Thank you guys for your patience and support. It really means a lot. I promise to make it up to you guys for missing last month someday.
In other news, I broke through the 100,000 words! Woohoo! It took more than a year, but I finally broke through the 100,000. Feeling proud of myself and this story is still going. So please keep bearing with me.
Without further ado, here is the latest chapter: Race to the Mountain.
The Fujiyama Snow Resort Yeti was a ski resort in Susono, Japan. It was located at the Second Station of Mt. Fuji and mainly offered a cafe, shop, a ski school, and amazing views of Mt. Fuji. Although the place was the busiest in the winter, there were other activities tourists could do and the staff could still teach people how to ski with the latest technology and contraptions.
Currently standing at the bus stop was Takuya. He kept rubbing his arm trying to stay warm. Although it was the beginning of Spring, the place was still cold from the leftover snow.
"Achoo!" Takuya sneezed. "Tell me again why we had to stop at a snow resort first."
"Can't be helped," Tomoki said. He returned from a shop and gave his cold friend some hand warmers. "We can't control the bus stops."
After Tomoki and Takuya exited the Mount Kintoki Loop trail, they took the bus heading to their next destination. Unfortunately, the bus had multiple stops and stayed at Resort Yeti for a 1-hour break.
"But why though?" Takuya rubbed on the hand warmers. The small pouches heated up warming his hands. The duo just came out of one cold area. Now they were stuck in another one. Why didn't Korikakumon reside here? The name of the resort literally had "Yeti" in it. The cold was starting to get to him, and he wanted to leave now.
"You'll have to take it up with the bus driver," Tomoki shrugged. "Though I'm pretty sure he stopped for the food at the restaurant."
"Sure, he gets to eat delicious food, while we are trying to save the world but stay in the freezing cold."
"Sometimes heroes don't get the recognition they deserve, but they still do it anyway. Just stick it out for a little while longer. The cold's not that bad…"
"Easy for you to say!" Takuya ran in one place to keep his body warm. "I'm not the Legendary Warrior of Ice!"
Tomoki couldn't refute that and just smiled. Being a Bearer of a Legendary Warrior of a specific element did have its perks. For him, the cold didn't him affect as much compared to others.
"I'm sorry sir, but I can't help you!" A voice shouted in the distance.
Turning their heads, Takuya and Tomoki saw a man talking to the bus ticketmaster near the station. The man with blond hair had a pleading expression on his face, while the ticketmaster looked frustrated.
"Do you think we should try and help them?" Tomoki asked.
"Might as well," Takuya answered. "Anything to stop thinking about the cold."
They both walked closer to the man and Ticketmaster until they were in hearing range.
"I told you I don't understand what you're saying!" The ticket master said. "Can you try speaking Japanese or English?"
"Non ti capisco! Mi sono perso e ho bisogno di indicazioni!" The blond man answered in a different language.
The conversation kept going left and right leaving both parties in both frustration and distress.
Takuya and Tomoki completely understood the problem. There was a language barrier between the two. The blond man must have been a foreign tourist visiting Japan and had gotten lost. Now he was asking for help, but the Ticketmaster couldn't understand him leading their conversation to go in circles.
"Man, if only Kouji was here," Tomoki said, thinking about his multilingual friend. "He could help the poor man."
"Izumi could too," Takuya added. "The man is actually speaking Italian."
Hearing his language being called out, the blond man turned his attention toward Takuya. He walked up to the boy and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Help! Mi scusi giovanotto, ma puo aiutarmi a parlare con questa persona analfabeta?"
"Umm…" Takuya said. He didn't know how to respond to the poor foreigner.
"Per favore! Non so cos'altro fare!" The blond foreigner pleaded. He was really at the end of his wits.
Takuya looked at the begging man and sighed. He couldn't turn his back on someone who needed help and if he could do something about it. "Ok, ti aiutero."
Together with the blond man, the Bearer of Flame walked to the Ticketmaster. The man explained where he wanted to go while Takuya relayed everything in Japanese. If the Ticketmaster needed more details, Takuya would then relayed it to the foreign tourist in Italian making himself into a middleman.
After around 20 minutes, everything was in order. The blond man had a bus ticket and transportation info to Shinjuku. He and the Ticketmaster sincerely thanked Takuya and went on their separate ways.
"Well, that finishes our good deed for the day," Takuya said, stretching his arms for a job well done. "The bus driver should be finished with his lunch break by now. Ready to head on back Tomoki?"
But his friend wasn't responding. Turning around, Takuya saw Tomoki gawking at him like he just witnessed an extremely shocking event. Why did the boy look so surprised?
"Takuya," Tomoki finally uttered. "Did you just speak fluent Italian?"
'Oh, crud!' Takuya silently cursed to himself. He couldn't believe what he just let slip. "Um… Yeah, I guess. The man needed help and directions after all."
"But how?!" The Bearer of Ice asked. The shock didn't leave his voice. "Izumi told me you still hadn't mastered the language yet."
"It's been a long time since we last talked, buddy. A lot can change like speaking Italian easily."
"It's only been a week, and Izumi complained to me about it yesterday!"
'Oh come on!' Takuya silently cursed again. Seriously, why did all his friends keep in close contact with each other?
"Takuya… What's going on?" Tomoki gave him the interrogation stare. He was not going to let this go.
"Nothing is going on," Takuya feigned ignorance. "I can just speak another language. It's not a big deal."
"Oh really?" The Bearer of Ice pulled out his phone and tapped to his contacts. "Then I'll call Izumi and let her know. I'm sure she'll want to know about this."
"Ok ok ok ok ok," Takuya relented, stopping his friend from calling the girl. "The truth is I learned to speak Italian well for a while."
"So you lied to me back then?" Tomoki said recalling their conversation from the train a week ago.
"It wasn't technically a lie. I really did have trouble learning Italian, but then something weird happened."
"What do you mean?"
"Well…" Takuya then got to explaining his story.
It all started after the train ride. Tomoki's words got to him, so Takuya wanted to try a different method of learning Italian. Back in his room, he put on his headphones and listened to a soccer match in Italy. If books and tutoring couldn't help his Italian, maybe listening to it will.
The result was. Takuya fell asleep. Although he loved soccer, listening to it in another language was hard and exhausting. After about 30 minutes, the boy drifted off. By the time he woke up, it was already morning the next day causing him to sigh. It looked like the listening method didn't work.
But contrary to expectations, the method did work. When Takuya put on the headphones again, he had a much easier time understanding the language. At first, the boy thought he was dreaming, but after listening for 1 hour and pinching himself, it was real. Takuya got much better at understanding Italian!
But the question was how?
He checked his laptop more carefully and looked at its history. Turns out, the video was still playing, and on autoplay. So while Takuya was napping away, the soccer match in Italian kept pounding in his ears. Even when the video ended, the next one popped up with someone speaking Italian. This continued throughout the whole night.
"Okay. So what you're telling me is that you unconsciously listened for one night, and now you can speak Italian more fluently?" Tomoki concluded.
"Well, I tried it some more the following nights," Takuya answered. "The more I did that, the easier it was to learn Italian. I still need to work on some of the writing though, but should be able to master that shortly."
"Seriously? You've been struggling with the language for months, and now you completely understand just by listening to it while sleeping?"
"Yeah… I don't completely understand it either," Takuya laughed lightly. "I did look into it online though. They say my automatic learning might have come from a subconscious level."
Takuya automatically learning Italian didn't happen in just a few nights. His months of lessons with Izumi were a big factor. He did retain all the information, but it was stuck like a clog in the drain. Only when he blasted himself nonstop with Italian that the clog break and the knowledge came flooding in throughout his brain.
"I'm just going to stick with the fact you can speak Italian now," Tomoki said, not wanting to go deeper into this. Everyone had their different styles of learning and remembering after all. "One thing still confuses me. If you mostly learned Italian now, why is Izumi still teaching you?"
"Well…" Takuya scratched the back of his head thinking carefully about what to say. "Since I'm leaving in a few weeks, I was hoping just to stick it out."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want Izumi to get a conceited head. If she found out I could speak Italian thanks to her, I would never hear the end of it. She'd be so pleased with herself and wave it around me all the time. It'd be annoying!"
"But isn't she already annoying you with all her nagging during the tutoring sessions?"
"Yes, but it would be worse if she found out. So I'm just going to deal with her for a few more weeks then go to Italy. Then I'll tell her I mastered Italian by living in the country. This way, Izumi won't get to brag about how I learned Italian because of her."
Tomoki was caught up to speed about his friend's secrecy but felt like he wasn't getting the whole picture. "This seems to be a bit complicated just to avoid some bragging. Besides, Izumi isn't like that. She'll probably be happy for a short while then let it go."
"You don't know that!" Takuya retorted. "It's better to be safe than sorry. I'll just deal with the sessions until I leave."
"But that's makes no sense! Why would you want to spend all this time with Izumi when you can just tell her-" A realization hit Tomoki causing the boy to grin. "~Ohhh~, I get it now."
"You do?"
"Yeah," Tomoki's grin became wider. "You want to spend more time with Izumi!"
"What?! No!" Takuya got flustered waving his hands everywhere. "I already told you. I'm lying to get Izumi to leave me alone."
"Sure because what better way to get someone to leave you alone is to spend more time with them." The Bearer of Ice nodded in a non-believing way. "Completely logical."
"It's not like-"
"Tomoki! Is that you?" Before Takuya could finish his sentence, a voice called out in the distance.
Turning their heads, the duo saw a boy around their age coming towards them. He had light brown hair, dark brown eyes, and winter gear covering most of his body. He was a person Tomoki was very familiar with.
"Katsuharu!" The Bearer of Ice said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
That's right. The person was Katsuharu. Back when they were younger, Tomoki had two bullies. One was Teppei, while the other was walking towards the duo: Katsuharu.
When he saw Tomoki, his first impressions of him were weak and needy. The little boy always hid behind something or someone when things got tough. It made Katsuharu look down and bully him.
But then, he saw that same scared little boy jump in the line of fire and save Teppei, a boy who used to bully the little kid. Slowly, his opinion of him changed and now, Katsuharu is one of Tomoki's strongest supporters and helpers in the campaign for student council president.
"I could ask you the same question," Katsuharu answered waving to Takuya as well. "I told you my reason for being here, remember?"
"Oh! That's right!" Tomoki exclaimed, remembering their previous conversation. "You mentioned earlier you were going on a ski trip. I guess this is where you went."
"Correct," Katsuharu waved his skis to prove it. "That's why I'm here. The bigger question is: Why are you two here? You never told me you were going here. You said you would be working on your campaign."
"I was, but an emergency came up. This is just a stop. Once the bus driver break's over, we'll be heading to our real destination." Tomoki pointed to the closest mountain peak: Mt. Fuji.
Mt Fuji is an active stratovolcano and the tallest mountain in Japan with an elevation of 3,776.24 m (12,389 ft 3 in). It's one of the country's "Three Holy Mountains" making it a famous landmark and cultural icon by sightseers, hikers, and mountain climbers. The place has been used on multiple shows and movie appearances worldwide.
"Mt. Fuji!" Katsuharu said in shock. "You guys want to go to Mt Fuji?"
"Yeah…" Tomoki replied while sharing a confused look with Takuya. "Why? Is there a problem?"
"Tomoki…" Katsuharu looked at his friend sadly. "I don't want to be the one tell to you this, but Mt. Fuji just got deemed off-limits to the public."
"What!" Tomoki and Takuya shouted at the same time. "Why?"
"While I was skiing, some vans stopped by earlier and a couple of scientists looking dudes came out. My mom and I got a chance to talk to one of them, and he told us something alarming about Mt. Fuji."
"What was it?" Tomoki asked. He and Takuya's interests were piqued.
"That the volcano was showing signs of erupting."
"What!" The duo shouted again but louder this time.
"Yeah, those scientists were geologists. One of them was on site doing regular checkups and found irregular signs from the volcano. Signs of the thing erupting. The whole team is probably there right now running extra tests, but judging from our initial conversation, it's not looking too good."
"But Mt. Fuji hasn't erupted since 1707," Tomoki stated remembering his history lesson in class. "Now all of a sudden, it might go off? That's crazy!"
"Yeah, that's why they're closing off the trails to Mt. Fuji until further notice. It's why I'm at the bus station. My mom and dad want me to check the trips on going back to Shibuya."
"But if what you say is true," Takuya said. "Why hasn't there been an announcement yet on evacuation? Wouldn't there be some warning on a natural disaster?"
"Fat chance!" Katsuharu scoffed. "The geologists are still running tests to be sure, so it doesn't cause unnecessary panic. Even if they did announce it, what of it? This is the biggest mountain in Japan. If it erupts, forget the people here. The damage would cause astronomical damage to the whole country taking decades to recover."
"That's insane!" Tomoki couldn't help but say.
"It is. It is also why I'm here at the bus station. My parents wanted me to check the bus rides back to Shibuya just in case. Better to be home if disaster strikes after all."
While Katsuharu said that, Takuya was deep in thought. Something felt off. His beast spirit was located in Mt. Fuji which showed signs of eruption. It couldn't have been a coincidence.
"Katsuharu, did the geologist mention anything unnatural about the eruption?" He asked.
Katsuharu raised his eyebrows and answered. "Now that you mentioned it, yeah. He told me their readings were strange. At first, something had caused the temperature in the volcano to spike but not enough to cause an eruption. Then another force came into play, and both are clashing back and forth. The geologist believed the collision of those two forces are what causing Mt Fuji to go crazy."
Takuya and Tomoki shared a look having the same thoughts. If their hunch was right, the Beast Spirit of Flame went to Mt. Fuji to reside then someone or something found it and is currently fighting it. The enemy must have located the beast spirit first trying to capture it. The duo had to hurry.
"Okay," Katsuharu said, breaking their thoughts. "What's going on? Spill it."
"Nothing going on," Takuya replied.
"Yeah," Tomoki added. "We're just on a vacation taking in the sights."
"Really?" Katsuharu crossed his arms. "Because you would've told me weeks ago if you were going somewhere like Mt. Fuji."
"I felt like being spontaneous and hike on a mountain. Nothing's wrong with that."
Katsuharu's eyes scanned Tomoki and Takuya closely then he sighed. "Something happening in the Digital World again, isn't it?"
"What?" Takuya and Tomoki went wide-eyed and shocked. "How did you…"
"Come on Tomoki," Katsuharu practically scoffed. "I've been friends with you for years. I rarely see your current distressed yet determined expression. Not even when you found out about your competition for president in the upperclassmen did you make this expression. The only time I've seen you make that expression was in the Digital World."
"That still isn't enough to conclude that the Digital World is involved," Takuya stated.
"There is also the fact that you're not with your parents. If you were going on vacation, you would be with them, not Takuya. Seeing you two together secretly trading glances makes me highly believe the Digital World is involved."
"Your friend's very smart," Takuya whispered to Tomoki.
"Yeah, He is," The Bearer of Ice agreed and filled Katsuharu on everything. His friend already figured out most of the situation. Might as well tell him the whole story.
"I see…" Katsuharu rubbed his chin after Tomoki finished. "So you and your friends are looking for your beast spirits and the reason for Mt. Fuji's abnormal behavior is due to a butterfly effect caused by a fractal field from enemy Digimon. That is distressing indeed."
"Yeah, It's why we need to head to Mt. Fuji," Takuya said. "Tomoki and I might be the only ones who can stop it from erupting."
"Then it might be difficult. The area has just been closed off to the public. Even if you manage to sneak through, you'll be spotted by the authorities in no time."
"Great…" Tomoki leaned his back in frustration. He and Takuya could help with the problem on Mt. Fuji, but the police wouldn't believe them. Seriously, what was the point in being the Legendary Warriors if they couldn't use their title to through a mountain? "So we're doomed?"
"C'mon Tomoki. Let's not give up," Takuya wrapped his arm around Tomoki's shoulder reassuringly. "We just have to think of a plan. If we put our heads, I'm sure we'll think of something."
"But will we have enough time?" The Bearer of Ice asked skeptically, "We just got here and don't know the area well. Mt. Fuji could erupt by the time we figure out a viable plan.
"Umm…" Katsuharu then spoke up. "I might have an idea."
Tomoki and Takuya looked at the boy, and then it hit them. They didn't know the area, but Katsuharu did. He's been at the resort near Mt. Fuji for days. If anyone might know what to do here, it would be him.
"Katsuharu do you know how to get to Mt. Fuji without being stopped by the police?" Takuya asked.
"Yes," The boy confirmed. "But the method is a bit unorthodox. How do you two feel about heights?"
…
"This is your idea," Takuya said. "Paragliding?"
Katsuharu led Tomoki and Takuya to a more uphill area where people could paraglide on parachutes. Currently, the workers were strapping them into harnesses.
"It's the best plan I could come up with on such short notice," Katsuharu explained. "The police won't be able to stop us if we're airborne."
Katsuharu's plan was pretty simple. They would paraglide past the blockage and fly straight to the top of the volcano. It was a good plan breaking two birds with one stone.
"But isn't when someone paragliding, they're attached with a rope on their harness." Tomoki pointed out. "How will be able to get to the top of the mountain with the rope on us?"
"That's easy," Katsuharu answered nonchalantly. "Once in the air, we'll detach the rope ourselves and let the wind carry us."
"Wouldn't the workers get angry at us if we did that?"
"You'd be surprised how many people do that here," Katsuharu said. "It's why we had to sign the waivers earlier, remember? They were forms stating the company isn't liable for any injuries or accidents that may occur while airborne."
"That's… convenient," Tomoki didn't delve any further. Well, if their customers kept putting themselves in danger, the company might just make them sign some forms and make it a part of their activities.
"Hold up," Takuya said, eyeing Katsuharu. The boy was wearing a harness too. "You're coming with us?"
"Of course," He replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"No," Takuya rejected immediately. "You can't spirit evolve like me & Tomoki. It's too dangerous for you to go."
"True but you're gonna need my help. You guys can't spirit evolve if you can't get to the fractal field at the top of Mt. Fuji."
"Isn't it just flying up a mountain? It's not that difficult."
"Sure. Sure." Katsuharu nodded, understanding Takuya's logic. "Let me just ask you a few questions. Do you know which strings to pull for descending or ascending your parachute?"
"Umm… The ones in front?"
"Can you tell which air current to take to fly you higher before feeling it?"
"Umm…"
"Last question: Do you know how to detach yourself from your parachute before the wind picks up and blows you back into the air again?"
"Uhhhhh," Takuya couldn't answer any of Katsuharu's questions.
"Takuya, just give up," Tomoki said, laughing a little.
It was just like Katsuharu to utilize his knowledge like this. When Tomoki started becoming friends with him, he found out how smart the boy was. He always got straight As in school and had a lot of outside knowledge, not a lot of other kids his age knew. It was mainly the reason the why older boy was in charge of logistics and strategies in Tomoki's campaign for student council president.
"Let's him go with us. If there is any danger, we'll be there." Tomoki added. Although he didn't want his friend to be in any danger, his instructions on paragliding were helpful.
Takuya contemplated for a moment then agreed. Katsuharu's knowledge would make their job easier.
"Alright! You three are strapped and good to go." The worker said. "You guys ready to fly?"
When Takuya, Tomoki & Katsuharu nodded, the worker started up the large fan, and they were off in the air.
"You guys ready?" Katsuharu shouted through the wind when they were high enough, and Tomoki and Takuya both nodded. "Then now!"
The trio unclipped the rope attached to their harnesses and flew higher into the sky. Soon, the natural wind caught them, and they went flying straight toward Mt. Fuji.
"We got runners!" The worker shouted and half-heartily wrote their names down on his binder. When those three came back, they would have to return the company's equipment or pay for them. Luckily, they also paid a down payment, so it wasn't much of a problem.
The worker was too used to people pulling this stunt.
…
"Woohoo!" Takuya cheered. Along with Tomoki and Katsuharu, he was gliding through the air as the wind blasted at his body. It felt so exhilarating. "This is amazing!"
The trio had only been flying for 15 minutes and with Katsuharu's guidance, they were long past the blockage and already halfway up the mountain. "We'll be at the top in no time!"
"Maybe we should probably be vigilant now," Tomoki shouted through the wind.
"What to do you mean?" Takuya asked.
"Well if what Katsuharu says is true, and Digimon are causing Mt. Fuji to erupt, we have a high chance to enter a—"
Fabrics of fractal code appeared covering the mountain and sky. It moved swiftly through the area and left just as quickly.
"—fractal field… Katsuharu! We need to land now!" Tomoki shouted. If they entered a fractal field, the enemy wouldn't be too far away. Their next steps had to be done more cautiously.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
[Wind Seeker] Wind blades came flying and sliced through the strings & parachutes attached to the trio. Without them, Takuya, Tomoki & Katsuharu couldn't stay airborne and were falling fast to the ground.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Takuya complained while Tomoki and Katsuharu screamed. The ground was looking closer to them. First Izumi fell down the 199 building in Shibuya and he & his friends are now about to crash on the hard stone of Mt. Fuji.
Was this going to become a regular thing?
They made it higher to Mt. Fuji, but someone attacked them. Who was it and what's causing the abnormal behavior to the volcano? To find out, tune in next to Digimon Frontier 2: Fractal Fusion.
Preview: Battle on Mt. Fuji