."
Kouji gave her that. For some reason, learning foreign languages came extremely easily to him. He had to thank his parents for making him take all those language pronunciation classes. Still though, his friend's logical reasoning left him unconvinced.
"I'm just saying you two hanging out together for so long looks pretty suspic-" Kouji stopped mid-sentence as he pulled a branch away. "Whoa."
"What is it?" Izumi asked and looked past the leaves. "Commozione!"
In front of them was a clear walkable space. The trees were lined up perfectly making a straight pathway, but it wasn't the surprising part. The ground was littered with wild plants. Each plant had Japanese eggplants hanging off their branches. There seemed to be no end to them and by looking at the number of the overgrown wildlife, the vegetable could feed a family for weeks.
"Look at all these eggplants!" Izumi said, amazed. "I guess with no one around they can grow unimpeded."
"Yeah…," Kouji scanned the area warily. "Nature can be crazy sometimes."
Izumi was about to keep walking, but Kouji grabbed her shoulder, stopping her.
"Kouji?" She said, "Something wrong?"
"We should go around," Kouji replied, surveying the trees and plants. His eyes stopped at a Japanese grass lizard on a tree. The small creature had a dull brown body except for its head and gray hands.
"Why?" Izumi inquired. "This is the easiest path I've seen so far and your beast spirit is just a few minutes walk deeper after we exit the path."
The lizard twitched.
"It's because it's the easiest path that I find strange." Kouji picked up a very pointy rock on the ground. His eyes never left the reptile, and he yelled quickly. "You might not know what will attack you in the open!"
Without warning, Kouji threw the rock at the lizard. The rocky projectile pierced through the air like a throwing dagger. If it connected, the poor little reptile would be killed.
Izumi felt confused. Why was her friend who likes to travel going to kill a small little grass lizard? The reptiles were practically harmless.
It wasn't until a fractal field appeared, and the lizard transformed into a menacing dragon that Izumi understood.
The reptile was a Digimon!
What's going on? Who's that lizard that transformed into a dragon?
To Find Out, Tune in next time on Digimon Frontier 2: Fractal Fusion.
Preview: Worst Ways to Go