Alright, here's chapter 5 of A Fox Among Tamers! Sorry if its a little later than I usually upload, but I've had one hell of a week, and my Memorial Weekend extra upload pushed me back a bit...but here it is! In this one the tamers finally meet each-other and the enigmatic Naruto, though for you to find out just how the meetings go...you must read on! Anyways, thank you all for your continued support of my very first story...it does mean a lot to me to read what you think about it. Also, the poll will only remain up for a few days more before I take it off...but really at this point its only remaining up because I said it would...the people have spoken, and unless there is a massive change within the next day or so, I will be very soon rewriting chapters 1-3 to fit the new format: the people have spoken! Lastly, to those of you whom may be interested, I am working on the first chapter of a new story, a plot-bunny which attacked me quite fiercely last week...but do not worry, I will promise you two things right now: 1: This new story WILL NOT affect the frequency with which I write this stories' chapters. 2: I finish all my stories, I have been quite saddened many a time because of a great story being discontinued, and it would be hypocritical for me to do the same. Now this rant is done, and chapter 5 begins!
"You want me to talk into what?" – Kyuubi speaking, jutsus/digimon attacks
"Get that thing out of my face!" – Normal speaking
'What the hell was that thing?' – Thoughts/thinking
'Hello?' 'Hello?' – Thought-speak
^the line just above this denotes a scene change.^
Disclaimer : I do not own anything belonging to Naruto or Digimon. However, I DO own this story.
-Confrontations, lessons, and revelations-
It was only a little more than a minute before Rika and Renamon arrived, though one was hidden as she took in the scene. Each had their own thoughts about the situation in front of them, and each reacted differently.
For Rika, her eyes immediately fell upon the red lizard digimon and instinctively reached for her card deck, her battle orders read on her lips. However just as quickly she realized what she was about to do and held herself back. 'Remember what Naruto said before; digimon are alive as well, and this one does not appear to be wild...in fact it seems the lizard has a...tamer.' She could not help the look of incredulity that spread across her face as she beheld the sight and heard the conversation; the lizard had the voice and vocabulary of a toddler, while the kid had enormous goggled on his head and seemed...very lacking attention-span wise.
For Renamon, her reactions were somewhat similar but she managed to keep her face blank. As she observed the apparent tamer and his digimon interact from behind a pillar, it quickly became clear to her that they were very new to this...or she dearly hoped so. The lizard in particular was a complete polar-opposite to her in every way. Where she was cautious and alert, he was curious and completely disregarded his surroundings; she held herself with dignity and spoke with mannerisms that hinted to a sharp mind, while he held himself in a way only a child could, and his voice when he spoke hinted that he had the mind of one as well. Her observations of the boy did not dredge up any better results...he had the same qualities, only he spoke in a slightly more educated manner. As the idea that these two were tamer and digimon partner passed her mind, she could not help but to mutter under her breath, "These two are supposed to take down wild digimon? Unlikely."
"It seems you have come to the same conclusion as I have, Rena-chan."
The voice was literally right behind her, causing her to whip around in surprise while her training kicked in and she assumed a defensive stance of the Puppetmaster. However what met her was an upside-down kiss to her nose from Naruto who was still sitting on the ceiling, now gazing at her with very amused eyes.
"Damn it Naruto-kun! You know how much I hate it when you sneak up on me like that...but yes, I'm not surprised you think the same of them." This was said in a whisper but was easily heard by Naruto, who allowed himself to be plucked off the ceiling and found himself wrapped in an embrace by Renamon from behind as they continued to observe. Of course, with his armor on she had to be careful, and certainly could not rest her head on his helmet of spikes...but she didn't mind.
Apparently while Renamon and Naruto were content to merely observe, Rika was not. After her initial observations her face took on a look of annoyance as she marched over to where the two were still happily chattering away about something. Once she was well withing hearing distance, she decided to announce her presence.
"Here I was hoping to find a wild digimon to fight, and instead I find a gogglehead and a lizard?"
This quickly shut both of them up as they finally became aware of their surroundings and that indeed, there was a red-headed girl talking to them. However Takato's reaction was surprising upon seeing her.
"Hey! I remember you from my dream, you have a digimon too right? I saw a yellow fox with you while you were fighting an Apemon months ago!"
This of course surprised not only Rika but Renamon and Naruto as well. Both were not aware of his presence on that night. For Naruto this meant simply that the boy was not there...at least physically, for the child had no training whatsoever that could have enabled him to mask his signature.
'Interesting...that means it has to be some form of an out-of-body experience...maybe even some isolated incident of astral-projection...father, any thoughts?'
'Hmmm...it cannot be sheer coincidence that this boy saw Rika and Renamon the very same night you approached them the first time yourself...something is at work, this is no mere coincidence.'
'Agreed, but I suppose that whomever or whatever orchestrated such a thing will only reveal itself when the time is right. For now, we should keep our observations to ourselves...though from the way Rena-chan just stiffened, it would seem she has picked up on the timely circumstances as well.'
"Rena-chan, so you realize that this boy's vision was no mere coincidence as well...let us keep this quiet for now, no need to alarm Rika or the boy." After a few seconds of contemplation she gave her agreement.
Back with Rika, she was not as quiet in her opinions. "How did you see that? Were you spying on me, googlehead?"
Seeing her anger rising, Takato frantically waved his arms in front of himself as if to ward off an incoming attack. "No no! I told you it was a dream! I had it the night before I found Guilmon!"
His last statement managed to ward off her hostility, only to bring open astonishment to her face. "Wait...you're telling me you've had Guilmon with you for over four months now? Just what exactly have you been doing?"
Her words caused Takato to scratch his head and give off a nervous chuckle. "Ah...well really we've just played around at Guilmon's shed and talked..." He trailed off and looked to the side, still chuckling nervously.
Rika for her part could only give off a groan of frustration...they've been partners for four months and haven't done anything...ugh, she could tell they would annoy her already. Well, she sure as hell was getting something out of this; she did not come all this way just to be annoyed.
"Ugh...fine, but I'm going to at least see how good your partner there is...Renamon, show him what a real digimon can do." Naruto had stated earlier just what he thought of her "Renamon, walk all over him" saying...that is to say that he did not approve. At all. That being said, she now said things only pertinent to the situation, much to his relief.
With Naruto and Renamon, both sighed as their alone time seemed to be over. Breaking away, Naruto gave her some words of advice before Renamon departed to fight.
"I wouldn't use what I've been teaching you in this fight, there is no need...in fact you shouldn't have to use your own digimon attacks either. While Guilmon is probably decently strong, he lacks in agility and intelligence...consider this a training exercise, using only your speed, strength and intelligence. From our training they should have all risen considerably." He only received a nod in reply before she vanished, appearing next to Rika in a ready battle-stance.
When she appeared, Naruto's prediction quickly proved itself. Guilmon's childish personality vanished and his pupils narrowed into slits as he recognized an opponent. While the growl that came from Guilmon was...sad, both that and his eyes told Renamon that he had reverted into an instinctual feral state upon recognizing danger. While this would slightly amplify his ability to evade and increase his attack strength, his rational mind was all but gone during this time.
With her quick observation concluded, she decided to test Guilmon, running at him with speeds he should be able to easily follow. As expected, Guilmon reacted instantly, charging forward and launching a fireball with a cry of "Pyrosphere!". She dodged easily enough but was slightly impressed by its power as it impacted with a wall, taking a decent chunk out of the wall. However, his attack left him open and she took advantage, giving him a nasty roundhouse kick to his left temple causing him to skid across the ground and into a car.
Of course, all the while Takato was having a fit shouting at Guilmon trying to get him to listen to him, while at the same time trying to make Rika pull back Renamon. Naruto could only shake his head at the situation; a team that did not work together or listen to each other could be worse than a person alone, as evidenced when Takato had to dodge a stray fireball as it soared past his location. He was quickly growing bored of this...it could not even be called a fight. Renamon simply danced around the raging Guilmon, occasionally giving a jarring blow before resuming her dance. However he had to give it to Guilmon, he had impressive stamina for one so inexperienced. He was about to tell Rika that they had seen enough, but before he could he detected yet another presence approach...two in-fact, and he recognized them as the pacifist and bunny...thing. Sure enough, from a doorway off to the side emerged Henry with Terriermon on his head.
"Just what is going on here? Why are you guys making your digimon fight?"
Henry's statement caused Rika to swing around and view him while Renamon continued dodging, now simply evading to observe these new presences. Rika sighed as she saw the boy with a digimon riding on his head...it would seem yet another tamer had arrived...just how many were there?
"Another one? You guys are like cockroaches! And what do you mean why am I making Renamon fight? I'm having her test the lizard's capabilities!" She said this all with a scowl on her face...while meeting a new tamer tonight was just barely manageable for her, meeting two in one night was downright annoying.
Henry frowned at this, not at all approving of the situation. "Testing his capabilities? You're acting as if he's nothing more than a fighter! Digimon don't have to fight, Terriermon here can live a life of his own without the pressure of having to fight!" "But Henry I keep telling you.." "We've discussed this Terriermon!"
Ignoring Henry and Terriermon's argument, Rika instead was still fixated upon what Henry said before that...and it made her angry. "Hold on a second! Are you telling me that you know about the wild ones that keep coming through, and you don't do anything? The gogglehead at least thought it was a dream, but you knew?"
Henry paused in his argument with Terriermon to answer her. "Yes I knew, and you must be the tamer that keeps deleting them! Have you ever even tried to talk to them first? If what I'm seeing here tonight is any clue, I'm guessing not!"
Rika was about to respond with some heated words, but both were caught by surprise when a stray fireball hit the wall behind Henry, knocking him off his feet and launching Terriermon into the fray. As Henry shouted for Terriermon to get out of the way, Terriermon himself seemed to have different thoughts.
Everyone paused, even the battling Renamon and Guilmon, as Henry's d-power lit up like a beacon as a synthetic female voice came from it.
DIGIVOLUTION
To the shock of those present Terriermon worked in tandem with the device, calling out "Terriermon digivolve to..." as he trailed off his skin simply peeled off his body, showing a digital wireframe underneath. They all watched as it warped and grew, before the wireframe stood a little shorter than Renamon. When the wireframe stopped growing, new skin seemed to wrap itself around the frame, before what was once Terriermon now shouted out in a slightly deeper voice "..Gargomon!"
For the most part, Terriermon's color pattern stayed the same, as did his overall body shape. What did change was the fact that he was now sporting blue jeans, had markings on his face, a belt wrapped around his midsection...and by far the most alarming was that he now wielded two very large guns instead of hands. All was quiet for a moment as everyone stared at this new threat, including the threat itself. Then, Gargomon started...giggling and without any further ado...trained his guns on multiple targets and cried out "Gargo Pellets!" and thus the madness began. People and digimon alike scattered as the out of control bunny laughed hysterically while trying to blast away anyone he saw.
Behind a column and well out of sight, Naruto narrowed his eyes at the scene, barely holding down his disgust. 'It would seem that if a digimon is unready to digivolve, doing so puts them in a berserker state...and that Henry kid is starting to piss me off. He refused to let his digimon battle when it obviously wanted too, and because of this eventually the bunny revolted against Henry's orders...and this is the result. Terriermon is at fault as well for losing control, sure...but if he had been properly prepared, none of this would have happened.'
'Indeed, tonight has been full of examples of just why a team should work together...and how destructive it can be when they do not. Do you plan on stepping in, son?'
'Not yet, there is no point until I am needed...but from the way Renamon isn't even able to get close to the trigger-happy bunny, I might need to step in soon.'
And indeed, Renamon was becoming quite annoyed at the situation...it was just one thing after another for her. First, she was fighting a berserk lizard...not hard to do, but quite annoying. Then, they find out that yet another tamer and his partner show up, and proceed to proclaim a message of "love and peace"...which irked her to no end, growing up in the digital world, she knew exactly how far that ideal would go. And now, she was forced into fighting yet another berserker digimon...only this one was a champion and was turning the surroundings into Swiss-cheese; making it very hard for her to get close. She was so focused on not obtaining any piercings that she did not notice that the car she landed ten feet in front of was sparking from bullet impacts, and that the sparks had reached the leaking gas tank. Therefore, she was completely caught by surprise when an explosion behind her launched her into a column a good fifteen feet away, stunning her momentarily and making stars explode across her vision.
When she managed to clear her vision some, she noticed that the bullets she had been dodging frantically had stopped and wondered why. She got her answer when she turned in the direction of Gargomon, who now had both of his guns trained on her...and she could do nothing about it.
Naruto had viewed the explosion in slow-motion, watching in a stunned silence as Renamon was launched into a column and momentarily disabled. However, upon seeing the damned Gargomon train his guns onto Renamon's prone form, his mind and body went into overdrive. 'Shit! If I use kawarimi with Renamon I'll end up with a few hundred extra holes...and if I attacked Gargomon right off it may cause him to reflexively fire...no choice, it seems I have to show some of my skills to these humans far earlier than I had intended.' With no other option, Naruto sighed before mentally releasing his gravity seal...he had forgotten what he set it at, for it had been nearly a year since he had adjusted it last, and it would be a pain in the ass to reset if he needed to once more. To any observer it would seem as if he had simply disappeared, the only indication something had happened was that a line of debris was suddenly blown away in a gale.
She did not want to believe it...she knew that the chance of being deleted as a tamer's digimon was high, but she most certainly did not want it...not after meeting her new-found love and finally getting Rika to right her wrongs. However, that did not mean she wouldn't stare death in the face; she'd be damned if she wasn't defiant to the end. And so, she stared down the barrels of Gargomon's guns unblinkingly, and was thus confused when her view of them was blocked by something black. She was even more confused when she heard the telltale sounds of Gargomon's guns opening fire, only for the sound on clanging to retaliate. Snapping out of her reverie, she finally realized that it was Naruto who had intervened, and the clanging sounds were that of his sword deflecting the oncoming bullets. Once more she was reminded of just how far she had to go until she could even have the slightest chance of sparring with him on equal ground...his sword was just a silver gleam which blurred in front of Naruto, his arms very much the same as he slowly walked towards Gargomon while parrying.
There was not much that got to Naruto, but he had to admit this was quite annoying. With his gravity seal gone he had no trouble deflecting the oncoming projectiles with his sword, but it was nevertheless extremely annoying. As he slowly approached Gargomon, he wondered just how much projectiles the bunny could hold...he was bound to run out some time! When he finally got within striking range with his sword, both his arms and sword flashed twice more, striking both of Gargomon's gun's with the flat of the blade and throwing the bunny's arms to the side. Upon being granted such an opening, Naruto struck hard and fast, seemingly disappearing once more from his position four feet from Gargomon and reappearing with his left fist entrenched firmly in Gargomon's gut, the impact lifting the overgrown bunny off his feet. Before Gargomon even touched the ground once more he de-digivolved back into Terriermon, whom was clearly unconscious from the impact.
Naruto slowly stood up from his crouch, sheathing his sword once more and proceeded to walk towards Renamon, doing a valiant job of ignoring everyone's gaping expressions directed towards him. Upon reaching Renamon, he knelt down next to her and laid a claw on her left cheek, his eyes roving over her form. In low voice he finally spoke up, his words thick with emotion.
"Are...are you alright Rena-chan? I had almost lost you again, it tears me up every time I have to see you fight...but I know that you need to gain experience. Even then, having to watch you fight alone instills such a fear in me...I don't want to lose you...not after just finding you." As he finished a lone tear escaped his right eye, showing the emotions he was barely holding back.
For Renamon, she was quite touched at his worry, and finally saw just how much she meant to him. He had never loved someone before that did not accept him for their own reasons: his father because he saw Naruto's life and was sealed within him, the kitsune clan because he was their new leader...she was the first to accept him for no other reason than the simple fact that she liked him. As this understanding dawned on her, she found herself falling even further in love with him...he had jumped in the way to protect her, used his body as a shield to save her own. Adopting Naruto's policy of ignoring the observers she took one of her own claws and drew down Naruto's mask with it before leaning in to kiss him deeply. Ignoring the gasps around them, she remained that way a few seconds more before pulling away, a serene smile upon her muzzle as she answered Naruto.
"I'm fine Naruto-kun, thanks to you. I know its hard on you to watch me fight, but you know I have to do this, the best way to gain experience is during real battle situations, you told me yourself. But I have faith in you to protect me should the need arise as you have done tonight, and in time I hope to be able to do the same in return."
While this indeed relived Naruto a great deal, he still was not happy with the near death encounter. "Thank you Rena-chan...that helped a bit. Regardless, I am going to find some way to amplify your training, there must be something we can do...when we train tomorrow, we will be doing a little experiment, alright?" Upon getting her consent, he re-attached his mask and stood up, his expression becoming as cold as an arctic tundra as he faced a still stunned Henry. Pointing a clawed digit at Henry, he spoke up for all to hear; the hostility in his voice sending shivers down the spines of all who were present.
"You, grab your digimon and come with me...it is time you and I had a little talk." When it seemed his words were not quite getting through to the boy, he let loose a small amount of his killing intent, snapping Henry out of his stupor and instilling the fear of...Kyuubi...into the boy. "I do not know what you thought that was boy, but to enlighten you it was not a request, it was a demand. Come with me. NOW!" His voice took on two tones at the end, one his normal voice, the other deep and menacing. Needless to say Henry quickly gathered Terriermon and followed the frightening individual into the adjacent parking garage.
Naruto was well aware of the fact that the others were "stealthily" following them, but it did not matter. In fact, what he was about to discuss was something everyone needed to hear anyways, regardless of whether or not they shared Henry's views. When he arrived in the middle of the parking garage, he stopped and turned around, facing Henry's nervous form stoically. When he spoke, it was with the monotone he often used for psychological warfare.
"Tell me Henry...do you know why your digimon went berserk tonight?"
This seemed to instill Henry with some courage, his own convictions enabling him to do so. "Yes, it was because he was forced to fight! Now before you play twenty questions with me I think some questions about you need to be answered. I scanned you during your battle with Gargomon, and you have no digital patterns, meaning you are not a digimon. However that leaves more questions than answers...you look human, yet you are obviously not. First, what you just did should be impossible, you deflected every bullet with a sword! No one has reflexes or a reaction time that good. Second, is your eyes; they're slitted...a trait not found amongst humans. And third is your general appearance. With that strange silver armor with black veins and your attire, I had assumed you to be a digimon. These facts combined lead me to ask...what are you? And fourth was your...interactions with Renamon...what exactly was that?" His observations stated, Henry leaned back against a pillar and awaited his answers.
"Play twenty questions you say? Very well, I will humor you this once...however you WILL answer me when I ask as well. Now to answer your questions in order: You are correct, I am not a digimon, nor am I a human. As for what exactly I am, that will most likely be revealed in time...but for now such information will only be told to those I deem worthy, and you are not one. As for my interaction with Renamon, I do not believe that is any of your business. What we do should be of no concern to you. Now then, as to your answer to my original question...you are incorrect. I do not know if someone told you such a lie or you drew such a conclusion yourself, but your answer could not be more wrong. The reason Terriermon went berserk tonight is because he was simply not ready for the power of Gargomon. Ever heard of the saying, "power corrupts"? It holds some truths to it. If one is not properly prepared for the power they receive, it will instill them with a sense of euphoria, making them think they can take on anything and anyone. When it comes to digimon, they can only properly prepare themselves for this by having experience...gained by battling others, be it digimon or otherwise. Now for my next question: since it is all too apparent that Terriermon does not have the experience needed to digivolve...why does he not? I know you have had him for at least four months, I had observed the two of you before this night. Four months is ample time for such; Renamon is more than ready to take the next step, even though she is unaware of such. You have had ample time to prepare him, now I want to hear your reasons why you have not." As he finished, Naruto did not relent from his chilling gaze, daring Henry to lie to him.
While Henry was mildly unnerved by Naruto's statements, the fact that Naruto himself had no digimon of his own bolstered his courage once more...how could he know what prepares a digimon if he himself does not have one?
"I already told you why; he doesn't need to fight! He battled constantly in the digimon world, and now that he's here he doesn't need to anymore! And how would you know what prepared a digimon to evolve, you don't even have one!"
Naruto's eyes narrowed into mere slits at this...the naivety of this child was starting to get to him. If the boy would not listen to calm logic, it was time to bring out the harsh logic as he did with Rika...only this time there would be no deception.
"Fool! Take a good look at me boy! Look at what I wear, the weapons I wield, the armor I don and the way in which I move, and tell me what you see! I can tell from the way you carry yourself that you at least have some teachings in the art of close combat, therefore reading your opponents should be second nature to you...now tell me!" As he ended everyone could tell that it was not a request, it was a demand.
As Henry realized this, he studied Naruto's appearance closely...and as he viewed just what type of weaponry Naruto wielded, his face grew pale and his eyes widened. He had only heard of such types of weapons from his sensei, and they were used a long, long time ago. However, the antiquity was not what worried him...it was their purpose, and the type of person that wielded them.
"Those...are those kunai and...shuriken? The last time those were seen was back in the Shimabara Rebellion! And the people that used them were..." He trailed off at the end, not wanting his theory to be confirmed. However, Naruto was dead set on making his point.
"Assassins? Spies? Shinobi? Yes on all accounts. They may be but a myth for you, but for where I come from they are very real. And as you have obviously figured out, I am one myself. To further enlighten you, I have trained to be a shinobi from the age of five, and made my first kills at the same age. The point of me telling you all of this? Its quite simple; to show you the inaccuracy of your statements...I may not have a digimon, this is true, but I AM a fighter, and have been one since you were born! That being said, I can say the next statement with absolute certainty: digimon or not, one needs to know how to wield power before they are given it. I have seen many instances in which those who were given power before they were ready to wield it died because they were not ready; the same thing will happen to your digimon! Now, as for your little statement that your digimon does not need to fight...tell me Henry, have you fought a wild one yet?"
Henry slowly nodded, still trying to get over the fact that the man in front of him had killed...several times before.
"And when you tried to be nice and talk to it, as is your policy, what happened? Did it realize the wrongdoings it had committed and begged for your apology? Was the digimon even amicable...or did it just ignore or laugh at you before attacking?"
The sheepish look that crossed over Henry's face was all Naruto needed.
"That look says it all, it completely ignored your pleas. And yet another factor you've seemed to happily ignore...why do you think you have Terriermon? You think he came to this world for the sole reason of playing the roll of a doll? Do not be naïve boy! I can guarantee you it is not coincidence that you three have gained digimon partners, while at the same time digimon started attacking this world. Your partner was sent here for a reason, and ignoring such would be cowardly...in fact...you would be voluntarily endangering your family." His tone was icy at the end, and caused Henry's eyes to widen before he glared at Naruto.
"What do you mean? How am I voluntarily endangering my family?"
"Damnit boy, use that brain you've been given! When a wild one emerges, their main priority is to cause mayhem most of the time. Yet if another digimon is near, they start heading right towards them. Now consider the fact that you yourself have a digimon, and also remember he lives with you...with your family! Get it now? By just ignoring the problem, the problem will simply come to you instead and endanger your family in the process! Either you get your damn head out of your ass and toss the pacifist approach, or you kill your family. You choose Henry, if you choose incorrectly I will not help as you reap the consequences of your actions...or lack thereof." His point made with brutal clarity, Naruto walked back into the wrecked parking garage, leaving one anguished Henry Wong behind, along with his still unconscious digimon.
Behind a car twenty feet away, two digimon and two tamers slowly moved out as well, thinking about what had just been said. All was quiet for a few moments until Takato spoke up quietly. "Man...that was harsh."
On the other side of Rika, Renamon snorted before responding. "That may be, but it still needed to be said...that boy..Henry would only endanger everyone around him by refusing to fight, as we have all seen tonight."
This time it was Rika's turn to snort. "Yeah no kidding...it may have been harsh but it gets the job done." 'It certainly worked on me at least." "But what in the world did Naruto do? I thought you were bluffing when you told be he could go faster Renamon...but he was deflecting every single bullet...from two gatling guns!"
Once more Takato spoke up upon being reminded of the 'so cool!' thing Naruto did. "Yeah how did he do that? I mean that was so cool, he was like some super samurai ninja dude!" As he finished, Takato deemed it necessary that he attempt a reenactment of the scene, with Guilmon watching him like only a child could.
Renamon nearly snorted at what Takato said, for although his description was...colorful...it was surprisingly apt; he just left out the whole leader-of-a-beast-race thing. But that little fact would remain a secret for some time yet...or at least she hopes so. As both she and Rika steadfastly ignored Takato's antics, she thought over the conversation they had 'stealthily' eavesdropped on. She knew that Naruto was all too aware of their presences, but that knowledge certainly hadn't stopped him from being brutally blunt with his cold logic. However...cold it may be, but the results more than proved its effectiveness. When they left Henry still was slumped on the ground looking like reality had fallen down on him...which was probably very much the case for him after Naruto was done. For Rika, he had performed a damn miracle: she actually cares now, even if he had to mentally rip her apart for it to work.
As they walked away from the scene and eventually split ways with Takato and Guilmon, both wondered where Naruto had gone off too...Renamon guessed to his den to either train or rest, but couldn't be positive. Either way, she was sure that he would be there at some point in the night and she would be waiting for him if he wasn't there when she arrived...she had come to enjoy sleeping curled up next to him quite a bit.
Meanwhile, Naruto did indeed plan on going back to his den to meditate a bit, and since it was already quite late he decided to walk his way there...at least most of the way. To avoid drawing attention to his armor he withdrew a black robe from a scroll he always carried with him and slung it over his form. Sure, a very large man walking around entirely clothed in black was certainly conspicuous, but compared to a very large man clad in dangerous armor and armed to the teeth...he'll take option one. He was about halfway back when he started to pay attention to the large black vehicle that had been seemingly following him for the past two blocks, trying in vain to avoid catching his attention.
Naruto scoffed at this...the idea that such a loud machine could achieve such was laughable. As he continued walking, Naruto suddenly veered into an adjacent alley, where he flickered onto the roof of the building once he made sure no one could see him...he wanted to see just what these people wanted with him. Sure enough, not twenty seconds later he saw the van drive up to the alley entrance, blocking it off so that the only way out...normally...was through the van doors. Upon arriving the doors immediately swung open and three individuals garbed in black suits stepped out. Two followed a step behind the middle one, both had the appearance of bodyguards, while the middle man was clearly the ringleader.
As Naruto observed this his right eyebrow raised in amusement and curiosity...from the way these people dressed, they did not appear to belong to any...well known organization, and they wanted it to stay that way. He chuckled quietly to himself as he observed the ringleader scan the alley before letting out a few choice words, obviously not happy he had eluded them. Now Naruto was faced with two choices: one, take his leave and leave his curiosity unsatisfied...or two, sate his curiosity and also risk having a confrontation. He gave both options some thought...for as long as it took him to sink into the roof of the building he was on and reappear in a dark corner of the alley...he was a kitsune after all! He may be a cold emotionless bastard to most, but he would admit he was quite a curious and mischievous individual as well...he blamed his father. As he began to slowly walk out of the alley corner, he managed to overhear the man's mumbling.
"Where the hell could that man have gone...we saw him walk in here!" The man continued to grumble as his 'henchmen' stood back near the van, securing the area.
"Hmm...indeed, where did he go?" An amused voice responded from a corner of the alley before the very man he was looking for stepped out of the shadows.
"You! How did you that! You weren't in this alley when I checked!" He was quite annoyed by this...he prided himself on his thoroughness, and yet this man was able to evade his search...in a damn alley!
"Yes, me. As for how I did that...what would I gain by telling you? I think I'll just keep that little secret to myself for now. Now I believe it is time for you to answer some questions of my own. First, why are you following me, and who are you?"
At this the blonde man composed himself before answering in a strict voice, "You can call me Yamaki, and as for why we were following you...we know you have had contact with digimon, one yellow fox in particular. We want to know why. We already know about the children that are 'tamers', but you are obviously not."
"Oh...so you know about digimon as well do you? How interesting...and yes I am most certainly...familiar with Renamon. As for my reasons...why should I give such information to you? After all, I don't take kindly to being stalked and then having said stalker demand answers from me."
Yamaki began to grow irritated...this should have been a quick pick up followed by an interrogation in a secure location, and instead they were playing twenty questions! "You should answer my questions for a few very good reasons. First, you are outnumbered and cornered in an alley...an unfortunate position. Two, the organization's job is to dispose of any incoming digimon, and your presence around them is alarming. And finally three...it would be most unfortunate if something unforeseen was to happen to that yellow fox digimon..." He trailed off at the end, allowing a cruel smirk to adorn his face...unknowingly crossing a line that should not be crossed with Naruto.
Naruto's amused face obscured in the darkness of his hood quickly morphed into one of fury as he heard the thinly veiled threat. This was amusing no longer; this Yamaki needed to be taught a lesson.
'He threatened a pack member's life! Teach this miserable excuse of a human a lesson he will not forget!' Kyuubi was practically frothing at the mouth in Naruto's mindscape...to threaten a pack member was paramount to attempted murder of a family member.
'Do not worry father, I have every intention of making my response all to clear for this filth.' Turning his attention back to the man, he gave his response, his voice no longer amused; now it was low and was very akin to a growl.
"You think your little posse can do anything to me? The weapons I carry are not just for show, but please, by all means come at me! And if your job is to 'dispose' of any incoming digimon...hell of a job there...you just missed a few...dozen...and just to let you know...threatening a friend of mine is the very worst thing you could have done, and your men will pay the price for your transgression." With that parting comment he settled into the Puppetmaster style and waited.
He did not have to wait long. Yamaki could tell the time for talk was over, and he motioned the two to apprehend the man while he himself approached the van once more. The two men instantly pulled out taser guns and fired them at Naruto. These of course were promptly dodged by Naruto, whom once more resumed his stance now that the taser guns were useless for now. At this the two men charged, both assuming their own close combat stances. While Naruto could tell they were well trained, they were still complete amateurs compared to him...and noone knew of his style.
When they got withing his range they both struck at once, one throwing a punch aimed for his head while the other attempted a low kick. Naruto dodged both by diving at them horizontally, and as he passed he delivered two piercing jabs to the men, taking out their respective body parts. He wasted no time as he landed behind them and performed a sweep kick, taking their footing out from beneath them and sending them to the ground temporarily. However it was all the time Naruto needed, as he just as quickly approached their falling bodies and delivered a crushing upward chop to the back of their necks as they fell. Upon hitting the ground both men lay deathly still, neither rising up, mainly due to the awkward angle at which their heads now lay.
All was quiet for a moment before Naruto approached the van and a stunned Yamaki...he did not blame him for his surprise...after all, not many people in this world are capable or willing to kill in such a fashion. He decided it was high time to give his parting comments to this filth.
"As I said before, Yamaki...your men were inadequate, as are your threats to me and mine. If you attempt to carry out your threats against those I care about, I will personally make what happened tonight look like a child's scuffle." With this his tone took on a false cheer as he gave his final words. "Have a good night, Yamaki-san." And with that he backed into an alley wall before seeming to simply sink into it as one would water before disappearing altogether, leaving behind a thoroughly unnerved Yamaki.
Naruto finally arrived back at his den and heaved a deep sigh of relief as he walked down the winding passage...while tonight was nothing to him physically...it was mentally exhausting dealing with so many dumbasses in one day. As he entered his main room he reverted back into his hybrid form, breathing out a sigh of relief as he did...he was so much more comfortable like this! However he seemed to be forgetting something, but he was not sure of what...oh well, he'd figure it out after he had eaten.
However his answer was soon given to him as two warm arms wrapped around him from behind, pulling his form up against a form he knew all to well.
"And just where have you been Naruto-kun?" This was followed up by a warm nuzzle against his own muzzle from Renamon.
"Oh, just dealing with some unexpected trash I ran into...but no need to worry about it, I made sure the situation was dealt with." He turned around and carefully hugged Renamon back, careful about the spikes on his armor.
"Hmm...perhaps we should get all of this armor off of you...while I admit it is rather stunning on you, I am not too keen on becoming acquainted with one of it's spikes."
Naruto nodded at this, and soon all this armor and clothing was off and packed away neatly. In his hybrid form there was no need for clothing, everything was well covered by a thick layer of fur. After he was free of his equipment, both he and Renamon enjoyed a deer together before washing up in the pool.
As both once more crawled into Naruto's bed and curled up against each-other, Naruto decided to speak up before they drifted off to sleep.
"Rena-chan, tomorrow we will test an idea for improving your training...if it works, the speed at which you learn will exponentially increase."
Renamon nodded tiredly form her position before responding. "Very well Naruto-kun, and I hope it works...but for now let us rest, it has been a long day." Hearing no complaint, she slowly drifted off to sleep, Naruto soon following, but not before giving Renamon a gentle kiss on her muzzle.
The next morning found both Renamon and Naruto once again in the main room, Renamon awaiting Naruto's instructions as he went over ideas with his father. Finally, Naruto opened his eyes and smiled at Renamon before talking.
"Well I'm sure you're curious as to what I have planned, so I'll just come out and tell you: I plan on teaching you how to manipulate your energy the way I do; in essence I will attempt to teach you ninjutsu." His smile only grew wider as Renamon's eyes open wide in shock at his words.
"What? You think I would be able to perform techniques like those I have seen you do? Then by all means let's begin!" Her enthusiasm only made his smile grow wider...they were very similar in regards to learning new things.
"Hai hai...but first I have a little bit of bad news. Because ninjutsu was originally designed by humans and for humans, most of the handsigns needed to perform ninjutsu require more than the three claws you possess." Seeing her expression fall at this he was quick to redeem himself. "However! That does not mean you shouldn't be able to perform ninjutsu that rely solely on energy manipulation. In addition, there is at least one very important jutsu with handsigns that you should be able to perform...the Kage Bunshin. You know of the clone's properties; what they learn you learn, the more you make, the faster you learn."
Renamon was almost bouncing due to her excitement...if she could create Kage Bunshin the possibilities were practically endless! However she did have one question. "That's amazing...but what jutsu's use only energy manipulation? I've only ever seen you use ones that use handsigns."
"You are correct, and the reason you have never seen me perform any is the simple fact that most are extremely destructive. You remember the nickname I told you I gained in my world? I will show you one of the attacks which earned it."
As he ended Naruto stepped back and began to compress his youki into his right arm. As he did, a thick crimson substance oozed out of him and collected on his arm. It wasn't long before his entire arm was engulfed by it, after which he converted some of his youki into the elements of fire and lightning and channeled it there as well, shaping the youki formed at his paw.
Renamon watched in astonishment as the liquid energy on his arm suddenly lit aflame, before just as quickly becoming electrified in a storm of dancing bolts. Both elements seemed to fight one another for a moment before they merged, forming a brightly glowing liquid that lanced with energy. To finish it up, the liquid where Naruto's right paw was quickly contorted into the shape of a fox's head, which bore a menacing snarl.
Naruto held up his glowing arm before talking once more. "I have no real name for this...I have not thought of one and it is only a formality. What you see before you is a fusion of fire and lightning...plasma. If I were to unleash this, the den we are in would disintegrate under the massive heat wave released. If we are successful here today, then perhaps one day you too will be able to perform such feats. Now, to see if such is possible. The handsign for the Kage Bunshin is simple a cross-seal, easily performed by you. You need not incant the name itself, as you already know how to channel your energy into attacks; simply focus your energy into the handsigns and visualize what you desire...in this case a clone or clones of yourself."
Renamon did as instructed, forming a cross with her claws and closing her eyes to better visualize what she wanted. She pictured an exact replica of herself standing next to Naruto, and doing as instructed directed some of her digital energy into her claws. She had no delusions that it would be this easy, most things came only with hard work and lots of practice. It took a few moments, but then her energy seemed to take on a mind of its own and started to flow out of her at an alarming pace. She was alarmed by the amount of energy it took...she only wanted one! Thinking of anything to cut off the flow, she ended her mental image, uncrossed her claws and opened her eyes. Sure enough, the energy flow stopped and she was left only somewhat tired. Upon looking at Naruto however, she caught sight of his Cheshire grin and looked to where his eyes were looking. She herself jumped back in surprise when she came muzzle to muzzle with an all to familiar face.
As for Naruto, he could not have been more proud. 'She got it on the first try...damn she's good! Sure she may have literally dumped energy into this one, but practice makes perfect!' Snapping out of his reverie, Naruto gave the real Renamon a beaming smile before speaking.
"Well now...Kage Bunshin test: SUCCESS! Let the training commence!"
Ending Notes: And there's chapter 5! Sorry it took a while to get it out, but the two-updates memorial weekend backed me up quite a bit. Anyways...the poll will be concluded tomorrow, but I'm going to go ahead and say the votes were unanimous: I should be able to correct them and update them by sometime tomorrow. Not much else to say, I'm dead tired tonight, but I will still respond to my reviews!
Xutzy: Thanks, I tried to make it a warm moment, glad I succeeded!
Raizen Lord of Twilight: Well you get so see their reactions to a kiss at least...they'll have more to endure later though :D. And no problem, it made sense and I agree with it.
Mshadow88: Thanks for the compliment, and yeah I admit I enjoyed thrashing her skewed outlook.
Childofthelord: Thanks for the review!
Hades45: Here it is! :D
aquamewblast: Its nothing to complicated, the 'lips' that are on a canine's muzzle are surprisingly controllable, and a kiss would simply be putting them together, just as humans do. As for the digital energy, it simply dissipates; the same thing happened in the show when Takato refused to let Guilmon absorb any.
ScarsOfThePast: Thanks for the slew of compliments! Heh, I think I felt my ego grow! 'grabs a needle'
Bahumat knight: Well, I'll give you a big clue on the earliest at which Naruto's true form will be revealed: he said he needed a lot of open space, an area which is not easily found anywhere near where they currently reside...they would have to go someplace entirely different.
Lightningblade49: There ya go!
Magician Girl Mirani: I'm glad you enjoyed the scenes! I enjoyed writing both of those in particular, one for the challenge of properly presenting a fight, and the other for making the touching scene come across as just right. Yes I have no doubt Scotland is awesome...its way the hell up north, where a few of my ancestors come from, and its COLD!...I love cold :D. And finally, I found someone that seems to dislike the damnable old coot as much as I! Perhaps we could have a rant-session about him eh? Lol, anyways thanks for the review, I'll try and keep this story updated regularly.
Dark Raven 19: Awww hell...you just had to say BRILLIANT didn't you? Now I have the Guinness commercials stuck in my head! XD
Gallantmon228: Thanks for your continued support. Really, its rare enough for people to review, I thank you for you continuing to do such, and your support is appreciated.
This is not a flame just some: 'Gasp' Awwww look at it! 'Takes a picture' my very first flame! :D
Forward-Always forward: Heh, well here you go!
Sephiroth owns u all: Wow...well thank you...three times! ^^
Vandenbz: Your wait is over, and you will see more of their interactions with him soon.
Amaterasu's vassel: Thanks! And it will most likely be a good while until we see Naruto's true form make an appearance, unless I decide to do a massive skip...which would probably ruin the story.
The-wandering-scribe: Sweet! My story has been officially deemed epic...I feel all warm. Thanks for the support! ^^
jaredhimself31: Thanks for the compliments, and I'm glad it came out realistic.
ChaosWolfCM: Will do!