Hey, gang. I'm back. Been a while, I know, but I've got something good for you all today. A nice little decompressing chapter to shed off all that drama from the last couple chapters.

Hope you guys enjoy it.

Shun laid back on the grass with his eyes closed, happily soaking up the warm feeling of the sun beating down on his face. A cool, gentle breeze swept across the grassy plain, cooling him at the same time. After all the craziness from the previous weekend, he needed a peaceful day to bring him back down to earth. This was a peaceful feeling that he could never get in the Digital World because more likely than not, a Digimon would come around to threaten it. Here, there was no such threat at all.

The youngest Kido son opened his eyes and turned his head to the right. Usagi stood at an easel with a canvas on it. She looked to be in deep concentration as she painted the scene before her. They both went away from his parents and older brothers to have some space for her to paint quietly. His mom and dad were all too happy to let them do it while the twins helped set things up back at the campsite.

Shun stood up to take in the view beyond Usagi, the one that she was painting so diligently. Mt. Fuji stood tall in all its glory against the deep, golden afternoon sun. The trees and grass fields leading up to the majestic mountain were a brighter shade of green and the waters of Lake Yamanaka sparkled. If there were ever a paradise on earth, this was it.

"How's it going so far?" he asked.

Usagi stopped painting momentarily to look at him with a hint of annoyance in her eyes. Luckily for him, it seemed good-natured. It reminded him of the look his mother would give him sometimes when he was younger. She was handling this much better than he would if someone was interrupting him practicing the piano.

"It would be going a lot better with some peace and quiet," she said. "An artist needs to stay in the zone when she is working."

She swiped her paint brush across his cheek. Shun took a step back as he let out a chuckle in surprise. He wiped at his cheek, yielding a small bit of phthalo blue paint on his fingers. He wiped it off on his pant leg. Even though the weather was a bit warm, he wore pants to make sure Usagi did not see the Jedi mark above his ankle. She'd probably freak out at the sight of it.

"Sorry," he said, standing just behind her. "Can I watch over your shoulder though?"

Usagi didn't look at him as she answered, "Only if you promise to be quiet."

"Promise."

Shun adjusted his glasses as he watched her paint quietly. The sight of her work took his breath away. It was so detailed and well done that it looked like a photograph – an incomplete one at first, but he could see what it was going to be in the end – or a Bob Ross painting. A smile spread across his face. The afternoon sun accented her brown hair in a way that it looked like a wheat field blowing in the wind. To be next to her after all that time in the Digital World was the perfect antidote to all his harsh experiences.

Something about her form caught his attention. Rather than say something, he reached out and gently grabbed her wrist. Usagi froze and looked at him curiously.

"Your hand was slipping a bit," he explained. He then noticed something else from feeling her wrist. "And your movements feel tense. Relax a little more."

A warm feeling spread across his cheeks thanks to the intensity of her stare. Her gentle blue eyes seemed as though they were looking right through him. It was a feeling he could not really describe in an abstract sense, but it felt like she was admiring him.

"Thanks," she replied in a breathless voice.

Every fiber in Shun's body told him to take advantage of the moment. He probably was never going to get as good of a chance after this. He had better jump on it. His entire body shook as he leaned in…and kissed Usagi on the cheek.

Shun's whole body seized up as he took a step back. A warm feeling then flooded every single part of him once it registered that he just kissed Usagi Minato on the cheek. He had done it. He had done it! His whole face felt like it was on fire as he kept his gaze fixed on her. Usagi seemed confused for a moment. All of a sudden, her whole face turned pink. A smile slowly emerged on her face.

"Wh-What was that?" she said.

Shun smiled back. "I like you, Usagi," he said. "Ever since I first laid eyes on you, I've liked you."

Usagi's face turned a darker shade of pink. Shun felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest. He had just confessed his feelings to the girl he had liked since first grade.

"I like you too, Shun."

His brain instantly shut down. His legs also became jelly. If it weren't for the bones and muscles holding the limbs together, Shun would have collapsed to the ground. He had been wanting to hear those words for a while now and he finally did. He had to be the happiest 13-year-old in Japan right now.

"So…you want to be my girlfriend?" he asked nervously.

Usagi giggled. "Sure." She turned back to her painting. "Aren't you going to make sure that my hand doesn't slip again?"

Shun chuckled. "Sure."

He took a deep breath and watched as Usagi resumed painting. She looked even more beautiful doing it now.

If this was what it felt like to be in love, he wanted to experience it every day.

Kazu closed his eyes as he let the music flow through him. He and his band just came out of the second burst of music at the beginning of their second song before he had a few bars where it was mostly just him. He plucked at his Gibson Thunderbird bass as the drummer behind him tapped on the hi hats. His guitarist then joined in a couple seconds later for the final run into the last burst of music before the first verse.

He and his band, Digital Tiger, were booked to play at a classmate's thirteenth birthday party not long after the whole Digital World episode happened. He was grateful for the chance to jump into a sense of normalcy straight away. Being on stage again after what felt like so long was the best feeling in the world. Kazu wore a black sleeveless shirt with a tiger face on the front, shredded jeans, black wristbands on both arms and his dad's old dog tag necklace. One look at him left no doubt that he was the front man of the band.

Kazu stepped up to the microphone and sang out the words softly.

A girl consumed by fire

We all know her desire

From the plans that she has made

Another burst of music followed and as he began the next part, Kazu could not help but glance over to his right. Naomi and Yuki stood front and center in the crowd of excited twelve and thirteen-year-olds with their eyes fixed on him. They were holding hands, which made him frown until he realized he almost missed his cue.

I have her on a promise

Immerse me in your splendor

All the plans that I have made

The only thing that went through his mind as he sang "This is the one" over and over was how beautiful Naomi looked with her hair done up in a bun. If only he could get over himself and apologize for being an emotional moron that night in the Digital World. He didn't mean to hurt her, but he had to live with the fact that he did. It was driving her further and further into Yuki's arms, where he knew she didn't fully want to be in. Maybe he could get a moment alone with her during a break in the set to try and talk things out.

As the song progressed along, his focus was less on the song and more on Naomi though he certainly tried to keep up appearances to the audience and to his band mates. Maybe now was not the best time. Yuki was right there and certainly would not let Naomi out of his sight for one second. It annoyed him how clingy the carrot head had become with her. As much as Yuki annoyed him – never did he expect him to be his first kiss – he was still his friend and he cared about him. Maybe backing off from his pursuit of Naomi was the key to harboring some kind of peace between the three of them.

With that in his head, Kazu fully surrendered himself to the intoxicating nature of the song. Once the final "this is the one" rang out along with the final chord, the crowd of partygoers let out raucous cheers. Kazu took his eyes off his two friends for a moment to explore the room and soak in the adoration. Several girls at the front looked at him with wide, infatuated stares. He chuckled at them before looking toward the back. His mom and dad were there. His mom was always a fixture at his performances, but seeing his dad was quite a surprise. It surprised him when his dad agreed to come watch him perform at the party because the two of them still did not see eye to eye on his dream of pursuing music. He was just glad to see him right now.

Kazu ran a hand through his hair and gave the audience a shy smile as the cheers died down.

"Thank you," he said, adjusting the strap on his bass. "It's a great thrill to be here performing for you guys. It's the first show we've had in a while so sorry if we're a little rusty."

Kazu's smile widened a bit as that earned a couple of chuckles.

"Anyway," he looked over to his left, where he knew the newly-minted teenager of the hour was sitting. "Happy birthday, Hina. This next number is for you."

With that, he and the band went into their next song.

"And here you go," the waitress said as she placed a large basket with a whopping amount of steak fries between Yuki and Naomi. "Anything else I can get for you two?"

Yuki looked up and smiled. "No thanks. We're fine," he replied.

"Well, enjoy."

The waitress turned around and left to go back inside the restaurant. The two were sitting at a table outside on the patio. Yuki did not get a chance to say anything as Naomi attacked the fry basket like a wolf to caribou carcass. She stuffed a handful of them into her mouth, followed by another. He chuckled and decided to wait out the initial attack before he could get some for himself.

After leaving their classmate's birthday party, Naomi said that she was still hungry and wanted to get a large order of fries. Yuki was all too happy to oblige that wish. He was also still peckish after not eating much of anything at the birthday party. The food wasn't much in the way of sustenance.

The orange-haired boy got a strange feeling from Naomi after they left the party. He could not put his finger on it, but maybe it had to do with Kazu. From his vantage point, the blonde was looking at his girlfriend the whole time that he performed. Yuki did his best to not give Kazu the stink eye for Naomi's sake. Maybe whatever it was that Kazu said to her in the Digital World was still bothering her.

"You okay?" he asked, taking a sip of Coke. Naomi had cleared half the basket by now.

"Of course I'm okay," she responded with a mouthful of fries. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You seem a bit off, Nomi." He grabbed her hand. "Want to talk about it?"

Her hand pulled away, much to his dismay.

"Later. Must eat."

Naomi grabbed another handful of fries and stuffed them in her mouth. This continued until the whole basket was cleared out. Yuki ordered another basket of fries so that he could at least possibly get some after his girlfriend ate the whole thing in no time flat.

Yuki couldn't help but pout. His girlfriend always did this whenever she wanted to avoid a subject entirely. He was not going to let her get away with it. Ever since they got back from the Digital World, one thing he swore to himself that he would be better at was encouraging her to be more open with him. After all, if this relationship was going to work, they had to get better at communicating with each other – that included him too. He was always going to give it his best shot, but it took two to make a relationship work.

"So what's the problem?" he asked. "You're not still upset about what Hina Karikura said about you, are you?"

Naomi glared at him with the ends of three fries poking out of her mouth. She chomped down on them and swallowed before answering him.

"Why would I care what the tramp has to say?" she snapped. "The only reason I agreed to show up at her stupid birthday party was to be there for Kazu's performance." Her expression became darker. "I've always had a feeling she's had her eyes on him for a while. I have no doubt in my mind that is probably why she asked him to perform at her birthday party."

Yuki sighed. "Take it easy, Nomi," he said, hoping to stop this train before it rolled too far to be stopped. "Okay, so it's not her. What else could be eating at you?" His eyes softened as he grabbed her hands. "Is it still that fight you and Kazu had in the Digital World?"

Naomi's face became sad and she looked away. That confirmed everything to him.

"What were you guys fighting about?" he pressed.

"It's…really stupid," she replied softly.

Yuki went right for the jugular and flashed his famous goofy grin. "Try me. You can always tell me anything. You know that, right? I'm your boyfriend after all."

Instantly, he saw her face perk up a little. There was no doubt in his mind it was his smile that brought down her defenses. His dad was right – the smile was indeed a secret weapon that worked every time. A giggle then reached his ears. His heart leapt up in his chest.

"That goofy smile of yours won't get you everything, Yuki," said Naomi, keeping a stern tone. That facade broke a second later with a giggle and a smile at last. "But it will this time."

"Lucky me," he quipped.

She paused for a moment, and then spoke in a soft voice. "Kazu and I…both said some hurtful things to each other during an argument about whether we should go home or not. I called him selfish and he called me a brat and said we weren't friends anymore." She was visibly fighting tears against her eyes. "I messed up our whole friendship."

So that's what it was. Yuki didn't know exactly what it was that they were arguing about the whole time because neither she nor Kazu would tell him. Now he knew. He squeezed her hands once again to assure her.

"It's all right, Nomi," he said. "Why spend your time getting hung up about Blondie if it's only going to make you sad? Put that energy into me for a change." A dopey, love-struck smile spread across his face as he stared into her eyes. "I'd do anything for you, Nomi. That's how much I love you."

He wasn't afraid to bare his heart to her. That was why he did everything in his power to make her happy. One look at Naomi's face told him he did just that. She wiped away the tears that were welling up a moment ago and that bright smile of hers appeared once again. If they were not in a very public place right now, he'd lean in and kiss her until their lips were sore for a week.

"You're sweet, Yuki. That's one thing I love so much about you."

He sighed with contentment. Nothing could ruin this perfect moment.

"Oh, hi, Yuki."

The orange-haired boy was too lost in admiring how beautiful his girlfriend looked to notice who greeted him. He wanted to stay like this forever as a few more calls came his way.

"Yuki!"

Okay, now he was getting annoyed. His eyes narrowed as he looked out the corner of his right eye. It was Miya. The Ichijouji girl stood next to their table with her arms folded over her chest and a cross look on her face. He wasn't interested in talking to her right now. Not when he was having a cosmic moment with his girlfriend.

"Oh, hi, Miya. Nice to see you," he said dismissively. "I'm sorry, but now is not a good time."

Yuki looked back at Naomi. Man, he loved the way Naomi's eyes sparkled. If they were two stars in the sky, he'd want it to stay night forever so that he could always see them. His heart pounded rapidly in his chest.

"Yuki!"

Yuki sucked in an angry breath as he tried to stay calm. Why couldn't Miya take the hint that he didn't want to be bothered right now when he was with Naomi? He had better try and let her down gently before he did something he would definitely wind up regretting.

"Can it wait for another time?" he asked. "Nomi and I are eating together right now."

"No. Please? I need you to tell you something."

A red haze clouded everything as he snapped around to glare daggers at Miya.

"Miya–" he warned.

"It's important," Miya persisted.

"I don't care!" he snapped. "I want you to leave! Now!"

He regretted those words the instant he said them. Miya was frozen in shock at his words. After a moment or two, her eyes welled up with tears and she stormed off crying. Naomi must have said something to chastise him because he felt her pull her hands away, but that wasn't important right now.

Yuki got up and went after the crying Ichijouji girl. He managed to catch her before she could get all the way down the block and pull her into a hug.

"Hey, hey! Miya, wait. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he apologized as guilt overwhelmed him. "Really." He sniffled. "I didn't mean to yell at you."

"You broke your promise," she choked, trying to take a nervous step back.

Yuki apologized over and over until he felt tears drip down his cheeks. He didn't let go. How could he be so stupid? Even after that promise he made to himself to protect her, he was hurting her all over again. She was right – he promised not to yell at her again and he just broke that promise.

Miya pushed against him. "Get off!" she cried.

Thanks to how petite she was and how solid he was, her pushes didn't budge him an inch. However, the damage was more internal than external. Yuki mercifully ended the embrace, keeping his eyes fixed on her. He didn't care if he was making a scene. No one else around them mattered.

"Miya, please. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you." Yuki bit his lip. "It's just that I wanted to be alone with Nomi for a while. Instead I…" he sighed heavily, unable to finish that sentence.

"Acted like a total jerk?" Miya finished.

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah. That."

She lowered her head and sighed. "I guess I could've waited."

It was a half-hearted attempt at an apology, but Yuki would take it - anything to be in her good graces again.

The atmosphere seemed to change. Miya stepped right up to him. He did not dare say anything to her in this state because he didn't want to take a chance on her doing something rash.

"Let me tell you something, Yuki," she hissed. "If you have to always keep someone in your sight and be around them all the time, you obviously feel insecure about where you stand with them."

The orange-haired boy crossed his arms over his chest. This crap again? "Did you get that from Girls Life magazine?" he drawled with a roll of his eyes. It sounded just like something that would come out of it.

"Yes," replied Miya evenly. "The way it describes it, it's your relationship with Naomi to a 'T'. You're just too blind to see that she's not actually in love with you."

Yuki saw red once more. "You're out of line, Miya!" he chastised.

"If being out of line means being absolutely right, then I am proud to say I am!" Miya took a deep breath. Her voice was now much softer, but the rage in her eyes remained. "Don't you want to be with someone that accepts you for who you are? Someone who doesn't take much energy to be happy with?"

Yuki was caught off guard by this sudden change. It sounded like she was pleading with him. He couldn't understand why.

"I already am," was his stubborn reply. "Nomi and I have known each other forever and we enjoy being together."

Miya let out an exasperated groan. "So have we!"

There was that look again from before. The one glare that she always gave him when she was chiding him for saying something stupid. He hated that. Truth be told, it was like she always called him out on his bull with that look. It didn't mean that he would always admit defeat.

"You stupid boy!" Ouch. That dig hurt. "I was just coming over to tell you that they are doing another season of Ao Ashi soon. I know you like that anime, I do too, so I thought you'd like to know about it."

Yuki froze. Did she really just say that? Never mind that his favorite football anime was getting a new season. This was completely out of the blue. Here he thought she was trying to get him away from Naomi. Now he felt extremely terrible about the way he treated her.

It was either that or she decided to let it go. No matter which it was, he was grateful for the change of subject.

"R-Really?" he said, his face a prime example of the word 'shocked'. "It is?"

Miya nodded. "Yes."

A smile erupted on his face. "It only took them five years to finally do a new season," he exclaimed. "Especially since it ended on a cliffhanger. I hate it when they do that!"

"Me too. There is so much material to adapt that there is no reason to keep people waiting for so long."

Thank goodness she wasn't mad at him anymore. The smile on his face eased as they kept going back and forth on what they wanted to see in the upcoming season. He read the manga religiously so he had an idea of what was going to come next, but he also knew anime adaptations tended to sometimes pull something out of left field. For someone who claimed to not be a sports lover, Miya sure seemed just as passionate about the series as he was. She was indeed full of surprises.

She laughed while combing his hair with her fingers. "It was out of place," was her excuse with a wink. That didn't bother him in the slightest. If Miya said his hair was a mess, it must've been a mess.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, holding his hands. That didn't bother him either. She always did that for as long as he could remember when she had to share something that really excited her. "You're not going to believe it."

Yuki chuckled while interlacing his fingers with her and joked. "An anime convention is coming to town?"

"Noooo," she laughed. Miya brought their hands together and held them over her mouth while bouncing on her toes in rapid succession with excitement. "Guess again."

He laughed. "It could be a million things when you're like this. How am I going to guess?"

"Just do it!"

They were back to being how they were prior to going to the Digital World. He missed this.

Just to keep the anticipation growing, Yuki kept randomly guessing. "You grew an inch."

She laughed again. "No!"

"Aliens are real."

"Noooo!"

"You found more dork friends and are secretly creating a union to unite all dorks for world domination."

She looked stunned and then laughter spilled out once again. Their hands never moved. "Careful. Hanging with me makes you an honorary jock dork."

"What an honor," Yuki declared as his goofy grin escaped.

Miya's eyes grew with excitement. "I found my mom's old cassette player."

Yuki's brows scrunched. "What's a cassette player?"

"Come on. You've gotta know. I bet you've seen it before, but never knew the name," she stated with a click of her tongue. She shook her head with impatience.

Yuki pulled his hands away and looked it up on his phone. His eyes widened when he found the image.

"No way! That old thing? That came out before CDs."

"Yep!" Miya slid her hands over his cheeks and held them there as she declared with all her might, "So you know what our mission is, right?"

It was an automatic reaction that Yuki wasn't going to fight. His arms encircled her waist. Their foreheads touched and he closed his eyes. He couldn't see it, but he felt her close her eyes too. There was nothing wrong with it. He and Miya were friends. Sometimes friends were extra touchy when they bonded over similar interests.

"We have to listen to it," he answered, matching her excitement.

"Yes!" she squealed. "I was bored and dug in their closet. She's got a whole box of cassettes from when she was younger. There are even some that she got from my aunts and my uncle."

"All ready for us to listen and judge with full contempt."

"The absolute fullest to the Dork's Union final judgment. We have to make a pile of 'cool tapes' and 'lame tapes' and make an announcement to her of the results."

A sheepish grin appeared. "How about all of that minus the announcement?"

"Oh no," Miya said with full conviction. "The announcement is necessary."

"Something tells me there's going to be more lame than cool tapes." He smirked. "Besides, my dad has cooler songs on his MP3 player than your mom's pile of junk."

Yuki could feel Miya return the smirk as her thumb rubbed his left cheek. "Wanna make a bet?" she asked.

His heart warmed from her touch. He tightened his hold and lifted his head from her forehead with a wink. "No way. What I really want is to know when you're fixing the MP3 player."

"No fair," she chuckled while running her fingers through his hair again. "It's not like either of us have had any free time."

"How about now?" Yuki couldn't help it. He knew that was going to set her off and he was all for the humorous aftermath.

She clicked her tongue again and held his arms. "And miss out on talking with you? No way. Some things are more important."

He feigned regal importance. "Of course I'm more important," he said.

Miya chuckled. "Always," she replied in the same voice.

"Mm-hmm," Yuki continued as he pulled his hand away from her waist and searched for her hands. He focused on her right hand and unwrapped a bandage from one of her fingers. He scrunched his lips examining the nail. "It's starting to look better. You're not eating the others, are you?"

Miya hesitated. She then bit her lip before saying, "No."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Miya," he chastised.

"I'm not! I swear."

"Then if I take another one off -"

"I'm not," she insisted. "We're home, Yuki. I'm safe. It's not a habit I'm proud of, but I'll try to channel my nerves another way."

He searched her eyes to see her sincerity. He was convinced. "I'll protect you," he said, giving her a hug. "I swear it. We'll get through this together."

What was going through that brain of hers? Normally, someone would respond with a 'thank you'. Not Miya. The only thing she did was calmly stare back and interlock her fingers with his again. Their hands hung at their sides in silence. An urge was knocking at his heart. He needed to know.

"Miya -"

A sweet smile showed. "I'm going to be the one to save you. A leader can't always shoulder all the burden."

His heart skipped a beat. Why did it feel like he needed to hear that? It almost felt silly, yet somehow it meant the world to him. In this little moment, it felt like they were sucked into a bubble, only the two of them, while the rest of the world passed by. He rested his forehead on hers again, still holding hands, and a wide smile spread while his eyes closed once more. This was nice. This was peaceful. He could stay like this for the rest of the day.

"See?" she softly said after a minute. "This is what a real relationship should be like: Relaxed. Natural. Like us."

Aaaaand there went the air right out of the bubble. The smile that had been on his face was completely wiped off. There she went again. Why would she think to bring that up now after they had just stopped arguing?

He scoffed, pulling his forehead away. "Would you drop that already? I thought we moved on from that. I'm going to make Nomi feel relaxed when she's with me. I'm going to make her feel natural next to me. We had all of that before we started dating anyway. It's not going to be hard to bring it back." He kept his eyes fixed firmly on Miya's as he said, "What you and I have doesn't compare to what she and I have. Why don't you put all that energy into that guy you like instead of trying to lure me away from Nomi?"

Miya frowned. Oh no. There was that dumb look again.

Before Yuki could say anything else, Miya stormed off without a word. He took a step toward her, but in one blink of his eyes, she was already halfway down the block. How did she get there so fast? Maybe the Force reacted to her emotions and enhanced her movements to take her away from him.

Yuki groaned and cursed himself. Miya was right. He was stupid. Once again, he completely shoved his foot in his mouth and found another new and creative way of hurting Miya's feelings. He seemed to be pretty good at that. At the same time, his feelings mattered too.

Now that he thought about it, their conversation in the Digital World went along those same lines at first. Unlike that time, however, he was not in a listening mood to anything she had to say. Saying Naomi didn't actually love him really set him off.

Unlike what Miya thought, he wasn't stupid. He knew all that. It was his mission to change Naomi's mind. Even so, it was difficult to hear that from someone else. The two of them were going around in circles, yet he craved Miya's opinion more than anyone else's. He craved her touch. His hands and cheeks felt cold and empty now that she left.

His heart skipped a beat.

He craved her opinion and her touch?

His heart skipped a beat again.

He did.

Why did Miya's opinion mean more to him? It certainly mattered more to him that night in the Digital World. It wasn't just about Naomi or any matters pertaining to girls. He placed her opinion high when it came to just about anything. Miya was smart and always seemed to have the answer to just about anything, whether it was one he wanted to hear or not. It was comforting to have someone like her as a friend.

A friend that he wanted to touch, to hold, to hug. It was a craving he couldn't shake.

Yuki looked back in the direction where Naomi was sitting and then in the direction that Miya had gone. He was definitely between a rock and a hard place here. What should he do?

He took a step towards Miya's direction. Miya was being unreasonable, but deep down inside he wanted to comfort her. He wanted to listen to those cassettes and hear what judgment she would bring to each one. He wanted to tease her to no end about her height and make up lies about random anime just to get a rise out of her.

His heart skipped a beat again. It felt different than when it did the same earlier with Naomi. It was…what was it?

Miya reminded him of Yuto with how affectionate she was, but there was something more to it this time. Whatever it was, it felt comforting and deeper. He couldn't put his finger on it just yet.

Ultimately, Naomi won out. He groaned, putting his hands on his hips. Naomi was his number one. He had to repeat that to himself. Naomi was number one, and he was going to put every effort to win her over. He was going to make Naomi have the same natural and comfortable atmosphere that he had with Miya.

His footsteps felt heavy as he returned to his girlfriend. Miya was wrong. He was going to win this disagreement. He loved Naomi. He loved her with all his heart.

He missed Miya already.

"Ryuji, Shiro and Kenya are here for you."

Ryuji looked up at his mother's call. He had been busy watching some law show with his Uncle Cody. The title escaped him, but it seemed interesting enough for him to sit and watch with Uncle Cody. Shiro and Kenya? What were they doing here? He hardly ever got visitors to his house, so it was a bit strange. The two of them treated him nicely enough in the Digital World and he liked being with them. He looked over at Cody, who gave him an assuring nod and said that they could watch this again later. With that, he softly excused himself from his spot on the couch and went to the front door. As Miya always said, it was impolite to leave guests waiting at the door.

When he arrived at the front door, he saw Kenya and Shiro standing inside the doorway in front of his mother. The two waved at him. Ryuji looked down, not returning the gesture. He stroked the back of one of his hands with the thumb of the other.

"Come on, Ryuji. We're going to play," said Kenya. "Want to come with us?"

Ryuji stopped rubbing his hand and looked up at his mother. He wasn't sure whether or not he should. Miya had left a little while ago and he wanted to make sure she got back safe.

His mother smiled at him. "I think that's a wonderful idea, boys. Thank you," she said to Shiro and Kenya. Her gaze then returned to him. "You should go, Ryu-Ryu. You like going to the park too, don't you?"

Ryuji's face turned red. "Mama!" he whined. It was embarrassing hearing his mother use his nickname in front of other people he did not fully trust. If anyone at school heard it, they would tease him about it and make his school life even worse.

His mother giggled. Why was that funny to her?

Shiro stepped into the genkan. "If we're going to be a team, we all have to get to know each other," the ruby-haired boy said. "You are part of our team. Right, Ryuji?"

Ryuji blinked. Was that supposed to mean something he didn't know before? He went to the Digital World with all of them, so he had to be. For as smart as Shiro was, he sure could be silly. He nodded.

"Then come on. We want you to come with us," chirped Kenya. "You seem like you'd be fun to play with."

Ryuji froze again. No one had ever said that to him before. All the other kids at his school either made fun of him or avoided him like the plague. With his Jedi powers, he was able to get a good read on other people's intentions before they came upon him. Shiro and Kenya felt sincere in their desire to invite him to come along with them. A smile rose up his face. No one had ever asked him to come play before.

"Really?" he asked.

Both boys nodded.

The smile widened. "Then okay."

Just as he said that, the sounds of sadness reached his ears. Miya suddenly came right through the doorway. She shoved past the two boys and into the house without taking off her shoes. She wasn't supposed to do that.

"Miya? What's wrong?" his mother asked.

"Leave me alone!" his sister cried. She slammed her bedroom door shut.

Ryuji's mind instantly went away from leaving with Shiro and Kenya to his older sister. Her needs were more important right now.

"Hold on," he said to them before running down to Miya's room. He heard sounds of crying from behind the door. Whatever happened to Miya, it must have hurt her badly. Even though Miya told him to always knock on her door whenever he wanted to come in, he decided to break the rule just this one time.

Ryuji quietly opened the door and peeked inside. His beloved sister laid on top of her bed crying into her pillow. He stepped inside and went onto her bed to lay next to her. His hand went to her back and rubbed it, trying to help make her feel better. Ryuji hummed his favorite song as well. Doing both of these things always helped make him feel better. Maybe it will do the same to Miya.

Miya looked up a few moments later. Her big brown eyes were filled with tears. Ryuji's heart raced in his chest. He hated seeing her cry, so he smiled and continued humming to her. Soon, a smile appeared on Miya's face.

"Hey," she said, wiping her eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Why are you so sad? What happened?"

Miya sighed. "It's nothing, Ryu-Ryu. Don't worry about it. I'll be okay."

Ryuji kept his hand on her back. He had a strong feeling that there was something she desperately wanted to get off her chest.

"Tell me," he said. "Don't you always say talking about what's bothering you is better than keeping it in?"

His sister chuckled. "That's not fair," she teased. At least, that's what it sounded like. He decided to go with the best-case scenario here.

Miya then went off like a faucet left running – a bad waste of water that would probably cause a flood. She went on about Yuki and what happened earlier that day. Ryuji's expression got darker with every word that she said. Yuki was nothing but a jerk. He did not like him. Then came the worst part of all – she was upset about what he said and did because…she had a crush on him.

"Why won't he notice me, darn it?" Miya groaned. She then threw herself back against her pillow. Her voice came out muffled. "I hate him, but I love him at the same time."

That shattered Ryuji's heart. How could she not see that he loved her so much? More than anyone else in the whole world? Ryuji decided to try and make a move. Maybe if he physically showed Miya how much he loved her, she'd get the idea and forget about Yuki. He leaned in and kissed her on the head. His heart felt like it was trying to jump out of his chest.

"I notice you," he said softly. "That counts."

Miya looked up again. She seemed surprised by what he did. He was about to speak again when Miya let out a noise that sounded like a cross between a laugh and a cry. Her arms went around him. It felt nice, but why she was doing it left Ryuji confused. Was she doing this as a manner of returning his feelings or was it just a sisterly action?

"You're so sweet, Ryu-Ryu," she said. "I'm so lucky to have you as my brother. Keep being your sweet self."

It was a sisterly action. Ryuji couldn't help but pout. That was not what he wanted to hear. Nonetheless, he did not let her hug go unanswered. As he hugged her in return, he wondered why she couldn't see how much he loved her. He would treat her way better than Yuki ever would. Why couldn't she?

"Ryuji, come on. Aren't you coming?"

Ryuji looked up from the hug. Shiro and Kenya stood at the open door with his mom. Kenya was the one who spoke to him. Now Ryuji was conflicted. As much as he wanted to go play with them, he also wanted to stay and look after Miya. She needed him right now.

"Go on," Miya said. She gave him a small smile. "I'll be okay."

"You promise?"

His sister locked her pinky with his. "Pinky promise."

Ryuji felt himself smile.

"Don't you worry, Ryu," his mom said as she came in and sat on the bed. "Why don't you go play with Shiro and Kenya? Miya's in good hands with me. Us girls need to have some private time together. Okay?"

He nodded and slid off the bed to join Shiro and Kenya.

Chime!

Keiko looked up at the sound of her text message chime going off. Aw man! And just as this manga volume was building up to a really good part. She sighed in frustration before putting the manga down and reaching for her phone. This had better be important to break her concentration like that. Now the moment in the manga wasn't going to be as effective as when it had her full attention.

She had a LINE message from Miya. As she read it, Keiko's expression grew more and more annoyed. Not with the Ichijouji girl, but with what she was reading. Why did her cousin have to be such a dummy sometimes? Even though the two of them were joined at the hip since they were very little, Yuki sure was clueless when it came to girls. Or maybe it was just girls that weren't Naomi.

"What's up?"

Keiko didn't look up from her phone at the sound of Ichigo's voice. She did her best not to turn red as she felt her friend lean over her shoulder to read the message. The two of them were finally able to spend some time together on this lazy afternoon by cooping up in his secret base and reading manga the whole time. It was only a small window of a couple hours before he had to go into the restaurant to help his dad prepare for the dinner rush, but Keiko would take what she could get with him.

Ichigo sighed. "Boy, Yuki sure can be dumb sometimes," he said. "To be honest, I don't understand why anyone would want to date. It sounds like a drag having to be with a person all the time and never be apart for one minute. Then when they've had enough of you, they just leave like nothing ever mattered. What a sad way to live."

Keiko scoffed. Ichigo was such a boy sometimes. She eyed him as he put his nose back in the manga he was reading – volume 10 of Blue Lock – and reclined back in his beanbag chair. That last part was definitely influenced by the fact his mom abandoned him and his dad when Ichigo was a baby, which she always sympathized with. At the same time, it was such a boyish response to dating.

"Oh, is that so?" she remarked snidely.

"Yes, that's so," he replied without looking up.

The left corner of her lips curled into a smirk. That gave her an idea.

"Okay, Mr. That's So, why don't we make a pact?"

Ichigo finally looked up from his manga. Victory! He also seemed curious about her suggestion. Double victory.

"A pact?"

Keiko nodded. "Yes, a pact." She gathered her thoughts before continuing. As long as it sounded like she was being playful, maybe he'd be interested in going along with it. It couldn't hurt. "A pact where when we become adults and don't fall in love with anyone else, we should date each other."

A long period of silence passed between them for what felt like hours. Keiko worried about how he'd react. This was probably the stupidest idea in the history of stupid ideas, but how else was she finally going to get Ichigo Motomiya's attention? That boy was denser than concrete and she was going to find a way to break through one way or another.

Ichigo put his manga down and stuck his tongue out in disgust. "Ew! No. Why would I want to do that? I'm not going to be like my dad and be left alone with a broken heart like he was. I'd rather cut my hand off than date anyone."

Keiko frowned. She knew it was probably a bad idea pushing her luck like that, but she had to do something. She masked her disappointment by plopping down beside him in the beanbag chair. He recoiled momentarily as a look of confusion crossed his face. Was he also…blushing? She couldn't really tell. It wasn't like in anime or manga where it would be obvious.

"Wh-What are you doing?" he asked nervously.

She said nothing for what felt like a long time. Her smirk then returned.

"Okay. Suit yourself," she teased.

Her lips pressed to his cheek before either of them could blink. Ichigo let out a gag and moved away from her. Though he was facing away from her, Keiko saw just how red his face had become. Unlike a second ago, it was just like how it would happen in anime. She snorted.

"At least I can say I tried."

She went back to her manga. This romance she was reading was way more interesting to read and easier to see coming.

Why couldn't her own life be more like anime or manga?

Cody gently scratched his arm and drank from his cup of coffee. He stared at the laptop screen in front of him, which had a job application on it. In order to give Yolei and Miya some private time together, which meant they could look after Kenji, he decided to leave and go to the Tully's Coffee down the block. He was a regular there, so everyone was glad to see him when he walked in and quickly had his usual cup of coffee and maple and butter pancakes ready for him.

Over the past few months, he decided to try and apply for positions at firms again but with no success thus far. He'd experienced enough rejections over the last year to know that it was both the combination of his greatest failure and his connection with the Destined Jedi that inhibited him from being hired. He'd spent the last six years being a complete failure at life, but now that he was trying to restart everything, life seemingly wasn't willing to give him a chance to do that. If only his father, grandfather or godfather were still here. They would probably help him out. His mother was always there to lend support and advice, but hearing it from any of them would really do him a lot of good. He was going to pay Ken and Yolei back for all they had done for him over these last three years and getting a job was his first step to doing that.

He soon finished the application and sent it off. Now the long, slow, agonizing wait began. Would he ever hear from them? Would they even be interested in interviewing him? He would not be surprised if the application reviewer just shook his head and trashed his application. He probably would too if he were in their position. Still, there was always hope.

Cody chuckled to himself. Yolei always said that to him and now here he was saying it. Then again, she was right. Hope was what got him through counseling, rehab, and the various other meetings he went to until he got his alcohol addiction under control. He had not had a drink in three years now thanks to that hope and had no intentions of ever drinking again. He was going to be a good example to Miya, Ryuji and Kenji.

Maybe Naruko would even consider taking him back, even though it had been four years since she left.

Just as he was about to close his laptop and focus on his pancakes and coffee, Cody glanced at the small television that was on the top right corner of the shop. It was just for a second, but he saw something that caught his attention.

Footage of the giant Buddha statue at Todaiji temple in Nara. Something about it made his eyes widen in disbelief.

Its front was covered in red paint.

The sight shocked him to the core. Who would do such a thing to an important cultural site in Japan? This wasn't an isolated incident either. He had heard of other historic sites around the world – Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, the Tian Tan Buddha in Hong Kong, the Statue of Liberty in New York – being defiled in this manner. No one had any answers as to why this was happening.

Through his shock, he saw that the paint wasn't just spilled all over. It seemed to form letters of some kind. They didn't look like kanji or even hiragana. The news report continued on, showing a blurry, handheld video on the screen. Something about the size of a normal-sized dog wearing a dark cloak was near the statue. It had its back to the videographer so he couldn't get a good look at what it was, even if the picture was clear. The video stopped right there, but the end result was obvious.

Something about the strange writing felt odd. Familiar even. It felt like Cody had seen that kind of writing before a long time ago. Luckily, the video stayed on the writing for a little while as the field reporter went on about the details. As he stared at it, one phrase popped up in Cody's head and refused to go away.

Digi-Code.

With that in mind, Cody had an intense desire to take a picture of what he was seeing. He pulled his phone out of his coat pocket and took a quick photo before the screen changed. Maybe he should send this to Izzy to figure out. If anyone could decode what the writing meant, it was Izzy. He texted the photo to Izzy with a message of "Another historic site defiled. I think the writing is Digi-Code. Think you can decode it?"

All of a sudden, he didn't feel so hungry anymore.

What awaits the group next? Find out next time on Destined Jedi: Next Generations.

Hope you guys enjoyed that. A lot to take in. The song Kazu's band was doing was "This is The One" by the Stone Roses. All credit goes to them.

I'll see you guys again soon. As always, leave a review letting me know your thoughts as well as subscribing. Have a great weekend.

Tootles.