I haven't seen the dub in a good while but I do remember in the Japanese version that Sakuyamon had this attack where she was singing and that's what inspired this chapter! Anyways hope you enjoy~

Chapter 2: Secrets

"So you like to stalk people?" Guilmon meant to ask innocently, but it came out more like an accusation. At least in Renamon's mind it did.

The yellow kitsune crossed her arms and shook her head at him. "It is not stalking. I simply like to observe others quietly and from far away."
it sounded like a convincing argument, at least to Renamon it did.

Guilmon tilted his head and blinked, something Renamon noticed he did a lot whenever he was confused about something. "So...like stalking?" Renamon stared blankly at him and he smirked back at her. Icy blue eyes and golden amber eyes stared at one another without breaking contact. They held each other's gaze for a few seconds before Renamon turned her head away from him and the lizard giggled. "So you ARE a stalker!"

"I prefer the term silent watcher."

It was the fourth night this week that both digimon decided to spend time with each other since the night she came to him for help. Renamon would apologize every time she stopped by so late and Guilmon insisted it was fine and that he had nothing better to do anyways except stay in his hideout. This time, it wasn't as late as normal as both digimon were perched on a tree branch that was sturdy enough to carry both their weight. The tree was one of the tallest in the area and overlooking most of the park that Guilmon's hut was in and they were able to just watch people walking by. Renamon commented earlier that it was interesting to see what other people do and how they act differently from the digimon and their tamers. When Guilmon asked what she meant by that, she brought him to the busiest area of the park so he could see what she was talking about.

Guilmon was fascinated by the different types of people that walked by them. He was really only used to Takato and the rest of the tamers and didn't get to interact with other people who didn't know about digimon. The few times he did, their reactions to him were always mixed. Either they saw him as a frightening monster and ran away in fear, or thought he was like a cute teddy bear and wanted to hug him and never let go. Either way, he never got to see people acting naturally around him except for the tamers. He looked down and caught sight of a street performer who was currently sticking a sword down his throat while people were throwing money into a hat he set down. "Woah you're right." He said with wide eyes. "This IS interesting."

Renamon chuckled softly at his amused expression and looked over to what he was staring at. Street performers always intrigued her with their bizarre talents. It was as if they had powers to fight evil and yet they were just using their skills to make some quick money. The thought of her or the other digimon performing their attacks for a crowd of people and having money thrown at them crossed her mind and she chuckled lightly.

"What's so funny?" Guilmon asked, pleasantly surprised by her sudden laughter. It was nice seeing this side of her instead of her usual stoic and reserved side.

"It's silly." Her laughter slowed down a bit before she continued. "I just thought about one of us using our skills to get money instead of fighting other digimon."

Guilmon thought about it as well and joined in on her laughter. "I would probably ask for bread while spitting fireballs." Renamon laughed even harder at his remark.

When both digimon settled down they heard a guitar playing faintly in the background. They looked down to see another street performer. She was a young girl, in her late teens most likely and there was a small crowd surrounding her. There was only her guitar playing for a little bit before she spoke. "I'm sure this is a song everyone knows." Then she started playing an acoustic version of a popular English song that was trendy at the moment. Her voice and guitar playing complimented the song well and people were singing along and putting money inside her guitar case.

Up on the tree where the digimon sat, Guilmon was bopping his head to the music. Renamon was listening with her eyes closed and enjoying the performance. "She has a lovely voice." The fox commented.

Guilmon simply nodded. "Yea it's really pretty." The girl finished her performance and the crowd cheered for her. She looked so happy as people applauded her and asked for an encore and started strumming her guitar to sing again. Suddenly a thought occurred to Guilmon that he had been wanting to ask about for a while. "Hey Renamon...do you sing?"

Renamon tensed up at the question but tried to not let it show."Why do you ask?"

"well it's just I remember the few times you and Rika would biomerge to Sakuyamon and I heard you sing one time...it sounded pretty."

Renamon shrugged."That was the power of Sakuyamon." She replied, keeping her gaze straight ahead at the performer and away from Guilmon. "It wasn't me."

"Yea but you and Rika are a part of Sakuyamon," he paused for a second. "and I heard her singing voice too before and it's nice." He looked over at her and saw that she wasn't smiling like earlier. Her expression was unreadable and he knew he should probably drop the subject. "I just thought….that maybe...you could probably sing too. "

Even though he wasn't being pushy on purpose, Renamon couldn't help but feel annoyed at his curiosity. She exhaled before speaking. "It's not something I like to talk about with just anyone." She said rather harshly and Guilmon flinched at her tone.

His ears dropped down. "Oh….sorry I didn't mean to….um I'll stop."

Renamon sighed. She knew she was being unreasonable and felt awful for giving him such an attitude over an innocent question. Still, it wasn't something she liked to talk about. Feeling bad that she ruined the good atmosphere, she got up. "I am sorry if I came off as rude, but I think I should go."

"Wait!" He shouted and Renamon stopped herself. "I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to upset you!"

Renamon took a look at his guilty expression and knew she was done for and sighed. She hated having such a soft spot sometimes! "You have nothing to apologize for, Guilmon." Her tone was sincere and he let out a breath of relief. "Singing is just a sensitive topic for me." She admitted.

"Don't worry I'll never bring it up again!" He exclaimed as he brought one of his claws across his lips like a zipper closing gesture. "But I'm sure whatever it is, you shouldn't beat yourself up over it." Then he covered his mouth immediately. "Ok, NOW I'll never bring it up again. I'm sorry!"

She frowned and crossed her arms. Even though she knew he was just trying to help, she wasn't ready to hear it. "Thank you. You have no idea how much I appreciate it." Renamon couldn't help but be so grateful at how willing he was to drop the subject, if it was anyone else they'd probably press her to talk.

"Can we still hang out?" He asked with pleading eyes.

"As much as I enjoy our talks, I'm afraid it's getting late." She said apologetically as she pointed up at the sky. The orange hue sky from earlier was now darker and the stars and moon replaced the sunset. "Rika is probably wondering where I am." Truthfully, she was rather thankful it was getting late. She wasn't sure if she could go back to talking casually when she was starting to feel upset.

Suddenly, Guilmon's eyes widened as he gasped loudly. "OH NO TAKATO IS PROBABLY LOOKING FOR ME AT MY HIDEOUT AND WONDERING WHERE I WENT!"

Renamon couldn't help but laugh at his sudden outburst, something she's being doing a lot more lately since spending more time with the expressive digimon. "I will take you back. You'll get there faster that way."

"Oh really?" His face lit up like a child opening presents on Christmas. "I can't believe you're gonna teleport me! I always wanted to know what it's like!"

The vixen smiled softly at him. "It is the least I can do." She reached her paw out to his and pulled him up to her. "Just don't get used to it okay?"

He gave her a thumbs up gesture. "Got it!"

.-.

After a lengthy scolding from Takato to Guilmon about worrying him and Renamon apologizing saying it was her idea in the first place, the vixen found herself back at the home of her tamer. To say that Takato was surprised at their sudden friendship was an understatement. Renamon could tell right away he was confused as how two different personalities could get along so well. Even she was surprised as well for that matter but she brushed it off.

As she was perched on the rooftop, she looked up at the moon and sighed. "Why did he have to go and ask me about that?" she murmured. It had been years since Renamon even thought about singing, but after what happened earlier it was all the thought about. She was aware that friendships are strengthened by opening up, but she had her limits on what she was willing to share. There were boundaries that shouldn't be crossed and that was one of them. There was a voice inside her head telling her she could trust him with her secret, but she ignored it.

The only person to know about her issue with singing was Rika, and it was only to comfort her after the Parasimon incident. She hated seeing her friend so upset from remembering such a traumatizing event. It was a touchy subject for the both of them, and only made their bond much stronger. "I'm sure whatever it is, you shouldn't beat yourself up over it." She remembered his words from earlier and scoffed. What does he know? Renamon felt a twinge of jealousy thinking about how care-free the other digimon was. Suddenly, the fox cleared her throat and hummed a slow gentle tune. She was expecting the feeling of self-loathing to come, but surprisingly it didn't. Feeling encouraged, she began to sing.

"Fly me to the moon

And let me play among the stars"

She closed her eyes and instantly feels relaxed. Her voice was still as smooth as she remembered.

"Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and mars"

Renamon is in her happy place and forgets about everything. She forgets all the hardships she endured in the digital world and forgets the past that left her scarred.

"In other words, hold my hand..."

"Renamon?" A feminine voice called out. The fox looked down at the source and saw her tamer come outside. "Is that you singing?"

The vixen was caught off guard and immediately stopped. She then phased down to where the young teen was to face her. "I am sorry if I was disturbing you."

"No, not at all." Rika shook her head and waved her hands at her digimon. "I'm just surprised to hear you sing again after what you told me."

Renamon's face softened. "it's alright now, I think it's time to make peace with myself."

The girl nodded and placed an arm on the fox's shoulder. "Well, if it's any consolation." She leaned her head on her partner.'s arm "You sound great." Rika looked up and smiled at Renamon. "I'm glad I got to hear you." Renamon smiled back at Rika and thanked her. "So what brought this on?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." If someone as understanding as Takato couldn't understand her friendship with Guilmon, she was more than sure Rika wouldn't either.

"Try me." Rika said confidently.

"I was talking to Guilmon and," She braced herself for Rika''s reaction and, nothing. When she looked over at the girl she just nodded her head to let her know she was listening. "He asked me if I sang and it just brought back memories I suppose."

Rika raised her brow at her digimon. "I didn't know you two were friends. How'd that happen?"

"You'd be surprised at how insightful he can be once you get past his childish antics." Renamon chuckled softly. Then she frowned as she remembered their last encounter. "I did snap at him though after he asked me."

"Hey I would have done the same if someone asked me about something so personal."

"Yes but, he didn't know any better." She replied softly "And you know how I am...it's hard for me to open up."

Rika chuckled lightly. "Hey you're talking to the queen of not opening up, so I know what you mean." She then pat Renamon on the shoulder in a comforting manner. "It's good to open to others sometimes though. Makes you feel less lonely." Renamon nodded in reply. "Anyways, it's getting kinda cold. We should head inside." Rika slowly made her way back inside her room and Renamon followed shortly after. The fox had a feeling she was going to be up all night contemplating on her tamer's words.

.-.

How long had it been since he last saw Renamon? The red lizard thought to himself as he was in his hideout . Even though it felt like ages, he knew it must have been a few days and he was just being dramatic. It's not like they ended their hangout on bad terms, but he felt uneasy and bad about their last encounter. It would be a lie if he said he wasn't the least bit curious about what happened to her to make her so upset when he asked about singing. Maybe someone said she was horrible or she had bad stage fright? There were so many possibilities and he was so curious to figure it out without asking. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that's he almost didn't hear someone knocking on the front gate.

"Guilmon? Are you there?" He heard a voice asked and knew right away who it was.

His demeanor quickly changed from worrying to excited as he walked over to the front of the gate to unlock it and let his guest come in. "Hiya Renamon!" He greeted happily. "Everything alright?"

She nodded in response. "There is no need to worry, I just came to talk is all."

He was already making his way over to the hole in the wall before she finished speaking. "Do you want a beanbag or a blankie?"

"A blanket is just fine, thank you." She grabbed the blanket from him and set it down so she could sit. "Do you have any more of those little pastries too?"

He grinned and went back to the clearing. "Of course! What kind of question is that?!"

She chuckled softly. "Fair enough, i should have known better."

He came over to her and handed her a bag filled with assorted breads and cakes before sitting down next to her. "I was worried that I really upset you the other day. I really am sorry for asking."

Renamon shook her head at him. "No, I'm the one who should be sorry for snapping at you like that." She rested a hand on his shoulder. "You were just asking a question and I overreacted." She assured him. "And for that I am sorry."

"So...we're okay?" He asked nervously. "Are we still friends?"

She nodded her head. "Of course. That's actually why I came here to talk." Guilmon tilted his head to the side but said nothing. She took it as her cue to keep going. "You were right about something."

"Wow really? There's something I don't hear often." He joked and Renamon laughed lightly. Then he apologized for interrupting. "Sorry! Go ahead!"

Renamon took a deep breath. "When you asked if I could sing…I do….well I did at least." Guilmon nodded his head and waited for her to continue her story. "Did you know that I wasn't always as good a fighter as I am today?"

Guilmon gasped. "No way! You're the bestest fighter I know though!"

Renamon thanked him for the compliment. She secretly loved ego boosts like that when it came to her fighting. "It's true. Back in the digital world I wasn't that skilled...at least not right away" she looked over at him and saw he was listening intently to her. "I had a good singing voice though."

"Really?"

"Unfortunately, singing nicely doesn't help you get by in the digital world." She spat out bitterly. "I kept losing in fights and couldn't defend myself that well." Her expression was now somber and Guilmon was about to stop her from continuing, but she insisted on finishing. "Then one day, a Darcmon took me in and said she would train me. Said I had the potential to be one of the greatest fighters. She even said I could digivolve to mega level if I became strong enough." She was smiling sadly at the memory. "She was my first friend in that harsh place."

Guilmon had an idea of where this was going and placed a hand on her shoulder. "What happened?"

"She trained me as best as she could, and I was getting stronger. After our training sessions, she would ask me to sing her a song." Renamon sighed deeply. "But one day after training, there was huge group of sleeping shogungekomon, and if you didn't know, they can be awaken by someone singing. And when they are forcefully awaken, they are hostile." Renamon paused for a little bit. "I had no idea they were there or I," she inhaled. "I wouldn't have sang and woken them up. There were so many and went on a rampage when they woke up."

Guilmon patted her shoulder. "You don't have to keep going if it still hurts."

Renamon shook her head. "No, it's fine i promise." She took a few moments to collect herself before continuing. "We were outnumbered and I still wasn't strong enough to handle them. Darcmon took most of them out, but one of them came at us and almost got me. I was bracing myself to have my data loaded but, Darcmon pushed me out of the way and sacrificed herself."

Guilmon frowned and continued to pat her shoulder. "Renamon, I'm so sorry."

"You know the last thing she said to me was to keep fighting and get stronger." she smiled at the bittersweet memory. "and that she was glad to have trained me." Her expression turned sour after. "It was then I realized that singing wouldn't get me anywhere if I wanted to be stronger. I kept training as much as I could to be where I am today." The fox sighed yet again. "When Rika picked me to be her partner, I promised myself I wouldn't disappoint and be the best fighter I could be. For her and for Darcmon."

"And you haven't sang since then?"

The kitsune shook her head. "No, not until recently." Guilmon's eyes widened slightly. "When you told me it was something I shouldn't beat myself up over, I tried it again and well," She paused. "I still haven't forgiven myself, but I didn't hate myself like before when I sang."

The lizard smiled sympathetically at her. "Darcmon would be proud of how strong you are now."

Renamon's expression softened at the thought of her friend. "Thank you," she bowed her head slightly at him. "I haven't told anyone else except Rika about this and I wasn't sure if I was ready to share this but...we're friends aren't we?"

Guilmon gave her the brightest smile he could. "Yea! Your secret is safe with me!" He then noticed that she was frowning again. "What's wrong?"

"I feel like you know more about my past then I know about yours...I just hate feeling vulnerable I suppose."

"That's not true!" He exclaimed. "If I could remember more about my past then I'd tell you!" Renamon gives him a questioning look. "I don't really remember anything before meeting Takato, but if I did then I would tell you because we're friends and I trust you!"

Renamon feels touched at how much trust he has in her without second guessing anything. Her doubts of trusting him fade away as she smiles softly as him. Rika was right about something, opening up to others can make one feel less lonely. "I trust you too."

Oh wow I didn't realize how long this was...I hope it wasn't too boring or anything. I definitely have more funny chapters planned ahead but want to get the serious stuff out of the way first! One of the biggest struggles was trying to find a song Renamon could sing that wouldn't seem OOC or corny lol. I would appreciate any sort of feedback! Thank you for the follows and fave and review :)