Howdy, everyone. Been a while so I hope you guys have all been well. Back with the continuation of this story. Hope you like it.

There was nothing more heavenly than a warm bowl of ramen.

The first sip of broth followed by the first slurp of noodles was the perfect thing for many occasions – a weary traveler on a long journey, a reprieve from a cold winter's night and someone in need of comfort. All the other ingredients – the chashu pork, the green onions, menma, narutomaki and bean sprouts – added their own perks, but the noodles would always be the star of the show. Once that first slurp of noodles went down, everything that you thought was wrong with the world ceased to exist.

Ichigo Motomiya savored every slurp of his bowl of noodles. Oh, how he missed tasting his dad's noodles after what seemed like a long time to him. Tears continued falling down the young boy's cheeks. He was back home. After having nothing but a bowl of rice three meals a day at Master Gennai's house, this was heaven on earth. Sometimes Master Gennai would feel generous enough on occasion to give them a protein such as beef, pork, chicken or tempura to go with their rice. Most of the time, they only got the plain bowl of rice. If anyone dared to complain about it, they were dismissed from the dining room and had to go into training or to bed without any food.

All the other kids sat quietly, savoring their food. Kazuma had tears in his eyes as he clearly savored each bite of his grilled cheese sandwich. Yuki and Kenya alternated between sipping glasses of cold green tea and biting into grilled chicken sandwiches with lettuce. The Ichijouji siblings ate egg salad sandwiches, as did the Izumis. Keiko was eating grilled cheese too. His cousin Makoto and the younger kids, along with the other Mr. Ishida, were sent back down to the courtyard so that they could all be alone together for a while.

Ichigo was so lost in his world that he almost neglected the conversation going on a few rows down from him. His dad and the other adults were talking with his cousins.

"We were all just minding our business when a Numemon appeared and threw its...you know," said Masato. "After that, it was complete chaos."

"That's the understatement of the century," said Shun. "Long story short, we heard a voice coming through the portal that appeared. We went into it and arrived in the Digital World."

"And what in the world would cause you to want to enter a portal after all the stories we've told you kids?" Mr. Kamiya asked. Ichigo could sense that he was trying to stay calm, but there was some disappointment mixed in it.

Ichigo even caught his dad shaking his head with the same disappointed air despite noticing the calm, serious look in his dad's eyes. It was the kind of look he had when he was waiting for the noodles to be at the right temperature.

Ryuji opened his mouth to speak, but when everyone turned to listen, it looked like he froze from the attention. Ichigo wanted to say something to help, but he wasn't able to speak either. Being home and safe made everything emotional. Luckily, Miya answered.

"Ryuji sensed the need to follow the voice. We didn't have a choice. We had to follow and tried to get him to come back, but the portal closed and…" She trailed off and looked at her brother unsure of how to finish. "Even if we were able to bring Ryuji back before the portal closed, it would have happened again no matter what."

Mr. Izumi, Mr. Ichijouji and Mr. Kamiya listened closely to Yuki and his cousins who piped up to fill in the gaps as they recounted the rest of what happened. Hopefully they didn't blame him for the Tortomon chasing them.

"And Ichi thought it would be a good idea to poke this rock with a stick. It turned out to be a Digimon and boy was it mad because it chased us through the forest."

Thanks a lot, Masa.

Ichigo sipped on his water and bit into the chicken cutlet sandwich he had next to his ramen. His dad made that one for him as the other adults cooked for the group. His dad was the best chef in the whole world. Not just for noodles, but everything else too. Ichigo never wanted to be far away from his dad's cooking ever again.

"What happened next, boys?" asked Mr. Izumi.

"Master Gennai rescued us," replied Shun.

The adults at the table stopped eating. "Master Gennai?" they all exclaimed.

No one said a word for a moment. Ichigo swallowed his bite to say something. His cousins looked like they were having a hard time setting up their next words.

"He was nothing like the Gennais you guys knew," Shun beat Ichigo to the punch. "This version was really mean. If we so much as complained about something, he'd punish us. If we complained about the food we were given, he'd make us either train or go to bed on an empty stomach. If we complained about training, he'd yell at us. He told us we were trash from the moment we met him."

The room went silent once again. Based on the looks his dad and the other adults gave each other, Ichigo knew that they were not happy to hear that. He couldn't blame them. He would be happy if he never went back to see Master Gennai ever again. He wanted to stay here at home, where it was safe, and be with his dad.

"Admittedly, he was a bit off," Masato added. "But to be fair to him, he had no experience training and we were the first humans he had ever interacted with. It was a learning experience for all of us. He got better as time went on. Promise."

That eased the tense atmosphere just a hair. The other adults did not say anything. Ichigo had to guess that they were still not comfortable about Master Gennai and what he was like. It was the uncensored truth. Ichigo never wanted to see him again after all that. He hoped that there were no questions about their marks either. His dad would freak out about what his mark implied.

"Why was he that way?" asked Mr. Kamiya. "That sounds nothing like the Gennais we knew."

"Are you kidding? Young Gennai was a total creep," said Mrs. Ichijouji. "Remember how he'd try to flirt with–?"

"Another time, dear," said Mr. Ichijouji. He rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous smile.

Yuki answered Mr. Kamiya's question. "We learned that a part of him was corrupted by King Drasil as his data was being reconfigured into his new form," he explained. "He'd be fine, he'd be talking with us, and then he'd completely glitch out. There was no way of determining when it was coming on. The part of him that was good ended up being personified in a Digimon called Calumon."

Another brief amount of silence went by. Mr. Izumi was now the one asking questions as he sipped on his glass of oolong tea.

"So, this Master Gennai is now in the form of two beings: Master Gennai and this Calumon?" he asked.

Yuki, Shun and Masato nodded.

"And King Drasil officially took over the Digital World?"

Every one of the kids joined in nodding as well.

"Any news of Homeostasis?"

Masato and Yuki shook their heads.

The other adults had dark shadows cast over them. Clearly it bothered them because of what happened when Homeostasis took away their powers. His dad in particular seemed bothered by what he heard. Ichigo put his hand on his dad's arm to try and make him feel better. Davis smiled back at him.

Mr. Ichijouji hung his head low, his eyes filled with remorse. "It's my fault," he said.

"Dear, stop that," his wife softly scolded.

"We were busy with more important things at the time," said Kazu's father. "We could not be in two places at once. Besides, all of us are at fault for our failures, Ken. Not just you."

Mr. Ichijouji nodded softly. Even so, the sad expression on his face never wavered. He pulled Ryuji in for a tight hug. The boy allowed himself to be held. Good. The last thing Ichigo wanted to deal with was one of Ryuji's freakouts. He experienced more than his fair share of them when he had to room with him at Master Gennai's house.

That was when Mr. Kamiya stood. There was an urgent cadence in his manner, one of desperation and anger, as he addressed the adults in the room.

"We messed up. Because of that our kids were targeted. My daughter saw an uninvited Digimon in our bedroom that could have attacked us, but it didn't. It was a message sent from King Drasil to taunt us, just like when we lost our powers. All because we couldn't let Ken do his job."

That made Ichigo's blood freeze. What was about to happen? The only time he saw that same look from Mr. Kamiya was in the Digimon manga series that Mr. Takaishi wrote - it was eerily similar. Every word that was spoken was as if life itself hung in the balance.

"Tai," Mr. Ishida growled. "Stop. We get the urgency."

"Do you?" Mr. Kamiya snapped. "We were forced to go through this alone, but that doesn't mean that they have to."

Mr. Ishida shot to his feet, meeting him with the same amount of energy. "We never insinuated that we would let them go through this alone." He turned to the kids with the same wild look in his eyes as Mr. Kamiya had. "Got it? No one goes back without us. You move when we do."

Ichigo breathed, unaware that he was holding his breath. That was exactly what he wanted to hear. He didn't want to use his gift only to give up a little of his life each time. That was scary. That was scarier than the scariest horror movie in the world. Then again, he didn't want any of his friends or cousins to die fighting either. He had to help somehow. Either way he looked at it, he couldn't make up his mind what he wanted, but the only thing he knew for sure was that if he could avoid dying, he would do his best to do just that.

Yuki shot right up and stared at Mr. Ishida with indignation. "That's not fair, Mr. Ishida. You guys had your time. This is our responsibility. Let us handle it."

No. What was Yuki doing? He was going to ruin everything!

"Sit down, Yuki," Mr. Kamiya chided. "I'm the leader of this group and an adult. All the stories you've heard from us will never amount to any experience for you to use."

"No, Dad," Yuki responded with just as much force. "I'm the leader of my group and Masato is second-in-command. He and I are united in our belief that we do this by ourselves."

"Overruled," Mr. Kamiya stated with his brows furrowed. "If you won't accept my authority as the leader, then accept my authority as your father."

"No!" Yuki firmly repeated. "I'm responsible for this group, fair and square. You had your time, and now I have mine."

"Yuki!"

"Dad!"

Ichigo winced and hugged his dad. This was becoming too intense.

Mr. Ishida now stood at Mr. Kamiya's side, looking the orange-haired boy over with disapproval. "What don't you get, Yuki? Maybe that's what everyone agreed on, but surprise, surprise! This isn't a video game! Everyone's lives are at stake! Everyone in this room could die the moment someone hesitates! Sit down and let the grown ups talk!"

"Matt!" Mrs. Ishida reprimanded her husband. "That was uncalled for."

"The hell it was," Mr. Kamiya responded. "Matt's right. Here's the plan - "

"The plan," Yuki interrupted, unphased, "is to follow through with what we agreed on with Master Gennai. Right, Masato?"

"Oh, man, Yuki," Masato groaned. Ichigo knew his cousin didn't like going against the adults. "I mean, I'm with you, but you have to admit that they're the ones that have been through this multiple times. We should let them have some say in this."

"Traitor!"

"I'm not a traitor! This is reality!"

Wait a minute. Why was his dad gently pushing him away? A small gasp escaped him. Why was his dad standing? He didn't like where this was going. His dad was supposed to protect him. Why did he get the feeling that he was going to side with the adults?

"If we're going to play this game," Davis answered with full authority, "I'm the leader of my group. They move when I say, but if I would have pulled that same stunt that you're trying to do, Yuki, I would've gotten them all seriously injured or worse."

Mr. Takaishi stood as well and added, "Look at me. Look at what all I did that caused me to lose my position to Davis. Don't go down that road. It won't end well."

"Oh, come on, Uncle TK," said Yuki. "This is getting dumb. That's not what I'm saying. We made an agreement to go back in -"

Ichigo's jaw dropped as he watched Mr. Ichijouchi stand and cut Yuki off with just as much authority. "I'll join this game too. I'm the Chosen One. I had every right to challenge Tai, TK when he was the leader, and Davis. I could have stated my case and took over. In hindsight, if I did, we could have possibly avoided this future. But we didn't and there's no point in lamenting on what could have happened. It doesn't look like anyone here was appointed the new chosen one, or someone would have spoken up by now."

Ichigo's throat tightened. He wasn't the new Chosen One and he was grateful. At the same time, it almost felt like that.

"Despite that," Mr. Ichijouji took a step forward booming, "do you think I had the audacity to disrespect them? How I wished we had an adult with experience that would have guided us through this. So for you to be so closed-minded shows poor judgment of being a leader in itself. Tai is the leader and that's that."

Yuki's answer made everyone's jaws drop.

"You did. His name was Daigo Nishijima. Not only did you disregard what he told you to do, but you let him walk away. To this day, everyone hides their guilt by chasing after the ghost of a man who doesn't want to be found."

Ichigo jumped back in fear as he watched Mr. Ishida charge towards Yuki ready to slap him, letting out every colorful word in the book. Mrs. Ishida and Mrs. Kamiya dashed over and pulled Mr. Ishida back by his arms. Mr. Kamiya pulled Yuki in the opposite direction to safety while verbally reprimanding him. Ichigo tried to slow his breathing. He noticed the rest of the group's reaction. Some shook their heads, clearly upset with Yuki, while others shouted their disagreement with either Mr. Kamiya or Yuki. That caused the remaining adults to bicker with each other on what was the clear answer here. It was clear this entire room was divided. This was something Ichigo never thought would happen. All his life they had all been one big happy family. That whole image was now in tatters. What was the whole point of this argument in the first place?

"No! I'm not staying quiet anymore!" Yuki shouted. "This is everyone's perfect excuse to get back to being Destined Jedi again - something everyone here can't come to terms with. It's our time to shine. Don't take this away from me."

"What is your problem, Yuki?" Masato shouted. "This whole time, everything has been all about you. You wanted to be the leader and told everyone you'd listen, but right now we're back to square one. Leaders lead, but they also listen." He took a deep breath. "We're in over our heads here. What is the problem of our parents coming with us? Ever heard of 'there's strength in numbers'? And now you're disrespecting them and practically insinuating that Mrs. Ishida should've died? What the fuck?"

"Language!" Uncle Joe shouted.

"The fuck with formalities!" Masato yelled back.

"Don't you dare talk to your father that way, Masato Kido!" Aunt Jun chimed in.

"I never insinuated for her to die!" Yuki said horrified. He turned to Mr and Mrs. Ishida and Kazu. "I never said that!"

SLAP!

Ichigo slapped a hand over his mouth. He couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. Mrs. Kamiya had marched over and slapped Yuki across his face. The room went so quiet that the second hand on the kitchen wall clock could be heard ticking away. Yuki didn't move. It was like he was stunned, just like everyone else. That was when Mrs. Kamiya got down on her knees and pulled Yuki into a tight hug. Ichigo could hear her crying into his neck.

"You listen to me, Yuki Kamiya," Mrs. Kamiya said, her voice quivering. Was that fear? Nervousness? Anger? All of the above? Ichigo couldn't tell, but one thing was for sure, she was in charge now. "I love you. I love you with all my heart. You are my life. You are my second son. My athlete of all four of my children. The one that is quick to take care of everyone he loves and defend them to the death. I am so proud of how you helped everyone get through with being in the Digital World, one of the scariest places to be in. I am so proud of you for deciding to step up and lead. This is not one of those times to act.

"What we're trying to say is that if we could trade places to keep you all safe, we'd do it in a heartbeat. We can't and we have to own up to that. That doesn't mean that we're not going to do what we can to pitch in. I adore your passion about this, so consider this your first lesson: Just because you're the leader of your group and things aren't going your way, it doesn't mean you're allowed to disrespect everyone in this room. That shows poor judgment. Want to lead your group? Learn humility. Allow your father and I to guide you, because the son that I'm hugging right now is not the one I've raised."

Ichigo then watched Mrs. Kamiya run her fingers through his hair a few times to eventually tilt Yuki's chin up for their eyes to meet. She kissed his forehead and waited for a response.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Yuki muttered while lowering his eyes in shame. "I'm trying to make you and Dad proud."

Was that a tear that fell from Mrs. Kamiya's eyes? Why was she crying?

"I'm sorry I slapped you," she said. "I shouldn't have done that."

Yuki and Mrs. Kamiya hugged and Mr. Kamiya joined in. The rest of the adults returned to discussing a new plan, but Ichigo didn't care about that. A wave of jealousy coursed through his body as he watched Yuki and his mother hug.

Yuki had no idea how lucky he was to have a mom that was there to love him and worry about him. Ichigo didn't know what that was like. He never even had the chance to know his mom. Dad always said she left because even though she loved them, she couldn't cope with having a family. His dad was the best parent in the entire world, but what he wouldn't give to know his mom.

"Tai," said Mr. Ishida, "we need to come up with something and fast."

"Agreed," Mr. Izumi replied. "The Digital World's timeline has sped up again. That messenger can show up at any second to collect them."

Mr. Kamiya stood with his wife and stayed quiet like he was trying to decide. After a few seconds, he seemed to have arrived at an answer. "I was going to say before that we demand we go with the children, but somehow I don't think that's the best route to take. Yuki, do you all have the ability to open portals at will?"

Yuki nodded. "Yes."

"Then there's the answer. There's no need to ask permission, or give the messenger the power to deny our request. We don't have to answer to this messenger. The kids can come and go as they please, so we'll go as is our right as parents and former Destined Jedi."

"No, you won't," came a strange voice from behind everyone.

Ichigo looked in the direction of the voice. He then jumped and screamed. "Daddy!" He clutched his father's arm tightly.

It was a Digimon! A pea green worm-like Digimon with big blue eyes. How did it appear without anyone noticing?

Within a blink of an eye, all of the former and current Destined Jedi immediately activated their lightsabers, except Ichigo. Shun also activated his shield around the entire group. Ichigo's arms shook with fear as he was the last to bring his saber out. It was one thing to fight in the Digital World. It was another doing so in the real world. This was the one place that was supposed to be safe and now even that was not the case.

"Ken Ichijouji," the Digimon called out in a calm manner. "Do you not recognize me?"

Ichigo looked over at Mr. Ichijouji. His eyes were wide with surprise and shock. He deactivated the lightsaber and asked whoever had the ability to create barriers to remove it. Mr. Ichijouji was too busy staring at the Digimon to look around and see which of the kids had created it.

Ichigo could see Shun struggle in not wanting to listen to Mr. Ichijouji, but he did so anyway. Ichigo's heart raced faster than before to the point he thought it would burst out of his chest. He really hoped Shun made the right call.

"Wormmon?" Mr. Ichijouji asked, walking towards the small Digimon with wide eyes. "Is that really you?"

The Digimon smiled. "My, have you gotten tall."

The man picked up the Digimon and hugged it with glee. "Wormmon! I've missed you. Boy, there were times I really needed you."

The worm type Digimon nuzzled its cheek against Mr. Ichijouji. "I've always been with you."

"Are you the messenger?" Ichigo asked.

He couldn't help it. Normally he wouldn't have spoken out of turn, but he had to know if they were supposed to go back. He didn't want to. It was too soon. He still wanted to take a bath and eat more food. If it was time, he didn't know what he would do.

Wormmon climbed off of Mr. Ichijouji and crawled into the middle of the group. Everyone had withdrawn their lightsabers already to see what message it brought.

"Yes," it said. "Calumon asked that I come in his place." The worm took a deep breath before looking at the children. "Stay put, Destined Jedi. Do not return."

Ichigo tried to keep himself from smiling. That's exactly what he wanted to hear, but he didn't want to show it to give anyone the wrong idea. Especially since both Yuki and Masato were visibly concerned by this news.

"What?" they replied.

"Forget what," Mr. Izumi intervened. "Why? What's happening now?"

Wormmon's eyes had a reflection of sadness. It seemed to take a moment to gather its thoughts before responding to Mr. Izumi's question.

"The temporary parley has passed. Master Gennai's home was located and destroyed. Luckily, he and Calumon escaped before it was found and are now in a new hiding area. They are trying to come up with a new plan before they call you back."

The temperature in the room turned icy cold. Ichigo looked at Yuki and his cousin. Both had sad expressions on their faces now. He too was worried. If Master Gennai's house – the safest place in the Digital World – could be found, then there had to be no safe place left for them. Wherever they were, he hoped that Master Gennai and Calumon were okay.

"How much time has passed?

"Five months."

"Five months?" Mr. Ichijouji repeated in disbelief. "Has the corruption sped up the time even more?"

"Yes," Wormmon confirmed with a nod. "I fear that Homeostasis has been corrupted as well."

Mrs. Takaishi gasped. "No! What does that mean if Homeostasis truly is corrupted?"

Wormmon answered while looking at Mr. Ichijouji. "That our only hope lies with everyone and the Chosen One."

Mr. Ichijouji took a step back and shook his head.

"Wormmon, Homeostasis took all my powers away," Ken said in desperation. "I'm not the Chosen One. You have the wrong former Destined Jedi."

"Ken," Wormmon said with a smile, "Homeostasis always has backup plans. Not once have I ever heard of a prophecy never being fulfilled and from where I stand, you are still the true Chosen One. Don't you still have your lightsaber?"

The man nodded. "Of course I do."

"Do you need to have powers to be a Destined Jedi?"

Mr. Ichijouji looked back at everyone with a smirk. All of them did the same. He then responded to Wormmon. "No."

"Fight, Ken. Master Gennai said to wait for his command, but Calumon also said that when it's time, all Destined Jedi are to report for duty. The Digital World can produce many snakes, but only you can purify my world. Besides, between you and our two new Jedi of Luck and Miracles, it should be easier."

"Luck and Miracles?" all of the adults responded at the same time.

No, Wormmon! Why would you out him like that? He didn't want to! Ichigo shook his head and took a few steps back. He wouldn't. No one could make him.

"Ichigo?" his dad asked with concern.

Keiko stood to speak. "I'm the Destined Jedi of Luck. My ability is that I can see possible futures. It helps loads when we're in a fight."

Mr. and Mrs. Takaishi's brows furrowed as they both grabbed her wrists to search for the mark. It wasn't there. Keiko silently pointed down to her leg and lifted up her left pant leg to show them. Sure enough, they saw the new symbol.

Before Ichigo could sneak away, he felt his dad grab his wrist and pull him back. His heart beat wildly against his chest again. Seeing he had no chance of escaping, he reached down and lowered his left sock to show him. There it was. Caught red handed. He shook his head, not wanting to answer his dad as the look in his eyes asked him what his ability was. He couldn't say it out loud. He didn't want to die early. Not to mention, if he did say it, all the grownups wouldn't let anyone fight. That would make all the kids be upset at him and say it was all his fault.

"Ichigo?"

That was his dad again. Ichigo knew his dad wasn't upset, but he couldn't handle the pressure anymore.

"I don't want to do this anymore!" he screamed.

Huff! Huff! Huff!

Ichigo dropped to his knees and covered his face as he bawled. "I don't want anyone to be mad at me. I played along, but if I keep doing it I'm going to die. I don't want to die!"

It didn't matter that his dad pulled him into a hug and tried to reassure him that everything was going to be okay. He didn't understand. None of the grownups understood.

"You're not listening to me!" Ichigo screamed as he chucked his lightsaber in the general direction of where Wormmon was. "If I use my ability too many times, I'm going to die! It uses my life force!"

"What!" snarled his dad.

The tears blurred Ichigo's vision so he couldn't really see what happened next, but he felt his dad swirl around. It sounded like his dad was addressing Wormmon.

"Are you kidding me!"

Silence. Ichigo wiped his eyes and tried to find Wormmon. The Digimon had vanished and the adults were standing around bewildered. Even his entire group was surprised by what they saw.

Masato held his palms up in front of his chest as if to calm everyone. "I told him we wouldn't let him use his ability anymore. I won't let -"

"Did you use it?" Ichigo's father asked. Fear dripped from the question.

Ichigo only stared at his father, too scared to respond. It was better to be silent right now because that left only two other options – either lie (which he'd never do to his dad) or tell the truth and scare his dad half to death (which he also did not want to do).

"Did you?" He gripped Ichigo's arms and gave a strong, short jerk to emphasize his point. "Ichigo Motomiya, please tell me you didn't use it."

Huff. Huff. Huff.

Ichigo burst into tears again.

"Ichigo!"

"I used it twice!" he blubbered. "I didn't know before that! I swear!"

The room erupted with arguments between the adults and kids. The kids were defending Ichigo. He couldn't figure out if they were saying it because he didn't know until after using his ability twice, or because they were trying to save their butts so they could keep fighting. Either way, he didn't want any part of this anymore.

More tears flowed after seeing Ryuji hiding in Mr. Hida's arms. Ichigo was the reason why this room was a disaster and why Ryuji was not able to handle the noise. Never had anything made him feel lower than dirt in this world than right now.

Ichigo tried to stand to his feet and push away from his dad. He needed to escape to his hideout. He'd run as fast as he could back home and hide in his hideout for the rest of his life. This was too chaotic and scary.

An ear-piercing whistle shot throughout the room. Ichigo yelped and covered his ears from the short pain. Once the noise was finally gone, he looked around. Who did that?

"Excuse me. I have something to say."

That sounded like Mr. Hida. Sure enough, the usually soft-spoken man had risen to his feet and looked at everyone with a look of annoyance. Ichigo had never seen Mr. Hida look like that once in his entire life. It was a stark change from the man he had known for a long time.

He remembered overhearing his dad asking Mr. Ichijouji one time how Mr. Hida was doing with his recovery from alcohol. That was about a year ago. Mr. Hida used to be married too. Ichigo remembered his wife was nice and gave him candy all the time. But then one day they weren't married anymore and Mr. Hida became a sad drunk. Ever since Mr. Hida got help for the alcohol, he became quieter in large settings to the point that Ichigo sometimes forgot he was even there. Because of all that, it was weird to see him whistle like he just did.

"Now isn't the time, Cody," Mr. Kamiya said with agitation. He was rubbing the inside of both his ears with pinkies.

Mr. Hida kissed the top of Ryuji's head as if to comfort him. Ryuji stayed stiff, his body pressed against Mr. Hida's, trying to hide from all the stimulation. Ichigo watched as Mr. Hida stared Mr. Kamiya down, like he was taking charge of the chaos.

"Now is the time," he said. "Look, I know I don't have much of a leg to stand on because I messed up my life and it's taken a long time for me to regain everyone's trust again. But it doesn't take a sober person to see how things are going to go down if the grownups in this room don't learn how to shut up and think straight before speaking."

Ichigo saw all the adults' mouths drop from surprise. He had to admit, he was surprised to hear Mr. Hida be so blunt. He couldn't remember a time when Mr. Hida was anything other than polite and soft-spoken. He looked around the room like he was demanding everyone's attention. It certainly worked.

"If we were normal parents, yes, we'd have every right to panic and be concerned," he continued. "We're not. Everyone in this room was forced to be in this life. We didn't choose it. Our natural instinct is to protect our kids." He looked at the two Ichijouji kids. "Miya and Ryuji are like my own kids since I didn't have any. My instinct is to agree with all of you about not letting them continue our legacy.

"However, we know better than that. This is not a situation where we vote on anything. This is not a 'parent take charge' situation. This is a 'suck it up and allow Ken to fulfill his destiny' kind of situation so this does not continue to our grandchildren and so forth. I don't want to hear anyone's excuse that this or that had to happen and that's why Ken couldn't do it before. We were stressed out kids trying to figure out how to save another world. It's done and over with. This is a new day. Move on. Is that clear?"

The entire room was silent. A few seconds later, Mr. Hida repeated his last line like a military drill sergeant. That got a few reluctant 'yes's, but not much else. Why wasn't Mr. Kamiya disagreeing? Ichigo liked that idea better. The adults should be fighting. Not him and his friends. They had the experience.

Hold on. Why wasn't his dad arguing either? This was too much. He couldn't take this anymore. His dad must have sensed he was about to run away, but instead of yelling, Ichigo was pulled into his lap and hugged. Was his dad crying? Oh no! He didn't mean to make his dad cry. Ichigo tried to wipe his tears away.

"Don't cry, Daddy," Ichigo whispered as he weeped as well. "We're going to get out of this together."

That did the opposite of what he intended. His dad hugged him tighter.

"Ichigo, I'm going to make this right with Ken. Nothing is going to happen to you. I swear it."

"I'm not Mom, Dad," Ichigo's tears continued to flow. "I'm not going to disappear one day like her. Please stop crying."

Ichigo felt his dad's body tense for a few seconds. He then felt a kiss on his cheek. Next thing he knew, his dad had a teary, sad smile as he gave another kiss on his forehead.

"That's right. You're not your mother," said his dad. "You are Ichigo Motomiya, my beautiful son with a heart of gold. We're going to get through this together."

He then looked over at Mr. Ichijouji. For the first time in Ichigo's life, he saw a fierce look of determination on his father's face. It looked similar to the way he was drawn in Mr. Takaishi's manga during a battle.

"Ken, it's time to step up. State that case you mentioned earlier."

Wait. His dad didn't say that. It was Mr. Hida who did.

Ichigo stayed in the safety of his father's lap as he watched Mr. Ichijouji stand with a new sense of confidence and determination. He walked over to Mr. Kamiya and bowed.

"Tai, it's been an honor being on this team." Mr. Ichijouji then turned to Ichigo's dad and bowed once more. "I couldn't be more proud than to have you as my best friend and leader."

Mr. Kamiya and Ichigo's father both cocked an eyebrow upward. It was Mr. Kamiya who spoke.

"What's going on, Ken?"

Mr. Ichijouji returned to bowing in front of Mr. Kamiya again. "Please know that I will always respect your position as our overall leader, Tai. And Davis being the head of my group. What I'm about to say is in regards to the prophecy and the safety of our children."

"Dude, spill it," Ichigo's father responded in a calm manner. "It's okay."

Mr. Kamiya held Mr. Ichijouji's arms when he wouldn't move from his bowed position and stood him up. That half grin showed, though it was clearly tired. "I think I know what you're about to say, but say your peace, Ken."

It felt like eternity until Mr. Ichijouji found his voice again.

"A true leader doesn't always have to lead on the battlefield. They could be the mastermind behind the scenes."

There was a few seconds of silence before Mr. Kamiya and Ichigo's father nodded.

"That's right," Mr. Kamiya agreed.

"I want to be - No. I am going to be a new leader. Not one that is replacing either of you. Consider me third-in-command overall, but first in command on the battlefield. In terms of the prophecy, this is going to keep happening until I finish the job, but we can all agree that we don't have the best history of letting me do that. I swear, I won't become the Digimon Emperor again because I've dealt with my past. Everything that Cody said is the truth. We have to suck it up and keep our kids alongside us when Calumon calls them all back to fight."

Mr. Ichijouji held out a hand to Mr. Kamiya. "Are you with me on ending all of it this time around?"

Ichigo hopped off his father's lap when he felt his dad wanting to stand. He watched him walk over to the other two to join in the conversation.

"Davis?" Mr. Kamiya turned to Ichigo's father with a smile. "It makes sense to me. What do you think?"

His father nodded. "Yeah, dude. Totally." He then turned his attention to the rest of the adults. "Are we all in agreement here? As fun as it would be for the three of us to do this ourselves, I think we stand a better chance by being in this together."

A resounding 'yes' echoed from the adults. Mr. Kamiya and Ichigo's father each took turns shaking Mr. Ichijouji's hand in agreement. That was when Ichigo watched his dad yank Mr. Ichijouji close while still holding onto the handshake. He leaned in to whisper in his ear. It was low, but Ichigo was close enough to still hear it.

"Keep our kids safe," he said. "No matter what, bring my baby home to me. If you let him use that ability, I'll take you out myself. He's all I have left."

Mr. Ichijouji looked at his dad with fire in his eyes. "I swear on my life."

There was a silent exchange between the three. Ichigo couldn't make out what it meant. It must have been one of those things that only grownups understood. Ichigo didn't have much time to ponder because Ken turned to face the kids.

"Listen up!" Ken commanded the room. "Yuki, Masato, you both may have created your own leadership, and I'll respect that. However, I'm now your group's, and everyone else's groups, leader the second we go back to the Digital World. When we find the new snake, I'll be the one to kill it. I don't care if you have the perfect opportunity. No one moves. When we figure out how to complete the final part of this prophecy, I'll be the one to do it. Is that clear?"

Yuki and Masato glanced at each other before nodding in agreement.

"No one goes to the Digital World without me or an adult," Mr. Ichijouji continued. "This isn't a power trip. We all have to work together or someone is going to get hurt. I need everyone to tell me which of you have what abilities, other than Keiko and Ichigo."

One by one each of the next generation of Jedi exposed their ability. Each time Mr. Ichijouji nodded and silently thought to himself. Maybe he was strategizing. That was the only thing Ichigo could guess. When Masato revealed that he was still waiting for his to appear and what he suspected it was, Mr. Ichijouji frowned, but appeared to accept it, at least for now.

"Ichigo."

Ichigo snapped to attention. That was Mr. Ichijouji calling out to him.

"Yes sir?"

"Your strategy is to be a warrior. You're not to use your ability under any circumstances or there will be consequences, ones that your dad won't argue with me about."

"I fully agree," Davis said. "You have my full support, Ken."

Ichigo felt his face pale. Masato told him the same. He was mostly grateful to hear it, but what if the one time he didn't and someone died? He didn't know how to feel anymore. "I don't…have full control over it. It's not like I want to use it anyway."

"You can't…control it?" Mr. Ichijouji repeated like he was concerned. He looked to Ichigo's father, who gave the same expression, then back to Ichigo. He was clearly at a loss for words.

"He can't." Masato came to his rescue. Good ol' Masato. "Master Gennai said it activates when we're about to lose all hope in a battle."

"Any warning signs before it's activated?" Mr. Ichijouji asked Ichigo.

"The world goes quiet. I glow this white hot color and then I black out."

"This is our new strategy," Mr. Ichijouji announced to the kids. "If it ever gets to that point, Miya, you're going to slow down time so one of the others can open a portal and we escape. End of story. I don't care how much adrenaline we've all pumped up. I don't care if we only needed a few more seconds. When there's no way to escape, Miya is slowing down time. Understood?"

The kids stayed quiet and looked at each other. Why didn't they say anything? They hated him, didn't they? Just like all his classmates didn't like him because of who his dad was and the fact that he was half Korean. They also teased him about his mom leaving. He was holding them all back.

Mr. Ichijouji stood still, waiting for an answer and no one was agreeing. Before Ichigo could burst into tears again, Ryuji left Mr. Hida's hug and joined the group again.

"Okay," Ryuji softly said.

"Okay," Yuki and Masato said. Both looked to the rest of the group, expecting them all to answer.

The rest of the group looked nervous, but every single one of them agreed.

"We all need to take turns joining in when they go," Mr. Ishida said.

Mr. Ichijouji nodded. "I wouldn't have it any other way," he agreed.

He then walked across the room and picked up an object. What was it? His back was blocking Ichigo's view. Why was everyone now looking at him? When the new squad leader faced Ichigo, he saw the object was his own lightsaber.

Ichigo gulped. He wasn't sure, but this moment felt significant. That feeling grew when Mr. Ichijouji knelt in front of him and held the lightsaber out, waiting for him to take it.

"I'm scared," Ichigo's voice trembled, but he didn't take the lightsaber.

Mr. Ichijouji held Ichigo's right cheek and gently caressed it with a thumb. With a soothing voice, he responded, "Me too."

"You? Scared?" Ichigo almost couldn't believe it. "You're one of the bravest Destined Jedi to ever live. If you had your abilities back, you could absorb anyone else's and be stronger."

Mr. Ichijouji's smile didn't move an inch.

"Even when I could, it didn't mean I still wasn't scared. Ichigo, I would rather be scared and be in a group that supported each other than pretend to save the world on my own. Stick next to me when we fight. Besides," he winked after removing his hand and offered the lightsaber again," I bet you're just as cool with your moves as your dad was."

Cool moves like his dad? A small smirk snuck in. "I guess I do," Ichigo said as he took his lightsaber back and clipped it to his waist.

"Yeah, you do," Ichigo's dad laughed and messed up his hair in jest.

Mr. Ichijouji chuckled as he stood and looked over at Mr. Kamiya. All he did was nod. Mr. Kamiya returned the nod. Somehow that caused a heavy blanket to cover the room.

No one said a word after that.

This was too emotionally tiring. All he wanted to do was finish eating and go to sleep. He sat in his seat and returned to eating his bowl of now lukewarm ramen. One look around the room after taking a spoonful showed the kids also returned to eating while the adults stood still with worried expressions.

For the time being, he didn't care. He was starving and tired. Ichigo would worry about tomorrow after he woke up in his own bed.

This is only the beginning for the kids. What will happen next? Find out next time on Destined Jedi: Next Generations.

Hope you guys liked it. It was a lot of emotion and tension in there, but all necessary. Music Chick and I have a good plan for what's coming next so be on your toes about that. Next time, we get to decompress a little bit after all that tension over the past couple of chapters.

As always, leave a review and subscribe if you haven't yet. I'll see you guys real soon.

Tootles.