Hello Readers!
Guest IG: All of Digimon's offensive moves can be used in different ways. It just depends on how you use it.
ZoyeZest: I appreciate the offer, but I am not interested in turning the fanfiction into a comic. Digimon isn't mine, and I am writing just for fun.
Here is the chapter: Sapporo TV Tower.
Sapporo is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city in Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city in Japan and is the capital city of Hokkaido Prefecture and Ishikari Subprefecture. The whole place is considered the cultural, economic, and political center of Hokkaido.
In terms of attractiveness, the city is ranked first in comparison to other cities in Japan. The annual Sapporo Snow Festival draws in more than 2 million tourists. If there was any place anyone would like to visit in early February, Sapporo would be the place to go.
Walking on one of the sidewalks were Junpei and Koichi. After departing Shibuya Station, they went to Tokyo Haneda (HND) Airport and took a first-class flight. Junpei inwardly sweated when he saw his airplane ticket was first-class.
He would need to have a word with Saya about this later. The Bearer of Thunder owed her a lot already. Economy class tickets were enough in this situation. She didn't need to splurge this much.
Once the two landed at the Sapporo Okadama Airport, they rode the metro, and it took them to the coordinates on Junpei's GPS. That's right. Their destination was the location of the Beast Spirit of Thunder.
The train dropped them off a couple of blocks near the destination. Judging from the route, it looked like Junpei and Koichi were heading to Odori Park.
"Good news," Koichi said, reading a text message on his phone. "Kouji got his beast spirit and is heading with Izumi to get hers next."
"Great…" Junpei responded, unenthusiastically. His shoulders drooped, and he was practically dragging himself instead of walking.
The Bearer of Darkness looked at his friend and sighed. "You're still hung up on my brother and Izumi traveling together. Huh?"
Junpei snapped his head up and looked at Koichi. "How did you…? Oh, right. Your powers to see negative emotions."
"I didn't have to. You've been moping about it during the whole trip here."
"I'm sorry! I can't help it!" Junpei grabbed his head, messing up his hair." It's just that Kouji and Izumi are alone together. A lot of things can happen! What if?! What if…"
The Bearer of Thunder could imagine it now. Kouji and Izumi, alone on an island. The sun is setting. A light breeze is blowing. It's the perfect scenery for a date. The two take one look at each other. The mood grows. Their faces get closer. And closer. Until they're a few inches away. And then…
"Ahhh!" Junpei messed up his hair even harder, stopping his wild imagination. "It's too much! I can't take it anymore."
Koichi clapped his hands right in front of Junpei's face causing the boy to flinch and stagger a bit.
"Junpei. Relax," The Bearer of Darkness said. "You're overreacting."
"Am I?" The Bearer of Thunder asked. "They're all alone together on an island with no people! That got to spark something!"
"It won't. Kouji and Izumi are too focused on getting their beast spirits like the rest of us. I bet all they did was talk."
"How could you possibly know that?"
"One," Koichi held up his phone so Junpei could see the screen. "Kouji briefly texted me their experiences at Sukomobanare Island. The battle went to another island, and there was no mention of romantic endearment."
"That doesn't mean anything," Junpei countered. "Kouji could've left off those details!"
"Two," The Bearer of Darkness stated his second point. "My brother doesn't like Izumi that way?"
"What makes you so sure of that?"
"Because I know my brother. We've been together for seven years. I know how he thinks. He doesn't like Izumi that way."
"Really?" Junpei asked expectantly. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure," Koichi answered. "To be honest, he's actually quite shy around girls."
"But you told me girls literally follow him and created a fanbase!"
"He does," Koichi laughed, thinking about those poor girls. "But they have a misconception. Whenever girls confront or confess to Kouji, he rejects them nicely and coolly walks away. He always keeps a distance from those girls, but they find him even more charming and cooler. It's actually quite funny. His shyness is making him more attractive. Haha."
"What about Izumi?" Junpei questioned.
"He's okay with Izumi because we're all longtime friends," Koichi answered. "But he doesn't like her that way. I know it for a fact."
"That's a relief," Junpei let out a breath and then gave the Bearer of Darkness a suspicious stare. "What about you? Do you like Izumi?"
"You don't have to worry about that. Izumi is a nice girl, but she's just a really good friend to me," Koichi said truthfully. "Besides, my mom and work are my current concerns right now. I don't want a relationship to get in the way of it."
Junpei's body relaxed slightly. "That's another relief to hear," He said. Thanks for telling me. Now I have two less rivals to fight for Izumi's affection."
Koichi stared at his lovestruck friend. Many thoughts of all of the Digi-destined together passed through his mind until he asked. "Junpei, why do you like Izumi so much?"
"What do you mean?" The Bearer of Thunder asked.
"We've all been together for years, and your feelings for her have never changed," Koichi clarified. "What's so special about her?"
Junpei went silent for a moment gazing slowly at the blue sky. He was thinking about the best way to answer Koichi.
"Do you remember the first time you entered the Digital World?" Junpei answered with a question of his own.
"How could I forget?" Koichi replied. "My soul wandered there and Cherubimon corrupted me, turning me into an evil Legendary Warrior."
"How did he corrupt you?" Junpei continued with another question.
Koichi gave his friend a questioning look. Where was Bearer of Thunder going with this? He answered nonetheless. "The archangel used the feelings of my brother and the pain of my mother to influence me. I had a lot of fearful feelings back then."
"That's it," Junpei pointed out. "That's the reason why I like Izumi."
"Huh?" Koichi responded. What did his feelings have anything to do with his friend liking a girl?
"Before we all entered the Digital World, we all were dealing with something," Junpei explained. "Something inside us that we were struggling with. You with your family and me with my troubles to make friends. When I first met Izumi, I felt a connection to her. Like she understood the feeling of being lonely. It made me want to get closer to her. If anyone could understand what I was going through, it would be her.
"I still don't completely understand why I like her even though it's been years. I just do, and I'm going to do everything I can to win her heart."
"Wow Junpei," Koichi was at a loss for words. "I didn't know how deep your thoughts were of her & us. In some ways, your observational skills are better than my powers to see negative emotions."
"Haha," The Bearer of Thunder chuckled. "I wouldn't say that. I just like hanging out with you guys. You can know a lot of things just by looking at a different angle. Thanks to the opera lessons, I've gotten better at expressing my feelings. Music is all about letting the soul out after all."
"Make sense," Koichi admitted. He now had a better understanding of why his friend liked Izumi so much, but something still irked him. "But Junpei. What happens if Izumi doesn't return your feelings?"
The Bearer of Thunder's face changed. "What are you trying to say?"
"Junpei, it's been seven years. There might be a chance that Izumi might not like you back."
"So what? She's single right now and hasn't attempted to reject me. I still have a chance."
"I'm not saying to give up," Koichi reiterated. "I'm just saying if it doesn't work out with her, you might need another option. There are other girls out there."
"No one can compare to Izumi. There's no girl like her." Junpei stated. "Besides, girls barely spare me a glance. I don't have the qualities they're looking for."
"What are you talking about? You have great qualities. And plenty of girls do take notice of you. …Like Saya for example?"
"Her?" Junpei made a face like he saw poop on the ground. "Why would you mention her?"
"Because she's your opera partner," Koichi answered. "I don't know why you're so annoyed with her. She seems nice and funny."
"That's because you haven't spent time with her," Junpei said. "She's pompous, haughty, obnoxious, forceful, and this is just the start. I got a long list on her."
"She is also helpful," Koichi added. "She did get us those plane tickets."
"Yeah at the cost of me eating with her for who knows how many months. It might even take years!"
"That doesn't sound as bad as you make it out to be," The Bearer of Darkness chuckled. "It might even be fun."
"Nothing is ever fun when it comes to her!" Junpei argued, practically growling the words out. "Why are we even talking about this anyway? We should be heading to my beast spirit."
"Okay Okay," Koichi relented. "Pretend I didn't bring it up."
They continued walking and made it to Odori Park.
Odori Park is known for its stunning landscape, featuring various seasonal flowers and trees, making it a great place to take pictures. The place was already teeming with people.
Locals and visitors alike were sitting on the benches near the sculptures and fountains or taking selfies with the landmarks behind them. Vendors had stands set up down the path selling food and clothing to passing customers.
"Junpei," Koichi said, getting his friend's attention. "Tell me again the exact location of your beast spirit."
"Hang on," Junpei pulled out his cell phone and checked. "According to the GPS, the beast spirit is only a few hundred feet away around the block. Once we cross the street, we'll be there."
"If you're right," The Bearer of Darkness looked at the tall tower in the distance. "Then your beast spirit picked a really popular place to reside in."
Sapporo TV Tower is one of the main landmarks in Sapporo. It was 483 ft high and built in 1957 by Tachū Naitō, a famous Japanese architect who planned the Tokyo Tower. The TV tower used to be the most prominent figure in the city, but with the recent high-rise buildings that have been constructed around Odori Park, the place has become less prominent. It consisted of four levels: the basement, the ground level, the second level, and the third level.
The basement was connected to Aurora Town, which was an underground shopping arcade and an assortment of restaurants called "Tele-Chika Gourmet Court". The ground floor housed the Tower's information center and stores, while the multipurpose hall and administration office were located on the second floor.
Lastly, the third floor contained a restaurant, a souvenir shop, and a lift to the observation deck. To use the observation deck, visitors are required to buy tickets. From there, the entire view of Odori Park, Mount Ōkura, and Murayama can be seen.
"Okay," Junpei double-checked his GPS. It looked like his friend was right about his beast spirit being inside the Sapporo TV Tower. "At least we won't be having trouble getting inside the TV tower."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Koichi said. "Something weird's going on."
The Bearer of Darkness looked closer and noticed many helicopter drones flying around. He also noticed the big digital clock attached to the middle of the TV tower kept flickering on and off like it was having electrical problems. His eyes may have been playing tricks on him, but he could've sworn he saw small sparks of electricity discharging out.
"Do you feel anything?" Koichi asked Junpei. He wanted to know if his friend could feel the Beast Spirit of Thunder now.
Although the Digi-destined hadn't seen their beast spirits in years, they still had a connection to them. Like Tomoki vaguely sensing his beast spirit inside a weasel, the others could feel their own spirits as well. Even from two worlds away, their bond never shattered.
"I feel something," Junpei answered, closing his eyes. He focused all of his senses on the TV tower. "But it's off. Like there's a wall between us."
"Let's keep going then," Koichi said. "We'll find more as we get closer to the tower."
The two continued walking, but as they made it to the entrance of the Sapporo TV Tower, they could see the area was closed off. Caution tape wrapped around the perimeter, and a police officer was stationed near the door.
"Well, this keeps on getting stranger," Koichi said. "I wonder why they had to close off the area."
"Only one way to find out," Junpei replied, and they walked closer to the entrance.
"Sorry you two," The officer said, stopping them. "The TV Tower is closed off to the public until further notice."
"Apologies sir. We didn't know," Junpei responded in a respectable tone. "We just arrived here and were wondering why one of the best landmarks in Sapporo is closed off."
"Ah, you must be tourists then. If you guys had come here a few days ago, you would've been able to enter with no problems. But recently, the TV tower has been experiencing a lot of electrical problems."
"Electrical problems?" Junpei focused on those two words specifically.
"That's right," The officer confirmed. "At first, it wasn't so bad. Just the occasional light flickering and power going off & on. But then things got worse. Electronics started shorting out. Some even discharged electric shocks at some of the employees inside. We had to shut down the power for the whole tower."
"Shut down?" Junpei said, skeptically. He looked at the digital clock attached to the TV Tower. It was running perfectly fine. "Wouldn't the clock be off then?"
"That's the thing. The clock should have been off, but it's still working. The whole TV tower is. It's unbelievable. It's like the whole place is completely being powered by another electrical source!"
"I can see why you had to make the place off-limits to the public," Junpei nodded in understanding. "Does that mean my friend and I won't be able to enter the TV tower anytime soon?"
"Unfortunately no," The officer responded apologetically. "We're doing everything we can to resolve the situation though and will hopefully return the place to normal shortly."
"Is that why there are drones flying around the tower?" Junpei pointed in a direction.
"Yes, we recently deployed them to avoid human contact. For some reason if someone enters a certain proximity, they would get a painful electric shock. With the drone, there's less of a chance for serious injuries while also proving the best course of action."
"I'm guessing those flying drones near the clock is the course of action," Junpei pointed in a different direction at the three drones curiously.
While most of the other drones were flying around, three of them stayed stationary in a triangular formation. A cable wire connected one closest to the digital clock while two other wires were attached to the other two. Sparks of electricity came out of the wire and moved to the drones.
Their appearance was different from the others as well. While the drones flying around had a black coating, the one in front had a silver coating with a purple dragon logo on top and the other two a blue coating with metal bird logo.
"Ah those. Those three are there to drain the electricity." The officer explained. "Even though we don't know where the source is coming from, it's still connected to the whole TV tower. So the plan is to deplete all the energy powering it down."
"Won't the drones shut down once their battery is depleted?" Junpei asked. Drones were like any electronics and ran on a battery. Once their battery hits zero mid-air, they would shut down and fall to the ground.
"That's the beauty of the plan!" The officer answered enthusiastically. "The drones are being powered by the electricity they drain. While the black-coated ones fly around to find the source, the silver and blue ones collect the electricity. If one of them is running low on battery, they'll fly near the trio and be wirelessly charged by the unknown electric source."
"It's an ingenious plan," Junpei agreed. With a near unlimited energy source, the drones could run for an abundant amount of time. "The problem should be solved shortly."
"Right!? You two should explore other parts of Sapporo in the meantime. The TV tower will be fixed before you know it."
"Um," Koichi, who has been quiet for some time, finally spoke. "Why has that drone stopped? I feel like it's been staring at us for a while."
At the start of the conversation with the officer, the Bearer of Darkness noticed the nearest black drone halted for some reason. Since then, the thing stayed there hovering.
"I don't know," The officer answered, looking at the drone strangely. "It shouldn't stop like that. Hang on. Let me call it in."
The officer pressed a button on his radio. "This is Officer Wakeme speaking. I have a small situation and need our tech specialist. Do you copy?"
"I copy," The tech specialist on the radio responded. "What's the problem?"
"We have a drone that stopped all of a sudden. Can you identify the reason?"
"Drones?" The tech specialist sounded confused. "What drones?"
"The drones who are patrolling the skies around Sapporo TV Tower as we speak," Officer Wakeme clarified. "We received the statement from the commissioner yesterday to deploy them."
The other line was silent for a moment before the tech specialist spoke again. "I don't know how that statement got through, but I just checked in with the commissioner. He didn't send any orders to deploy drones.
"What!?" Officer Wakeme shouted. "Then who's operating them?"
"I don't know, but I can tell you it's not me."
'Uh oh,' Junpei and Koichi shared a look. They had a really bad feeling about this.
Suddenly, the stationary drone blared out like an alarm clock and zoomed toward Junpei.
"Look out!" Koichi pushed Junpei out of the way just in time causing them to fall to the ground. The drone flew past and its sharp blades missed his face by a few centimeters.
Junpei shuddered at the flying menace. Any closer and he would've gotten a permanent makeover. What the heck was going on?
There wasn't going to be time to find out as the drone turned back around and came back at them with double the speed. This time, it was aiming right for their heads.
Junpei and Koichi couldn't get up from the ground and dodge in time. The drone was too fast. All they could do was brace themselves as the flying menace raced toward them for a crash collision.
What's wrong with the drone and why is it attacking Junpei and Koichi?
To find out. Tune in next time on Digimon Frontier 2: Fractal Fusion.
Preview: Out of the Frying Pan & Into the Fire