A/N: Hehe, I know. It's been a while. Don't shoot me. School has just ended and now I'm working a lot, but I felt a need to push forward on this. Okay, let's do review responses!

KeikoTakishita: Like I would tell you! Meeeh.

Pyra-Chan: Thanks! I'm trying to keep it going! Glad that you like it.

Kittygirl86: Thank you! Your wish is my command!

DephsXylex: Here's an update for you! I'm glad that you like my style even though it differs from Natalie's. I'm also glad that you don't mind my first person from Keiko's POV. I know I don't write completely accurately, but I'm glad it's still acceptable in your eyes! Thank you so so much for the wonderful review!

Jennison Silvereye: Your review made me smile! I'm so glad that you like the story and where it is going. I'll try to get my next chapter out soon. It's just so hard getting the story off the ground, you know? Yeah, I hope they clear up their misunderstanding too, but you never know ;) Enjoy this next chapter!

Animebookfreak12: I'm not saying any pairings! You'll just have to find out.

Ambiekinz: Well, here it is! I'm so glad you love the plot :D Reviews like that me feel really good. I hope you enjoy Junpei's chapter!

Okay guys, I know this is just a flimsy filler/background chapter, but I'm trying. I'll try to start the next real chapter soon. Hope you enjoy what Junpei has to say!

Junpei's POV (Prior to the first day of his sophomore year; freshman for the others)

I was never really the cool guy growing up. At all. I never had too many friends, and I was the laughing stock of my elementary school because I was fat. Not overweight; that would be sugarcoating it way too much. I was fat. But, when I found myself in that other universe, things changed. I found friends. True and sincere friends that I never would have imagined to call mine. Our group was almost like characters from a movie: Takuya was the leader that was practically the personification of sunshine; Kouji was the hardass who was the complete opposite of Takuya, yet they became best friends; Tomoki was my sidekick, because I was actually semi cool in that world; Keiko was the person to lean on, and totally cute if I might add; Kouichi was Kouji's evil twin, yet he was so much nicer than Kouji; and Izumi was the blonde, beautiful girl that everyone wanted. Including me.

When you're stuck in a foreign world for a year with only two girls, you kind of have to pick one to like. I think Takuya and Kouji might have had a little thing for Keiko, but it was blatantly obvious that they wanted Izumi too. Greedy bastards. Tomoki was still young, so he didn't really care too much about the girls, and Kouichi came later on in the game, so the main candidates were me, Kouji and Takuya. And of course, every time I looked at Izumi, she was looking at one of them. They were attractive and thin, and I wasn't. Even though Takuya was a spaz and Kouji was an asshole half the time, she always gave them attention, not me. I was always nice to her. I tried my absolute hardest to win her heart. I was sincere and myself. I didn't put on some badass façade like Kouji. I was just Junpei, and I guess that wasn't enough for her.

And then I was out of that world, and I woke up one day to find it all felt like a dream. Days went by, and I had no communication with the others. I knew it couldn't have been a dream. Too much had happened for it all to be an illusion. Either way, time was going by, and I was back to having no friends. I realized that they probably thought I was too lame, so they just went about their lives without me. I always pictured them on a picnic for some reason, with Takuya and Kouji shirtless, basking in the sun without any self-consciousness. Keiko would be dishing out food while conversing with Kouichi about something, and Izumi would be blushing every time Takuya flicked her arm or whatever. So I made a deal with myself. I never wanted to be rejected by girls like Orimoto Izumi ever again, so I was gonna drop the weight. I knew I couldn't do it alone, so I begged my parents to hire me a personal trainer. They finally did, and seriously, that was the best damn thing they ever did for me.

Her name was Mimi, and she was absolutely amazing. She saved me. I mean really, she saved my ass from being an outcast my whole adolescent career. She arranged a workout schedule and put together a diet for me. It took a year, but after sticking to it despite all the struggles and countless times I broke down, I was fit. The fat was gone, and I had muscle. Actual muscle. I joined the wrestling team in seventh grade, and surprisingly I ended up winning MVP that year. I loved the sport. It made me feel good and actually fucking accomplished. I liked being in the limelight once in a while, because in the digital world, Takuya and Kouji always got to be the heroes. I was always just the goof off in the background.

So really, I don't know what the hell happened with my friends from the Digital World. But it's not a surprise to me. I always had a feeling the moment we got out of the Digital World, we would drift apart. I tried calling all of them, and they never answered. Not once. I even left messages. Hell, I left a message in Izumi's voicemail telling her I was in love with her. No replies. But again, who would want to stay friends with some fat idiot? I did wonder what the hell happened to Tomoki though. I thought maybe he would have wanted to stay friends…

I'm glad to say I'm not a loser now. I bet if Izumi saw me today, she'd totally think twice about rejecting me. By my freshman year in high school, girls were always nice to me, and actually interested. I went out with a few girls, all really sweet and pretty, but none of them were right. I guess they just didn't have the Izumi quality that I longed for.

My second year of high school starts in a couple of days, and I have a feeling my Digital World "friends" might be showing up, since they are all a year behind me and there is only one high school in Shibuya. I'm not sure what to think of that. I mean, I've finally found a place in real life where I belong, which is the wrestling team. Would being friends with them again put me back below Kouji and Takuya again? Because I sure as hell will not let that happen again.

All that aside, I know one thing is for sure. I'd give anything to see Izumi again.