Prologue
Freelance fox
"There, that takes care of the third tale, six more to go." A boy said as he began to draw a Ninetales sitting next to a lake. As he was drawing another voice broke his concentration.
"I hope that you're in your bed or studying because you start you journey in one week." The voice is from the boy's slightly overprotective mother. The young boy walked to his door and yelled back to her.
"I will go to bed in a little while, trust me." The boy was hoping to hear a good reply.
"I will let you stay up just make sure that you go to bed soon; goodnight, son." His mother said and turned off the lights in the downstairs. The boy returned to his drawing, but as soon as he picked up the pencil a streak of light zapped past his window.
"Was that a shooting star?" The boy exclaimed as he ran to his window. Indeed it was something, but the boy did not know what it was. "Oh no!" The boy said as he saw where that 'shooting star' was heading. "Professor Oak's place, I have to get over there to see if he's all right." The boy said in an absolute worried tone, he grabbed a worn blue and white jacket and was about to bolt downstairs when he remembered, "Mom is downstairs, she'll stop me." He turned around, "The window is my only option." The brash boy thought as he opened his window and jumped straight down. "I can't believe that I made that jump." The boy thought as he looked up to his window. "Now to Professor Oak's house." He thought and ran in that direction. Once he arrived he noticed an unusual fog in the mountains. He climbed up the mountain constantly thinking of what he saw just a few moments ago. "What on Earth could that have been?" He thought, after he made it to the other side of the mountain. "Blast, it's even thicker here. Still I have to see what's in here." He thought and as he could not see what was around him he heard a sound that made him stop dead in his tracks. It was the sound of flesh ripping; he followed this strange noise to its source. "What can possibly make that noise?" He thought and as the strange fog was clearing he saw what was making that noise. "That's impossible, that can't be a pok`emon." Is all the boy thought as he saw a yellow fox tear into a catfish and throwing its bones to the side. The boy was in awe at the grotesque yet wondrous scene before him.
"Who's there, show yourself if you want to live to see tomorrow." The creature said looking around from side to side trying to find the intruder it heard. The boy slowly walked out of the brush and into plane sight still not sure what it is going to do.
"It's me I've been looking at you." He said with plenty of fear in his tone. The creature turned around and the kid saw it in full size: it was a foot taller then him, it had a white stomach, hands and feet, it also had blood around the mouth, hands, and white fur on its chest. The only thing that captivated him were its eyes…they were a sky blue color.
"What are you staring at?" The creature stated, snapping him out of his thought.
"Sorry, this is my first time seeing such a beautiful creature before in all of my life." As soon as the boy said that he immediately he thought to himself: "Smooth very, very smooth." He glanced at the fox and noticed that it was looking deeper into the valley.
"You have to leave now!" The creature said with its statement dripping with worry. Before he knew what was going on the boy found himself back in the brush; as soon as he stood up he heard another voice.
"You honestly thought you could get away from me: my little doggy. Bad move, now you will need to learn some manners." With that said this new creature began to attack the fox with unneeded force. With a lot of fear he walked over to the edge of the brush, poked his head through it, and saw a green and red dinosaur beating up the fox.
"I have to help." The boy thought and without thinking he picked up the biggest branch he could find and ran out at full speed. "Hey, scale butt pick on someone your own size." He bellowed to the dino, he leaped as high as he could and swung the branch, but it broke as soon as it hit his knee.
"Nice try, but why don't you try this." The red lizard said and swung his claw catching the boy and tossing him into the mountain.
"Ok that didn't work." Was all the boy had to say when he hit the mountain. As he climbed down the mountain, with a scratched up back he heard a strange noise. When he made it to the ground he realized the sound was coming from his pocket, he reached in and pulled out a cell phone that was reacting to something. "What is with this thing?" He asked himself as he began to shake the phone then he saw a bright light where that fox once stood. When the light dimmed he saw a four legged fox with a red and white bow in its place.
"So you digivolved big deal, I'm still going to crush you." The dinosaur said and ran toward them before the battle scarred boy could blink the creature was gone but the fox ran right to him, growling at him.
"What did I do?" Is all he could manage to say. The fox showed the boy its side and asked him in a compassionate tone.
"Would you like a ride, home?" He nodded at the creatures offer. "Clime on, but don't pull on the bow." The creature said, the boy nodded and got on its back. Before he knew it he was already halfway home.
"Over there, that's my house." The young boy said pointing to a house in the distance. The fox creature nodded and stopped right at the front door. He got off the yellow back and walked over to the house and as soon as he touched the doorknob a thought entered his mind. "My mom should be in her room by now, so she won't hear the door open." He turned around and wanted to thank his new 'friend' for the ride but as soon as he turned he didn't see anything. "Where did that creature go?" Was all the boy muttered before he went inside; as soon as he was in the doorway he saw the fox just sitting in his Living room.
"You should take care of those wounds on your back and chest." The fox said looking at the now blood red chest. He nodded and got a first aid kit from the kitchen; he knew that his mother put a first aid kit in every room in the house even the closets. After a few moments of searching he found a small white box.
"I found the first aid kit!" The fox told the boy a specific order.
"Very good, bring it here and I'll bandage you up." This boy did not know what to think, but he obeyed just the same. The first aid kit was carefully placed next to the creature's front left paw, and she went right to work. He took off his tattered jacket and thought it to be a painful ordeal but he was amazed of how gentle she was.
"Wow, your good at this…uh…what is your name?" The young man said as the fox spun him to face her to bandage that chest of his.
"You may call me Kyubimon or Renamon which ever you prefer." The creature said in a soothing tone. While she was bandaging him the boy was captivated by her beauty. After the fox was done securing the last bandage with her paw the boy stood up and said
"Thank you…Kyubimon; would you like to stay for the night." He was almost pleading for her company. The big fox seemed reluctant to accept this naive boy's proposal. "Of course if you want to go…go." He continued before going upstairs; he took one last look down stairs, but saw nothing. "I guess she left." He thought before continuing on upstairs. As he opened the door nice and slow so it didn't wake up his mom he saw Kyubimon sitting in the room.
"Are you coming in or not? You asked me what my name was but you didn't tell me your name." The creature stated to him. He walked in, closed the door and replied
"My name is Ash Ketchum future Poke`mon Master." He walked over to his bed and went right to sleep. The fox followed him, but stared at him thinking…
"Ash, that's an interesting name." She walked to his bedside and began to sleep too. "That's strange I feel a little warmer." The vixen thought before waking up and seeing that Ash's cover is on her. "I suppose I should put this back on him." The fox muttered before using her teeth and front paws to cover Ash back up; after doing so she found herself staring at the boy so she slept on that side of the bed.
"Man, I haven't slept that good in a while." Was the first thing Ash said as he woke up the next morning. He looked down and saw the same fox creature that he saw last night with its back against his nightstand. "At least I know that what happened last night wasn't a dream." Ash thought before a sharp pain shot through his back he continued his thought, "Nope definitely not a dream." He got out of bed and carefully put on a black T-shirt.
"Where are you going, Ash?" A voice said while the trainer got ready.
"I was going to go out for a while…walk or eat." Ash said as he put on another blue and white jacket. After doing so he turned and saw the fox standing there, in front of his window facing him. "Would you like to come with me…Renamon?" Ash asked wanting to show her around his town during the day.
"Of course" The creature said before walking over to Ash and looked at him square in the eye. "…but are you sure that you can?" The young boy could see in her eyes that she was worried about him, so he nodded as a response. "All right, I will be outside waiting for you." She said and vanished without a trace. All the boy could say after watching the fox disappear was…
"Wow…oh yeah I've got to go." With that he walked out of his room and was almost to the door when he saw his other jacket still torn up. "What am I going to do with this?" He thought as he picked up the tattered cloth. As Ash franticly looks around for a place to hide it he heard footsteps coming his way. Along with a feminine voice,
"Ash is that you down there? What are you doing up this early? You usually stay asleep until noon." Ash began to panic as the footsteps came closer; he ran into the kitchen and threw into the garbage and closed the lid.
"That takes care of that, but what does mom mean by 'early'?" The youth thought before he looked at the clock on the wall. "What the heck?" Ash yelled at himself seeing the time: 6:30. "That is funny I never wake up this early maybe on occasion, but not often." He thought and headed toward the door; right when he had his hand on the doorknob his mother asked him the usual question.
"Where are you going, Ash? Not into the forest I hope; you know how dangerous it is and you don't have a Poke`mon yet." Ash quickly turned around with a smile on his face and told her a slight lie.
"Don't worry mom, I'll be all right. No, I am not going into the forest I am going for a walk." Before his mom could ask any more questions he left as fast as he could. He looked around to make sure no one was around before he called out, "Renamon, are you out here?"
"Ash, get over here now." A voice stated and he walked in that way.
"I'm coming, Renamon." Ash said softly as he was walking in the direction of the voice. Before too long he found himself in the forest at first he thought, "Maybe the voice came from somewhere else." A yellow blur that stooped in front of him to change his mind.
"Walk with me, Ash." The creature said in a mellow tone. Ash followed even though he felt a bit weird in the forest. "What is your dream?" Renamon asked out of the blue, she glanced over and saw that the boy was caught off guard so she asked again. "What is your dream?"
"That is a silly question, Renamon; to be the greatest Poke`mon master of all time." The boy said with a big grin on his face. The vixen had to smirk at the boy's enthusiasm. "Why did you ask that question anyway, Renamon?" At first she did not know how to answer that until she saw something in the forest and motioned to it. She sat on a fallen tree and Ash sat next to her.
"I asked that question because I have a dream too at least you can call it that." The vixen said capturing the trainer's attention. He asked with curiosity in his voice.
"Don't hold me in suspense. What is it Renamon, what is your dream?" She looked down and found the boy pretty entertaining company even though he wears his emotions on his sleeves. She let out a deep sigh and said.
"I want to be the most powerful Digimon of all time." After stating her dream she saw utter confusion on his face.
"What is a Digimon, some sort of Poke`mon?" The immature boy asked the fox while scratching the back of his head. Renamon could only chuckle at Ash's naiveté.
"No, Ash, a Digimon is short for Digital Monster; a race of monsters that is composed of data." She stopped momentarily to see Ash's expression of sheer curiosity. "When ever a battle is completed by two or more Digimon the winner absorbs their data." She then heard a sound of utter disgust after she said that. She looked at Ash and saw a look on his face that the wise fighter has seen—anger. "What is the matter Ash? Why do you look so sickened by that fact?"
"I am; I understand that you had to do that to that lizard creature to save me…right?" The boy asked in an upset tone. He then looked at the vulpine right in the eye hoping that he was right.
"Yes…yes I did." She told the young boy before thinking, "Actually I had no intention of protecting when I destroyed Tyranomon, but" The wise fox looked down at the boy who seemed to be in a hunched position. "I am glad that he is safe."
"Why on earth would you destroy an opponent? When both of you could become stronger and battle again." Renamon was snapped out of her thought after hearing that statement.
"He is so kind and so gentle, I bet any Digimon would feel honored to be his partner…of course all but me I need a strong tamer not one with a kind heart." That is what she thought until she saw the look on this boy's face. "I do it to become stronger." She said aloud not knowing that she would get a response.
"I get that much Renamon." The trainer said keeping his gaze on the ground. She let out a sigh and retorted
"No you don't I need their data to digivolve." She said but another question was asked…
"Digivolve, what is that; some kind of new attack?" All Renamon could do was stare into the boys brown eyes and admire his innocents.
"No Ash, Digivolve means I change my appearance, and I am able to do that ability three more times." The fox looked down and saw much confusion on the boy's face so she continued, "In order to do that I need a strong tamer." That snapped Ash out of his confused state.
"What do you mean Renamon; I am strong." Renamon was shocked at his statement it had hint traces of anger and sorrow. She wanted to tell him that he was not strong and he would never be her partner, but something inside of her was forbidding it. Out of the blue she ignored the trainer's statement, stood up, and told the boy…
"You better get back home, Ash." She wanted to leave so bad until…
"Can you go with me; if you aren't too busy?" The boy said in an almost pleading tone. Renamon turned and saw the boy's hand on her wrist then she saw in his eyes that he really wanted her to come. The vixen silently nodded and stood up. "You won't regret it, Renamon." The young trainer stated with a smile.
"We better get going, Ash." The vixen said with a quick turn around. As they were walking there was one thing that kept going through Renamon's mind, "Why didn't I tell him the truth? Why didn't I tell him that he was not fit to be my tamer?" As she tried to put together the answers Ash tried to figure out something too.
"She says that she needs to absorb data to digivolve, but some how she did digivolve. I was really hoping for Renamon to be my first choice; we would make one heck of a team." The trainer thought picturing a pile of Poke`mon and Renamon on top of them before countering with, "Unfortunately she is searching for a 'strong' trainer, and I shouldn't try and stop her." He thought sadly, before he knew it he was staring at his front door. Before he opened the door his mother almost ripped the door off its hinges.
"Ash Ketchum you were at Professor Oak's lab last night, weren't you?" His mother said in an almost yelling tone; at first he could only stutter until he saw his old jacket in her hand.
"Yes I was, but something crashed and I had to…" He stopped when he saw that his mom was on the verge of tears.
"Ash you only have a few short days until your journey and I am really worried about you." She said as she cried, Ash just put a comforting hand on her shoulder and said to her in an honest tone.
"Don't worry, mom, I'm all right." With that he walked inside and into his room. He pulled up his shirt and thought, "Well at least she didn't see these bandages." He sat on his bed and thought of only one thing, "I wonder if Poke`mon can talk like human just like Renamon." As the boy was thinking of that useless tidbit of information Renamon, who was lying on Ash's roof, was also thinking about something a little more important than that.
"How am I supposed to do get back home?" Then she went a little deeper into that question, "Do I even want to go home?" Several images of Ash flashed into her mind. "Of course I have to go Ash is just too kind to be my partner." She yelled into her mind to make those images stop. After an hour she heard a strange noise coming from Ash's room. "I better go see if he is in any danger again." The vixen muttered to herself as she disappeared from the roof and into Ash's room. She glanced around and didn't see any trouble just a sleeping black haired boy. "That's strange, why did I even come down here?"
"Huh? Who said that?" The boy said as he sat up and looked around his bedroom. Everything seemed to be all right there was no harm being done then he sees a dark figure. "Who's there?" The statement was dripping with fear and Renamon could sense all of that terror in that question. She did not say a word she only walked which made Ash even more nervous.
"Don't worry Ash. It's just me." Renamon said in a soothing tone as she put her hand on his face. "It is all right, Ash, it's all right." Is all she said while she tried so hard not to comfort him too much. "I did not mean to frighten you, I only wanted to see you if you were all right." As soon as she said that Ash put on a brave front.
"Frightened, I was not frightened. I was surprised that's all." He said as he turned his head away from her. Renamon only smiled at Ash, at how he expressed all of the emotions quite well. She stood up after looking at Ash for a few moments she told him.
"If there is no danger then I will be on my way." She said, Ash tried to stop her, but he was too late she was already gone. So he shrugged off her visit and went back to bed. Back on the roof she thought with a bit of happiness, "I suppose I can stay here for a little while, I'll consider it as a vacation." With that thought secured into her head she fell asleep too.
"Man, looks like another beautiful day." Ash said as he looked out of his window. After putting on a black shirt she mother walked in and asked him.
"Can you take these two bags of apples to the neighbors, please?" Ash nodded, took the apples from his mom and left. Renamon was still on his roof until she heard the door shut, she looked and saw Ash.
"I wonder where he's going this early." Thought the vixen then she saw the bags in his left hand, and decided to follow him. Ash stopped in front of a red house and knocked on the door, and when it opened a woman around his own mother's age answered.
"Here are the apples you asked for." The young boy said as he handed the bag to her. The woman seemed to be happy about this delivery
"Thank you, Ash, and tell you're mother thanks." The young lady said and as soon as she turned around an energetic red fox leapt onto Ash. For some reason the yellow vixen seemed to get angry about that.
'That hairball better think twice if it knows what's best." She considered for a moment. "Calm down, Renamon, it isn't like you…like him?" Renamon thought to herself and left that last part for later. Back on the ground Ash was just laughing from all of the face licking.
"All right, you can get off now." The boy struggled to say through the laughter and the licking. The red coated dog obeyed and got off the deliverer. Back in the tree Renamon began notice Ash kept that helpful attitude and aided the people do matter how small the request.
"He really is too nice to be my partner." The purple gloved creature thought as she watched him take out the trash for an elder. Several tasks later the future monster master trudged home. She found herself amazed by after doing all of those tasks that he still had the strength to walk. The fox leapt from the roof to a window that viewed the kitchen and it was there that he also enjoyed eating. She tried her best not to laugh at his enthusiasm as he gulped down the food.
"That was great, mom, and thanks." Ash said and his mother chuckled and retorted with,
"I'm glad you enjoyed it Ash, but you better some rest because in three days is the beginning of your journey." She said with glee and at first so was her son that was until he told himself.
"That means I only have a few days with Renamon, and I have to make every second last with her." With that Ash walked up to his room, and Renamon, whom also heard the conversation, was actually saddened by this fact.
"I heard that you only have a few days to go until your journey begins." Renamon said, trying to find just the right thing to say as she laid there on his roof. As she stared at the stars just trying to forget Ash she heard a voice…
"Hey Renamon, can you come down here for a minute." The voice came from Ash whom opened the window. She did as he asked and came into his room.
"What do you want Ash? Your mother told you to sleep." The fox said as soon as she went into his room, not wanting to see him. He ignored her statement and asked her…
"Do you feel like going for a swim?" She was taken back by that question, but she nodded to it. "That's great, because I know of a hot spring not to far from here." He said with excitement which made her feel a little bit worse of her decision. "It's not all that far off either, it's off in that direct…" He stopped talking and pointing when he was being picked up in a pair of strong arms.
"I better carry you then." The fox said and before the trainer could refuse her help they were off. Before he could blink they were already in front of the hot water.
"Thanks, Renamon, but you didn't have to carry me." Ash said when his canine friend put him down. She ignored that and asked him
"How were you able to find this place?" At first the boy did not know how to answer to that question so he tried the truth.
"Even though mom constantly tells me not to enter this area until I'm older but…uh…" He couldn't bring himself to finish so she did it for him.
"You do it anyway, right?" He nodded and decided to go into the water while he still felt like it. As he began to take off his clothing Renamon immediately asked him, "What are you doing?!" Ash turned to the utterly embarrassed fox and said calmly.
"Well I was going into the water, but I don't want my other clothes getting wet." He stood there wearing his boxers and jumped in…
"He definitely is something else." She thought and felt water splash on her feet. She looked at the water and saw the black haired boy in the water.
"Come on, Renamon, jump in!" Ash exclaimed, motioning her to come in with him. The yellow vixen didn't feel right about going in. "The water is great, and I bet you need after that dinosaur fight." Ash stated, trying to use that to his advantage. With a defeated sigh she walked into the water and felt relief instantly. They each rested at the far ends of the hole just staring at the stars. "Does the Digital World have starry nights like this?" Ash asked just off the top of his head. For a few minutes she just stared at the sky and answered him in an almost sorrowful tone
"No, they don't." Is all she said and for a few minutes neither of them said anything else until… "Ash, what did you do that for?" Renamon demanded after getting splashed and after a few minutes she received an answer.
"Sorry, it's just it was getting too serious for my taste. Is that all right with you?" He asked and the only thing he saw was a wet fox face staring at him. Before he knew it she splashed him with water too. Before too long the two began splashing one another and actually having fun. As they were having fun Renamon kept telling herself.
"You must find a way home, you must find a strong tamer, and this stuff is not helping." She ignored that thought and continued playing. After what seemed to be hours they finally stopped and both caught their breaths for a few moments, and in those moments the trainer told his friend in an excited tone…
"That was awesome, Renamon. We should do that tomorrow night too. What do you say?" The fox was speechless that Ash wanted to do that again. After a few moments she walked up to him and wrung out her tail right on his head and got out of the water. A few moments passed as she stood there before she told the future Poke`mon master.
"I would like that a lot." With that said the boy got out of the water, picked up his clothes, and Renamon picked him up. "Let's go home, Ash." She said before running at top speed back to his house. That was how things were for the next few days: Ash did charitable work in the morning and afternoon while in the evening he and Renamon went to that hot spring. Those days were great to both Ash and Renamon, but all good things must come to an end, and the day before Ash started his journey proved it.
"Ok, Renamon, I'm back and I was able to grab some chow for you." Ash said as he went into his room after returning from a party. He set the food on his desk and told the vixen, "The foods on my desk, I'm going to bed, I have a big day tomorrow." By that time he had his green pajamas on, but his good mood was cut short when she said in a pain driven tone
"I'm going back to the digital world, Ash." By this time he was sitting on his bed now with his back hunched. He tried holding in his tears, but he was able to tell her.
"That's great news, Renamon!" As soon as she heard that there was a sharp pain in her chest and she knew why it was there. In these short days she grew to accept Ash's personality and found that it was slightly contagious. What really hurt was what he said next, "I'm sure that you'll find a better partner then I will ever be." After hearing that she found herself walking to Ash for some reason or another.
"No I won't Ash Ketchum, you are truly unique and that is why I will never forget you." The fox spat as she held him close to her with her head on his right shoulder. Needless to say the naïve boy did not see that coming in the least, but he was able to reply back to her.
"I won't either Renamon." With that they separated: Ash to sleep and Renamon to eat. As she ate there was a mumbling along the lines of, "Go Renamon attack now! Great work Renamon, our tenth win." and that brought a small smile to that beautiful face of hers as she ate her rice. There wasn't any more talking for the rest of the night, just Ash's soft breathing and Renamon eating. "Man, I slept great!" The trainer exclaimed as he stretched his arms. "Hey Renamon, are you going to see me off?" He asked but when he did not receive an answer he tried again, "Renamon, are you here?" Still no answer, so he decided that the fox was gone. He got up, ignored the broken clock and went to the desk. The dishes were neatly stacked, but there was also an envelope on them, he opened it and read what it said,
"Two halves of the same coin. Remember Ash you said you wouldn't forget me so don't…or else!"
"I wonder what she meant by that?" He thought then saw a picture to go with it. It was his face and her face; they weren't side to side {half of his face and half of fox girl's} but back to back. Then he looked below that and read the last part.
"Your kind heart and determination with my strength and speed would have made one fine team."
Needless to say, that brought a tear to his eye. His mother's voice was heard through his door.
"Ash are you still up there, It's already 12:00." With that said he folded the letter and put it in his pocket and rushed over to Professor's house yelling at himself to save one for him. Several months has passed since that day: Ash is now on the Orange Islands still on his journey to be a Poke`mon master while Renamon on the other hand was with a girl that was the exact opposite of Ash.
"Was he even real?" The fox thought as she stared at the full moon wondering if the boy that she met was real or if was a dream. At the same time Ash was thinking the same thing: if that wonderful fox is real or just his imagination. In time they both forgot of the other and just continuing on their journeys to be the best.