NAMCO Tales Studio, Ltd. holds the exclusive rights to all characters and story elements appearing in the video game Tales of Symphonia. The following story has been created for entertainment purposes only, and no profit has been made by the author.

Dear Diary, Love Sheena

19 January, 3596 (Mizuho reckoning)

Dear Diary,

It may be childish, but all my life I've dreamed of meeting a kitsune. The spirit, not the animal—I've seen foxes. Kitsune, in case you don't know, is Mizuhoan for fox. And in myth, it's a spirit who assumes the shape of a fox. I never thought it would actually happen. In truth, I was almost convinced they didn't exist. The other kids in my village say they don't. Kuchinawa said he saw one, but he might have been teasing me.

Why am I telling you this? You get straight to the point, don't you, Diary? We need to work on your manners. Sorry, now I'm teasing.

I'm telling you this because last night I could have sworn I saw a genuine, real live kitsune.

Now, Orochi says kitsunes come in many shapes and sizes and have many colorings. Some look almost human and others are nearly indistinguishable from foxes. Mine had yellow fur with dashes of blue and brown, and I think it—

Did I just call it mine?

I think it had two or three tails. It zipped by so awfully fast I couldn't be sure. I called out to it as loudly as I dared, told it my name and that I wouldn't hurt it. I even left my door open on the chance that it'd come inside. But Kate shut my door before he could. Have I told you about Kate yet? She's the...what's the word? The vice-chief of the Research Lab? That's the wrong word, but I can't think of the right one. Anyway, she's second-in-command. She's very smart and nice enough, but I can't talk to her about anything important. She treats me like a lab rat, not a girl. I don't mind. I am a lab rat after all.

Speaking of rats, that's what Kate told me my kitsune probably was. Yeah, right. Who ever heard of a yellow rat? Maybe in the wilds, but not in the city, not even in the sewers where the rats are rumored to grow as big as my kitsune. Oh, yeah, I've decided I am calling her mine. Apparently I've also decided it's a girl.

Is yellow a girl's color? A few of our ninjas wear yellow shozoku for desert camouflage (well, more tan than yellow). They're male. But that doesn't prove anything. The Chosen wears pink and the kids at school tell me pink is for girls. Okay, the kids at school tell each other, and I overhear. And it's mostly the other boys who are jealous of the Chosen talking.

"So, how should you evaluate this intel, Sheena?" (Imagine you just heard a deep, crackling voice, not too terribly old. I say that in case he ever reads this.)

"Not valuable at all, Vice-chief."

"Correct. What then should your response be?"

"Disregard."

The Lab's quiet tonight. I'm planning to sneak around and see if I can track my kitsune down. I might even scope out the city if I don't find anything here. Maybe I shouldn't. I'll be breaking the rules by leaving after dark. But, well, I really want to find her.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Love,

Sheena