Chapter Two—Hello Spirit??

Ash now carried a bag packed to the brim with supplies, food, and clothes (especially clean he-knew-whats), which was happily packed by his mother who seemed very pleased that her boy was on a mission from Musa. The status of T Midew, while common in the E-Mon world, was respected, and she was proud of Ash.

Ash and Kuribute were now walking along together, heading back to Musa's house. No longer sprinting as before, Ash had time to strike up a conversation with the little E-Mon. He decided it was time to show off.

"Hey, Kuribute, you're a Wood element E-Mon, right? And you're a NatMon type. Your attacks are Dive, Diverge, and you've got a special attack called the Firm Claw, that Musa taught to you! Am I correct about all that?"

"Wow, T Midew, you know a lot! You'll have plenty of E-Mon friends if you know so much!"

"Thanks Kuribute."

"Call me Kuribu. And you know my Firm Claw attack? It's one of the strongest basic E-Mon attacks!"

"Really?"

"You bet. Want to see?"

Ash stopped.

"Why not. Practice it on..."

Ash trailed off as he looked for a suitable target. His eyes swept the area, continuing to search until they alighted on a rock. He'd seen that rock many times during his life in Tulunk Village, yet it never really stood out to him. Not until today, at least. Now, this rock seemed to beckon him, calling him to reach out to it. And he would reach out to it. With Kuribute's claws!

"Kuribu—use your attack on that rock over there! Smash it apart!"

"You got it, T Midew."

Kuribu jumped back a few paces, then ran full speed, claws thrust forward. Ending his charge with a little hop, Kuribu's claws smashed right through the rock, breaking it in half. Grinning happily, Kuribu turned around, arching his head in pride.

"See, I told ya I could do it..."

Kuribu trailed, noticing the shocked look on his T Midew's face.

"What's wrong, T Midew?"

"L—looook!", Ash said, and with that, he cowered.

Kuribu turned around to see an amazingly bright blue light rising out of the rock. The ground was lightly shaking, and the remaining pieces of rock were falling away, as if the light were trying to free itself.

"A-Hahahahahahahahaha! Hahahahahah! Finally! I can't believe it! I'm FREE!"

Kuribu quickly ran back to where Ash was trying to make himself disappear as the light split into two lights, and each took on a different form. The first into the shape of a boy, and the second into the shape of an E-Mon. The boy just kept on laughing and the E-Mon stretched, as te spirit pair were freed from the rock.

Finally, when the light died down to just a faint blue glow around the shapes of the boy and E-Mon, and all of the rock was crumbled to dust, the boy stepped forward.

"You there, E-Mon. It was your claws that freed me. Who is your T-Midew?"

Kuribu nodded dumbly while pointing to Ash.

"Great T Midew, I thank you for freeing my spirit from that confine! I have spent hundreds of years inside that wretched rock, and you have finally freed me! I do not know who you are, but you have my allegiance. I swear to aid you in whatever way I can."

"Er.. you're welcome, I guess. It was no problem."

"Good, very good. But now, you can stop trying to hide. I'm not going to hurt you!"

Ash raised himself from the ground, revealing his face to the spirit. The second this was done the spirit's eyes widened, and had he been alive, the color would have drained from his face.

"S-Satoshi?"