A/N: I just wanted to thank Yin and daisukefire for their encouraging reviews. I was very surprised and grateful because I did not believe that I would receive any, so thank you once again. Secondly, I had planned upon uploading this chapter about Jenrya before Ruki, mostly because I am trying to improve upon the chapter written about her. She and Renamon have had-at times-a conflicting relationship and I want to be sure she is portrayed in-character. That chapter will be up soon.

Disclaimer: Digimon is the property of Toei Animation and Bandai and the poetry belongs to me.

Learn Through Doing

By: Frozen Phoenix

~Lee Jenrya~

Becoming a Digimon Tamer was one of the most important events in my life. I've always enjoyed playing the video games on my computer and have become pretty skilled at the card game. Actually becoming a tamer, well that changed everything.

It all started last Christmas when my father bought me the newest Digimon game. The game was an interesting one, and it even had a new function that allowed you slash cards in order to make your Digimon stronger.

My Digimon. It's strange sometimes how familiar that sounds. When I began playing the game, I immediately decided to make it more of a challenge. Instead of choosing a powerful Digimon like Gorimon right off the bat, I choose the smaller Digimon Terriermon. I've always believed that a larger size isn't necessarily the winning factor within a battle. With a Digimon like Terriermon, I was forced to use strategy rather than brute force to help him win battles and become more powerful.

We were quite the team. With the card slash function I was able to use different techniques and attacks to help Terriermon defeat the enemy Digimon. I thought it was only a game, what difference did it make if Terriermon destroyed those Digimon? I'm still ashamed when I think of how terribly wrong I was. It wasn't until Terriermon fought Gorimon that I learned the truth about Digimon: they weren't just pieces of data, but living beings When Terriermon destroyed them, he was destroying a creature that was as alive as any other human.

Terriermon's battle with Gorimon was the toughest in the game, so tough that he evolved. His evolution was something I'll never forget. Terriermon became completely out of control, using his Gatling Arm to blast just about anything. But even evolved, he still couldn't defeat Gorimon. When he de-evolved, I searched through my cards hoping that I could find something to help him. That's when I found the Blue Card. I'd never seen a card like it before, but because Terriermon was in danger of being destroyed, I used it.

After slashing the Blue Card, my card reader changed into an actual digi-vice and even more surprisingly, Terriermon literally came out of my computer! My initial shock changed to horror when I saw that Terriermon was injured so terribly, and I knew that it was my fault. If I hadn't made him fight Gorimon, he would never have gotten hurt so badly. I hurt him and other Digimon by being irresponsible.

I felt terrible about what I had done, but strangely enough Terriermon forgave me. I expected him to harbor some feelings of anger or mistrust, but once I got him fixed up, we became friends. The oddest thing about that isn't even the fact that he was a being inside my computer and had come to life, but really the fact that we're so different from one another.

We both did share some similarities, such as, being both small and smart. When you really get down to it though, the differences were quite apparent. What Terriermon lacked in size, he more than made up for it with his mouth. He had a tendency not to think before he spoke and even told another Tamer Takato, who was in a frenzy trying to find his missing Digimon Guilmon, that he; "Must not be a very good Digimon Tamer if he couldn't even take care of one Digimon." He wasn't trying to be insensitive, but at times tact wasn't really something he practiced. He was also more easier-going then I am. "Moumantai" or "Take it easy" has practically become a catch phrase for him. He also handled Shiuchon dressing him up as "Miss Prettypants" pretty well too. He really hated it, but because we couldn't let her or the rest of my family know that he was in fact a real Digimon, he was forced to deal with it. Still every time I think of him being tortured like that I wonder if it was actually worth keeping him a secret.

But there have been times when Moumantai was the farthest thing from our minds. When another tamer Makino Ruki and her Digimon Renamon were trying to force Takato and Guilmon into a battle, Terriermon ended up right in the middle of it. At the time, Ruki believed that Digimon were just data, and had no purpose other than fighting. Takato tried explaining that he didn't wish to fight her, and I even told her that Digimon weren't just data, that they were our friends and shouldn't be forced to fight one another. Neither of us succeeded and when Renamon fired her Fox Leaf Arrowhead attack at Guilmon, Terriermon ended up in the line of fire.

What happened next was an echo of the game. Terriermon evolved to his Adult stage of Galgomon and became out of control once again. It wasn't his fault, at that time he just wasn't ready for such power. He was even about to attack Ruki, but luckily Renamon and Guimon were able to save her. The damage was still done. It seemed that evolution brought out the worst in him. Later Takato and I decided it was a bad evolution, but I couldn't help but wonder if something was actually wrong with me and if that was the reason why Terriermon's evolution turned out so wrong.

Unfortunately, we didn't get much time to dwell on things. Days after meeting Takato and Ruki, more Wild Ones began to appear in our world. The most surprising of these appearances, was Gorimon! I couldn't believe it. It was like some terrible nightmare. Takato and I were just walking and speaking with Terriermon and Guilmon, when a strange fog appeared. When we started running, the fog kept following. It became clear that the fog was after me when Takato and I separated, the fog followed only Terriermon and me. Then Gorimon emerged.

I felt as though I was frozen. Gorimon immediately attacked Terriermon and Guilmon intervened. Terriermon just wasn't strong enough to fight him. I couldn't stand it. I hate fighting but Gorimon wasn't leaving us any choice. And after the terrible way I had made Terriermon fight, I just couldn't stand the thought of hurting him again. He was my best friend and I didn't want to lose him. Because we had no choice and even though I didn't want him to, Terriermon and Guilmon fought Gorimon.

But even their combined efforts weren't enough. Gorimon was an Adult level Digimon, and they were both Child level. Things were starting to look bad, and Takato stated that if Terriermon could evolve, then he could defeat Gorimon.

There was no way that could happen. What if he did evolve and forgot who he was completely? What if he started blasting everything, just like before? What if an innocent person really got injured? I couldn't let that happen. As a last resort, I tried Card Slashing a new modify card of Takato's but it was ineffective.

Then the worst happened. Terriermon used his "Bunny Blast" attack and aimed straight at Gorimon's cannon. His plan worked and Gorimon was destroyed. It seemed so unfair that the only way we could stop him was by destroying him. I kept Terriermon from loading his data, because I believed that perhaps Gorimon's data could return to where it had come from. Unfortunately, all I could do is wonder.

I still hate to fight, but I won't allow innocent people to get hurt because of my selfishness. My hesitation almost cost a young girl her life, when a human hating Digimon called Musyamon appeared in Shinjuku. It was then that Terriermon evolved into Galgomon again and instead of attacking everyone, he protected the girl. I think it was a sign that he had finally adjusted to the increased power and could control himself. Things were beginning to change.

I finally realized that although Terriermon had changed from Child to Adult, he was still the same slightly sarcastic Digimon he always was and most importantly, he was still my best friend. And nothing, not even evolution can ever change that.

There were times that it seemed as though

We couldn't get things right.

And the only choice that we could make,

was of to fight.

There were battles that seemed as though

They just could not be won.

But once we worked together,

I saw we'd only just begun.

Uncertainties did plague us.

And doubts did bring us down.

But your carefree disposition

Helped remove my frown.

I just hope that you realize,

Just hope that you do see,

How much you truly matter,

And how important you are to me.