A Fox Among Tamers

by Aarik076

His past a hellish nightmare, what will he do when he finds himself in another world? Will he succumb to his hatred, or rise above it with the help of a certain vixen?

6. New Abilities, questions, camaradere

Hello again everyone! Now, before you bite my head off for not posting until now, let me explain. When I posted the last chapter last Wednesday, I really didn't want to...but I knew you guys were waiting. See, I highly prefer to release my chapters on the weekends, preferable Friday or Saturday...which is why I am doing such now. However, because it has been a longer wait than usual, this chapter will reflect that; it will be longer than usual. I plan for quite a bit of things to happen in this one, but as to what...you'll just have to read to find out! :D

"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

~~~Scene Change~~~ : Obviously denotes a scene change.

-(Location)- : place of current scene.

Disclaimer : I do not own anything belonging to Naruto or Digimon. However, I DO own this story.

-New Abilities, the question, and camaraderie-

Naruto did not waste any time: upon knowing that she could indeed mold her energy to mimick ninjutus, he has made her make a few more while he himself made just as many. After this was done, the five pairs found different areas around the room and proceeded to go through different katas. While this was going on, the real Naruto turned to an out of breath Renamon and let out a light chuckle at the sight; he could sympathize with her.

"Ah, I see you're feeling a bit winded after producing five of the clones...to be honest that's quite good, especially considering its your first time. The very first time I tried I made only two and quickly passed out after that from the strain...I'm proud of you, Rena-chan."

At his words Renamon couldn't stop the wide grin that spread across her muzzle...she knew from experience that Naruto did not compliment lightly; if he said it, he not only meant it but probably was even prouder than he let on. "Thank you Naruto-kun, but I could not have done it without your help."

Naruto simply gave her his own warm smile in response before he moved onto the next step in their training. "Think nothing of it Rena-chan. Now for what we will do, I will give you some gravity seals to train with. You see, while shadow clones are extremely useful, even they have limitations. As it is, shadow clones can help you go over more information at an astounding rate, and what they learn will be passed onto you; this includes the kata stances, muscle memory and energy manipulation. However, obviously physical traits gained by the clones will not become yours once dispersed; therefore the gravity seals I am going to inscribe will help you in the area of speed and strength. Would you mind if I put them on your gloves? Once they are on, they will fade until your energy is once more channeled into them."

Renamon didn't even need to think about it, this would greatly help her in her training; one could never be too strong or fast. Once she nodded her assent, Naruto unsealed an inkwell and brush and proceeded to inscribe the seals upon her gloves. This being the first time she had seen a seal being made, it was quite entrancing for her...seeing a seal master at work was always a sight to see, but for someone whom had never even seen a seal in her life? Needless to say she was impressed, she didn't think his anatomy in his hybrid form would allow such dexterity in his digits, but this proved her wrong. Once the seal was complete on both of her gloves it looked like two pieces of a puzzle that would fit together, that upon being put together would resemble her yin-yang symbol...had he planned this one just for her?

"Naruto-kun, why does it look like the two seals fit together? And did you make these just for me? The symbols resemble those I myself am adorned with."

Naruto laughed once again at her observations...she kept commenting on things before he could explain them! "Well, it looks like the two fit together for one simple reason: they do. You see, if I were to inscribe the entire seal upon just one part of your body, it would only affect that part. By breaking the seal into a minimum of two different parts and placing them on two opposite appendages of the body, the seal is able to affect the body as a whole, which includes all of your muscle groups. I could have broken the seal up into more parts, but doing so would only make removing the seals more difficult if such a thing ever needed to be done. Typically, one would only have a seal broken into many parts when they wanted to ensure that whatever they were sealing would remain sealed. For a good example of this, take a good look at the seal I myself am adorned with; it was designed to ensure that my father would never escape...they thought he was a bloodthirsty, uncontrollable demon and so wanted to make sure his escape would be nearly impossible." Thought such thoughts made Naruto's blood boil, not was not the time. So, he focused his youki into the seal on his stomach. As soon as he did, a black seal weaved its way into existence onto his red fur adorning his belly.

Meanwhile, Renamon gazed in curiosity at the piece of art that had appeared on Naruto's belly. 'So this is what caused Naruto such grief in his life...how ironic; something so intricate and beautiful in its own way caused untold horrors to happen to a child.' As she finished her thoughts, Naruto spoke up once more, continuing his impromptu seal lesson.

"You see how eight parts branch off from the whole? That is called the eight trigram seal and as you have most likely already guessed, it is broken up into eight different pieces, all connected by the spiral you see in the middle. If you look closer, you will see that what appears to be simple lines are actually very tiny symbols; this is the ingenuity of...of my progenitor. I might despise that man, but I have to give him credit; his sealing was pure genius."

Looking closer, Renamon's eyes widened as she saw that indeed, what she had originally thought were lines were actually thousands of tiny symbols woven together to create this masterpiece. 'Amazing...the effort it must have taken to have created such a thing...' As she continued her observations, Naruto continued on with the lesson.

"Each of those symbols has a different meaning, and symbols arranged in varying formations can literally design a seal to do anything; this one was designed to hold my father, make sure he could not get out, and lastly worked as a converter to filter his potent youki into what I once had; chakra. Of course this feature does not function anymore, but when it did the youki was siphoned from where his soul resided in my belly and onto the seal. It would wind its way across the spiral in the middle, being diluted as it went, then once it encountered the eight trigram seal the diluted energy was converted into chakra and sent into my system. That is a very brief explanation of what that seal does...there are countless more small functions it has, but the majority have been nullified since I willingly disrupted the seal itself. Now what the seal I have applied to your gloves does is fairly simple. Before I explain thought, please channel some of your energy into them."

Renamon nodded, still a little dazed over the influx of sealing information she had just been given. 'And to think, he said that what he told me was the simplified version! Its a very interesting field to look into, but for now I think I need to focus on more pressing matters.' Closing her eyes, she drew some of her energy up and through her arms, pausing at the forearms before willing the energy to escape into her gloves. As the energy did as she bid she watched as the seals on her gloves once more became visible, but this time she noticed that above each was a black "1". As the energy entered the gloves, the number seemed to shift and warp before becoming a "2". Almost immediately she stumbled as everything seemed to become heavier, but luckily Naruto had been expecting this and caught her with no problems. Hearing his bemused chuckle, she looked up at his face and gave a very un-Renamon-like pout. This of course changed his chuckling into all-out laughter as he observed this, both falling onto a pile of furs as his body shook with the effort to keep it in.

After a few minutes of wheezing, Naruto finally calmed down enough to explain to Renamon what just happened. "Ahh...that was good...oh don't look at me like that, everyone who gets a gravity seal has to go through that, its tradition! Now then, back to the main topic: what you just felt was obviously the gravity seal taking effect. However, while the seal is called the gravity seal...in reality it does not increase the gravity for you, those have been tried and can be extremely dangerous...as a matter of fact I have a few specially designed items I made that utilize such a thing around here somewhere...but I digress. What the seal you wear really does is simply multiply the effort you apply when you move any of your muscles. That "2" you saw on your gloves before it faded tells us that right now, any action you do will strain your muscles twice as hard...the higher it is, the more it multiplies. Now that you have activated it, to change the level all you need to do is channel your energy into the gloves and merely think which level you wish it at, and your body and seal will do the rest. If you add to the level, it will take away some energy, and vice-versa if you take away from it. You will be starting out at this level and will keep it at this level until you no longer notice it. After such it will be increased, and so on and so fourth...however I will limit you to a level of ten until I deem it needed to go any higher. The reasons for this is that after that, there is a possibility of your muscle mass growing out of proportion with your dexterity...and therefore you would start to lose agility. But I wouldn't worry about running into that problem anytime soon...most I know never even reach ten, but I have a feeling you will...just not for a while yet. Now, before we start your physical training, any questions?"

Renamon thought about his question carefully...after all, she knew from experience that when Naruto began training you for the day, you didn't pause until it was over, so any questions needed to be asked now. Now that she thought about it, there was one thing she was curious about... "Just one Naruto-kun...what is your gravity seal level at?"

Naruto simply lifted up his right gauntlet at her question and channeled youki into it. On the metal plate that covered the back of his paw his own seal lit up a eerie crimson, taking the appearance of nine tails spiraling around a central point. However, that was not what caused Renamon to gape...it was the blood-red number that was just above this seal. A gothic style "20" was sitting there, practically thrumming with the youki held within.

"T-twenty? I thought you said that muscle mass started to grow out of control after level 10? How is it you're walking around with a simulated twenty times our gravity...in armor?" This truly did baffle her...she knew Naruto was strong after having witnessed exampled of such many times...but out of all those times she had never seen the seals on his gauntlets light up, which meant he was battling with the restrictions on. She shuddered at the thought of just how fast he moved without the restrictions.

Meanwhile, Naruto had been expecting her outburst and had prepared accordingly. "Yes, I did say that muscle mass typically outgrew dexterity at that point...but that is usually. My race, and myself in particular due to my status, are able to compact our muscles to obscene levels. Right now my muscles are about as tightly wound as a steel cable, and this is the current limit; even for me. If I were to try and exceed 20 at this point in time, my body would be forced to expand my muscle mass to make room for more, as my muscles are at their maximum density already. I was simply saying a limit of 10 for you to be safe; I am not familiar with your limits, and until I am we will not exceed 10. Any more questions?" At seeing Renamon simply shake her head in the negative, Naruto gave his own nod and rose, with Renamon quickly copying him. After this, he cast a simple camouflage jutsu on them both and told Renamon to go on outside and begin her warmup stretches. Because of this, she never saw the one-tailed kitsune he summoned, the words they traded, or the exited look in the kitsune's eyes before he disappeared once more.

~~~Scene Change~~~

-(Shinjuku Park)-

Naruto looked on proudly as Renamon continued to fight his shadow clone to a stalemate. Sure, the clone might only have a tenth of the real one's strength, and it may still be limited by the gravity seals...but he had slaughtered mid level chuunin with just as much. Considering that she was fighting the clone on even ground, with her own gravity seal set at 4...he was damn proud of her. If she was able to accomplish this at just rookie level...well he looked forward to what she would be like as a champion and above. As he watched her continue to weave, deflect, and counter his clone, he thought back to the past month...and what a busy month it had been.

First, there was Rika. Over the past month Renamon had managed to worm her way into Rika's heart, and though he would not openly admit such yet, Rika had wormed her way into his. At first he was still suspicious of it all being an act, but over time he came to see that she had truly realized her mistake and was working to correct it. As such, he began to see her as someone to look after...almost like a little sister. While Renamon now spent all her nights with Naruto, they both visited Rika at least once a day and continually battled wild ones with her, and sometimes took her along to either watch them train or give her a little training as well, mainly being in self defence and evasion. As of now, he could breathe a little easier during battles due to her training...while she certainly couldn't fight a digimon rookie level or above, she could evade most champion's attacks.

As for Takato and Guilmon, he honestly wasn't sure how he viewed them. He had come across them occasionally, and each time Takato would get this very awkward look upon his face...somewhere between wariness and awe, but would always welcome him happily. As for Guilmon, he greeted Naruto just like he greeted anyone else; like a child would. But something about Guilmon bugged Naruto...while he knew that Guilmon was naturally childish because of his age, he was hiding the part of him that wasn't...and Naruto did not understand why. He would have to confront the 'dinosaur' as Takato had loudly proclaimed he was later about the matter.

Then there was Henry and Terriermon. While Takato and Guilmon at least tried to help when a wild one appeared, Henry would still stand back and watch while the other two fought. However this did not serve to anger Naruto; for one Henry did not shout at them to stop, which was certainly an improvement, and each time he was there Naruto could see the conflict going on inside his head...it meant Henry was seriously considering his prior words...good. He had a feeling that the boy would come around soon, and looked forward to that day; they were all given digimon partners for a reason, and needed to be prepared for whatever trials lay ahead.

As for himself? Well, while he had his hands full training Renamon, he had made a veritable army of clones to expand his quarters. Technically, it wasn't really for living in; it was a training room...though room was quite the understatement. When he was done with it, the 'room' was the size of an indoor stadium, and was just as tall. It was located deep beneath his den, and was only accessible via his youki signature and a trapdoor which would reveal itself upon being fed his youki. While he had slept, he had worked many long nights with his father designing some seals for both his den and the underground training cavern. For his den, he had made a few simple seals and once large one. The simple ones consisted of a seal to the side of his pool which when youki was added or taken, would warm or cool the water respectively. The only other minor seal was one that acted as a drain for the pool; after waking up to find his water room flooded one day, he had decided such was necessary. Now, there was a hole drilled from said pool into the large cavern underneath, which had a pit the size of a small lake in it. When the water reached a certain level in the pool, the seal would activate and a small stone slab would slide to the size, revealing the hole that would channel the water into an alcove that was located at the top of the training cavern bored out of the side wall and around the size of a small house. From there the water flowed through an indentation in the floor of the alcove that served to channel the stream and fell a short distance to yet another alcove shaped like the first. This pattern repeated itself along the size of the cavern, winding around the cavern until there was about 75 feet left until the water reached the cavern's ground floor. At this point the stream indentation veered right off the edge of the alcove's side, where the water would form a small waterfall before falling into a massive basin-shaped lake bed. While it would take quite some time to fill up such a large underground basin, he had underestimated the amount it rained here. Then there was the main den seal, which acted as a giant youki battery. This connected to all the seals that were in the den and kept them powered, which included the newly installed genjutsu seal over the den entrance. These were all the seals he had on his den for the moment, so then there were two more seals that were put in his enormous training cavern. The first simply provided light; he did not have enough of the lamps to cover the cavern, but he had no need...the lamps were for decoration, not necessity. All he really had to do was set up a seal which converted his youki into light, then set many all around the cavern, which now glowed with the same soft blue ambiance of his den. The last seal was not only the most important, but also the most difficult. This one was an absorption seal whose purpose was to soak up any excess energy that was expended in the cavern, while at the same time repairing the cavern and keeping its structural integrity intact. If it had excess energy caused from training, it would siphon this into the main youki battery in his den...if it needed more energy to repair the cavern, it would do the opposite.

While his clones were constructing the enormous cavern and installing the seals, he himself was performing a very special task when he was not training Renamon; helping create her gift. The reason he had summoned the kitsune before he began training Renamon was to have it inform the armor smith that he was commissioning an additional armor set; one he would design himself and then send the schematics in for assembly. It had taken many sleepless nights for him to complete the design, but when he had finally finished it he had wore a Cheshire grin the whole next day, to the confusion of Renamon. For while the armor he designed for her was most certainly for protection, it also served a very special purpose, one he hoped to fulfill tonight; according to the armor smith it would be done by sometime this evening at the latest.

He was snapped out of his reverie when he first felt his clone disperse, and then received the clone's memories...including what made it disperse. At first he flinched in sympathy pain, before he gave off a smirk...one that would have made a grown man scream like a banshee had anyone seen it...smirking + muzzle + Kyuubi = frightening. 'Oh ho what is this? ….Rena-chan plays dirty does she...remind me not to anger her anytime soon father.' He heard the what sounded like the combination of a whimper and chuckle in his head, and completely agreed.

'Yes...you managed to find quite the fiery companion my son. Now tell me, will you finally get enact your plan tonight?'

The impatience in the old fox was almost tangible, and served to greatly amuse Naruto...however he would humor his father. 'Yes father, if the armor smith true to his word, then I will be able to carry it out tonight.' He felt a great amount of contentment coming from his father and smiled...his father wasn't the only one feeling that way...though he himself was admittedly nearly shaking in anxiety over it as well. His quick conversation with his father over, Naruto turned to where he felt the clone disperse from and found a gasping Renamon kneeling on the ground. However, while she was most certainly exhausted, he could see the satisfied grin that was plastered on her muzzle. He quickly jumped down in front of her before speaking in a voice that just barely hinted amusement.

"Did you have a good spar with my clone Rena-chan?"

Renamon's grin quickly morphed into a complete smirk at this before she replied in a very smug tone. "I would say I did...and I made sure that he knew the consequences of annoying me."

Naruto gave off a chuckle at that before he responded, and this time his amusement was practically oozing out with his words. "Oh I know...but tell me Rena-chan...just what did the Hangslow brothers do to deserve such a cruel fate?"

At this Renamon grew quite confused...what was he talking about? "What are you talking about Naruto-kun? I didn't to anything to some Hangslow brothers..." Here she trailed off, for once she had said it her mind went over what she said...it didn't sound right. 'Hangslow brothers...wait. Hangs...low...' However this was as far as her thought process went, for upon realizing what was said her train of thought derailed.

Naruto watched with untold amounts of amusement as Renamon's face first went to confusion, then contemplation, then realization...and then her muzzle screwed up in an attempt to hold in the laughter which was begging to be released. Finally she gave in to her body's demands, and collapsed into a shaking mass of fur on the forest floor, tears streaming down her muzzle as she nearly howled with laughter. Of course such things were quite contagious, and it was not long before Naruto could not hold it in any longer and joined her on the ground.

It was a good five minutes later that found both Naruto and Renamon lying on the ground staring up at the sky, both confident in Naruto's jutsu to keep them well hidden from the small chance of onlookers. It was quickly approaching sunset, and so Naruto deemed the training for today over while they lay, and soon found themselves comfortably resting against one another just staring at the sky as the blue in it slowly shifted into hues of yellow, orange, and red. As the sun began its final descent under the horizon and the moon resumed its nightly vigilance, Naruto felt a tug from his clan and smiled...it was ready. And so, Naruto slowly sat up, smiling as he heard the disappointed groan from behind him...if all went well, she would not be acting that way for long.

"Lets go back to the den to wash up and eat. After we're done with that..." He trailed off, loving how her curiosity practically oozed from her at his pause. "...I have a surprise for you." Here he once more let off a chuckle at the shocked happiness that showed on her muzzle.

Renamon was having a hard time restraining herself from bouncing on her paws...she would not normally act anywhere near this open...but around Naruto, and especially when they were alone, she just could not help it...and he had a surprise!

Naruto was greatly amused at the pace which they bathed and ate...even though the deer was already long dead, he still felt sorry for it due to the ferocity with which Renamon and he devoured it at her insistence. As for the wash...he wasn't sure if it deserved such a name...he didn't think more than a minute was spend in the pool before he was nearly dragged out. Now, here he stood in the entrance room with Renamon in front of him with a slight bounce to her posture. After a minute of standing there in amusement, Naruto finally decided he had tormented her long enough and spoke up.

"Alright alright...so I'm guessing you must really want to know what the surprise is, huh?" At the look of near insanity that crossed her visage, he quickly spoke once more trying to diffuse the approaching explosion. "Right! Right, I'll get straight to it then...stand back a little bit, Rena-chan." After she did so, Naruto when through a few handsigns before nicking one of his digits with a fang and slamming both his forepaws onto the ground, which proceeded to be enveloped in smoke.

When the smoke cleared, Renamon was treated to the view of a five-tailed pitch black kitsune in hybrid form facing Naruto. He held a large parcel of some sort, but she had no clue as to what was inside it. As she was looking at the new arrival, Naruto spoke up.

"It is good to see you again Takumi, I see you have completed what I have asked of you..." He took a moment to quickly peer inside the parcel, his eyes quickly scanning something within and appearing satisfied. "...and with more attention to detail than even you are renowned for...you have honored yourself and your family greatly this day Takumi, and will be rewarded accordingly."

The newly named Takumi seemed to damn near have an epileptic fit at the praise just lathered upon him, and she could understand why...from what she understood, Naruto was basically the leader of leaders amongs not only his people but all the beast races...he was basically their world leader, and he just personally praised someone. Finally, the black kitsune managed to find his composure and straightened up before giving a low bow to Naruto and responding.

"Arigato Kyuubi-sama! Your praise is more than enough payment for my services! As you have requested, I have finished your commission, and I must say that aside from the work I have done for you, it is one of, if not my greatest work yet! Speaking of which, is this the vixen for whom it was made for?" As he finished, Takumi turned around and looked at Renamon with a warm smile on his muzzle, and she smiled back politely. He had numerous scars upon his visage, with one nearly claiming an eye...but while he was visually intimidating, his voice belied a gentleness that contradicted his visage.

Naruto nearly slapped himself as his forgetfulness, but quickly recovered. "Ah! Where are my manners! Here, let me introduce you to one another. Renamon, this is Takumi, the Kitsune Court's Royal Armor Smith. Takumi, this is Renamon, my apprentice and close companion." As they exchanged pleasantries, Takumi discreetly handed off the parcel to Naruto with one of his tails, and Naruto hid it within his own tails just as discreetly. Unfortunately, it seemed that while Takumi was enjoying this, he had things to do.

"Please forgive my timing Kyuubi-sama, but although I do greatly enjoy conversing with you both, I still have many orders that need to be finished before the night is through, so with your permission, I must unfortunately go."

Naruto sighed, but it was understandable...Takumi's expertise was vital to maintaining a constant supply of high-quality equipment to their forces, and was almost constantly busy as a result. "Though unfortunate it may be, I understand your obligations and respect the fervor with which you carry out your duties. I do have one request before you go though: please inform Asani that I would like a report on the border situation with the Tanuki Clan; the sooner we can come to an agreement on the precious ore deposits located along our borders, the sooner we can both prosper from its resources." Takumi once more gave a deep bow to Naruto as well as accepting the request, before he turned to Renamon and politely gave his leave to her as well, before disappearing in a plume of smoke.

While Naruto was trying to figure out how to present the gift to Renamon, she herself was still trying to get over what just happened. While she knew from Naruto's memories that he was the leader of the Kitsune Clan as well as the Tailed Beasts...it was one thing to be told such, and another thing entirely to be shown it. When Takumi had appeared, Naruto had completely shifted gears from his lively, humorous self he let her see when they were alone, to what she could only describe as a leader. The way he addressed Takumi with respect, yet at the same time showing superiority...the way his posture became picture perfect, his tails fanned out and his muzzle set...it all screamed alpha to her, and greatly impressed her. Even more so, he proved he was no amateur at governing by the way he requested information on an apparent border dispute; showing concern for not only his own clan, but also for the clans he ruled over as the leader of the Tailed Beasts. However, she soon ended her contemplations when she saw him reveal the very same package Takumi had carried, his visage showing a great deal of not only anticipation, but apprehension.

Naruto pulled out the parcel and made sure Renamon had seen it before he finally unleashed his plan. "Rena-chan...as you know, you have come very far from the time I began training you after your near-death experience. The rate at which you absorbed information and the fervor with which you pushed yourself to succeed impressed both me and my father, and it still does impress us. You have achieved in months what others have barely managed to achieve in years. So, it is with a great deal of pride that I present to you your very own custom armor, made from the same materials as mine, designed by me, and just as strong as my own." With this, he opened the parcel and took the armor out before he began a ritual of the Kitsune Clan. When a master deemed an apprentice ready for the next step...that is, to become a journeyman at whatever field it may be, the master would gift the apprentice with their very own armor, and then proceed to don their apprentice with the armor; showing their respect for their apprentice's achievement in doing so. Lucky for Naruto, Renamon was shocked enough to barely even notice what he was doing, still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that he had not only gifted him with her very own armor, but had designed the armor himself...so that was why he looked so tired for that one week!

When she finally came out of her own thoughts, she noticed that Naruto was just standing in front of her with a beaming smile while looking her over critically. It was then that she noticed the additional weight that was on her form. Smiling, Naruto led her to the pool, where she peered down at her reflection...and nearly fell back in surprise.

Her armor was almost the exact opposite of his in every way...and yet when they both stood there in their armor, the effect was stunning. Where his was spiky and jagged, hers was smooth and sleek. Her helmet was the same silver with ebony veins as his own (the metal is the same), but the similarities ended there. While his was practically a skull cap with cloth that could be fashioned into a mask, hers was nearly a full helm. It encompassed her entire skull, the back of the helmet stopping just where her skull curved inwards towards the neck. On the sides, the helm covered her entire temple, and extended down to the bottom of her jaw where it tapered off into a smooth curved point. In front, the helm extended down her muzzle to the tip of her nose, where in once more tapered off into a smooth point. Like Naruto's, her helm's area for her ears was protected with a metal surrounding as well. The entire helm was smooth with no jagged point in sight, and engraved upon its entire smooth surface was intricate swirls and flowing lines, almost appearing as if water was flowing over it.

Her shoulder pauldrons and chestpiece were actually similar in design, very smooth with no jagged edges. Where Naruto's pauldrons and chest-piece were attached separately, hers were attached with two large metal rings; one on the front and one on the back for each pauldron. The pauldrons themselves were very simple, yet elegant in design; they were merely two large curved metal plates that fit on the outsides of her shoulders, leaving room for her own shoulder spikes. The rings that connected the armor were attached to a purple cloth of the same material Naruto's clothes were made out of; the exact same purple color as her gloves. This cloth was attached to the underside of both pauldrons, and was actually part of the chest-piece. While Naruto's chest-piece was completely metal, Renamon's was a sturdy chain-mail covered in the violet cloth that connected to the pauldrons. This cloth/chain-mail combination covered her entire upper half until it just passed her waist, where it split into two pieces that hung from her front and backside, nearly reaching her knees. Grafted upon the middle of her chest-piece was the yin-yang symbol, proudly showing itself for all to see. Her gauntlets were almost identical to her gloves, the only difference being that the forearm was covered in the metal, which was once more engraved with smooth lines.

Her greaves did not have any metal plates upon them at all; they were simply chain-mail covered in the violet cloth once more, and provided ample room for maneuverability. As for boots, there were none; Renamon was used to maneuvering barefooted, and getting used to boots would be a hindrance anyways. (Note: Credit for the idea of Renamon having armor goes to Magician Girl Mirani. I may have come up with the armor design, but she is the one who had the original idea, thanks!)

As she finished her inspection, she could not help but notice just how well their armors complimented each-other. His was harsh, jagged, and unforgiving, with his pitch-black cloth accentuating such. Hers was gentle, smooth, and soothing, with her royal purple cloth showing nobility. 'Yin and Yang...he designed my armor not only with it emblazoned upon the chest, but also to symbolize the symbol itself when we are together...' The thought that he had put so much effort into this caused her to shed a tear in happiness..she had made the right choice when she chose to try a relationship with him out.

Naruto, upon seeing the tear and understanding the reasons behind it, smiled gently and brought up a claw from behind to gently wipe it away, and received a smile in response.

After she had composed herself, she turned around and gave Naruto a heartfelt hug, making sure he knew how much she appreciated this. Upon breaking from the hug, she spoke up to him, her voice thick with emotion.

"Naruto...I don't know what to say...I guess all I can really say is...thank you; I will cherish this for eternity."

Naruto smiled at her, but on the inside he was sweating bullets...it was now or never. "You are very welcome Rena-chan...but I had another purpose for giving you this armor other than honoring you as my apprentice." Seeing that he now had her undivided attention, he decided to go all in.

"Now, please to not interrupt me until I am finished Rena-chan, else I fear I will not have the strength to finish. As I have stated before, you have been learning and achieving at a rate that left me in a state of awe...but that is not all I am left in awe of. For the last...what has it been, nearly a half-year? Anyways, ever since we first met I have held a fondness for you...even when I first saw you, though I only attributed it to physical attraction at the time. As we spent more and more time together, that feeling grew and grew in me, and it left me frustrated and confused. As you very well know, the same night that frustration came to a boiling point I also found out that your harbored these same feelings towards me, and gave them a name: love. It was then that we decided to go ahead and see if a relationship could work out, and I admit that even then I was not absolutely positive that what I felt towards you was love. However, over the time we have spent together after that, I have found that the feeling did not ebb and die like I had originally thought...instead it has been growing even faster than before, and I know for a fact now that what I feel is complete and genuine love for you. And this all ties back to this gift I have given you. Renamon, look on the inside of your armor's collar; what do you see?" His voice was nary a whisper at the end, yet it carried a weight that Atlas would have shuddered at.

As for Renamon, her eyes kept growing wider and wider as Naruto literally poured out his feelings to her...she had a nagging feeling of what was happening, but did not want to jump to any conclusions. When he asked her his last question, she slowly lifted up the chain-mail and cloth and peered at the inside of the collar. However, when her eyes came to rest upon the symbol that resided there, she promptly froze in place. For there, sitting innocently upon the inside of her collar was the yin-yang symbol once more...but with one very important change. Surrounding the yin-yang were nine red fox tails, each touching the last with their tip. Looking up, she barely managed to stutter out her next words. "I-i-is this...is this w-what I think it i-is?"

His next words had more of an impact than a runaway bus. "It depends on what you think it is...but I'll just come out and say it." Here he moved right up to her and looked right in her eyes with such an intensity it would have cowed even the mightiest of titans. "Renamon...will you be my mate?"

There it was. What she had never imagined ever happening...happened. What she had spent weeks agonizing over when he thought her asleep was finally resolved...and he wanted her, and only her. Tears of joy cascaded down her muzzle as his words finally sunk in. 'He wants me to be his mate...me! What I had feared would never come true is staring me in the face...and I haven't said anything! Speak dammit! Finally Renamon found her voice, while simultaneously regaining control of her motor functions.

Meanwhile, Naruto was staring at her eyes which were unnervingly blank with a good amount of worry. 'Shit! I think I broke her mind! Dammit I should have known this was too much to soon, me and my damn impatien-' "Ack!" And suddenly found himself on the ground of his den with a very expressive Renamon tackling him. It took a moment for him to shake the fog from the impact, but once he did, a massive smile stretched across his muzzle as he heard her continuous shouts of "YES!".

In Naruto's head, Kyuubi was desperately trying to keep his composure. 'You are the Kyuubi-no-kitsune, ex leader of the Tailed Beasts, you do not cry!' He repeated this like a mantra in his own head, but seeing Naruto being tackled and Renamon's acceptance...a small sniffle was heard. Then another...followed by a barely audible hiccup. Needless to say, it wasn't long before the great and powerful Kyuubi-no-kitsune was acting like any parent upon seeing their child growing up; that is...he was a blubbering mess.

As for Naruto, he was somewhere on cloud nine and didn't plan on coming down anytime soon...however when his muzzle was suddenly and viciously attached, he was abruptly thrown back down to reality and just as quickly found himself having a fierce tongue war with Renamon. After a moment both had to break away to breath, and once more Naruto found himself under attack...but this time it was his body, not his mouth that was under siege. He would have been stunned at the forwardness that Renamon was showing...if his brain could process anything at that moment. But because it could not, the next time Naruto's brain functions kicked back on was when he felt his body landing on a bed of furs after a momentary flight...without his armor. Before he could even twitch, he felt another body barrel into his and sent them both sprawling out on the bed of furs. Getting tired of feeling like a ragdoll, Naruto propped himself onto his elbows and looked at where he knew Renamon was...and froze, noticing a few very vital facts. For one, she was bare of any clothing just like himself. Secondly, she was on all fours with her front paws crouched...she looked like she was about to barrel into him once more. And the last fact, the one that by far mattered the most...he had the most lustful gaze he had ever seen plastered onto her muzzle, and obviously had only one goal in mind.

All of these combined pointed to one very clear situation...and he had no complaints. In fact, he simply remained on his elbows and gave her a cocky smirk before he let out a deep growl. Just as he thought, that was all it took for her to literally launch herself at him with a growl of her own.

The next morning, the citizens that lived around Shinjuki Park could be found gossiping about how a pack of canines must have been living in the park...the pack's howling had damn near kept them up the entire night!

The next morning

When Naruto awoke, it was to the sound of flowing water. 'Hmm...must be raining...good, the sooner the lake begins filling the better. Still...it could be the apocalypse for all I care right now, I'm too happy to care...she said yes! Not to mention what happened afterwords...I had no clue that she could bend that way, not that I'm complaining any.' He did not move from his position with Renamon spooned against his form, he would wait for her to wake up on her own. In the meantime, he simply laid there stroking the fur on her chest with his claws.

Ironically, it was his gentle stroking that woke Renamon up, though it certainly wasn't a bad thing. 'Mmm? What is that?' Cracking one eye open, she looked down at her chest to see a very familiar red paw stroking her chest fur, and let a serene smile creep across her muzzle. 'Ahh that's right, Naruto...my MATE...I can't believe I can actually say that truthfully, but I won't complain, he's everything I want, and now I have him.' With those thoughts finished, she snuggled deeper into Naruto's chest and belly fur, not wanting to give this up just yet.

Naruto smiled as he observed her snuggle deeper into him. He already knew she had been awake for a few minutes from her breathing, but since she didn't make any move to get up it was apparent she wanted to stay this way a bit longer, and he was fine with that. He himself had no desire to greet the day just yet...in a few more minutes possibly.

In reality, it took them almost an hour to finally crawl out of the furs due to a sudden make-out session, but here they now stood, both clad in their armor and ready to greet the day. Rika was currently at school, so they could not visit her just yet, and they weren't all that interested in interacting with the other tamers and their partners today. So, in Naruto's mind that left just training unless they wanted to celebrate their status more, but they had barely slept due to their late night 'celebrations' so the options were limited. Naruto turned to Renamon and was about to announce the plan for today, but his words died on his lips as he saw the worried frown on Renamon's muzzle. Wondering what was wrong, he spoke up.

"What is it Rena-chan, what's wrong?" Her frown did not disappear as she responded back to him, and this just served to further worry him.

"I'm not sure...but Rika is feeling very nervous for some reason, and it has nothing to do with school...I can feel her nervousness through our bond as tamer and digimon...something is wrong."

Naruto didn't need to be told anything more, if Renamon was worried about Rika, then they would check it out. Besides, he was beginning to view her as a little sister, and the thought of anything happening to her was...unpleasant.

"Then let's make haste Rena-chan, the sooner we see what is going on, the sooner we can confirm she's ok, grab on." He changed back into his human form and reattached his mask just as she latched onto his shoulders. Without a moment's pause, both Naruto and Renamon disappeared in a swirl of flames.

~~~Scene Change~~~

-(Rika's School)-

Upon arriving in the shelter of a tree, Naruto quickly cast a camouflage jutsu over them both before he followed Renamon to where she felt Rika's energy signature at. When they found her, they were both somewhat surprised to find her just sitting in her classroom with the other children. However, both clearly saw the worry in her eyes as she fidgeted in her seat. What was confusing about the situation was that both of them could not sense any threat nearby, yet something was obviously bothering her a great deal. They could not confront her about it without alerting the other humans of their presence, and thus they were forced to simply keep a vigil over her...both Renamon and Naruto were disturbed by the near-panic they could see.

As the day wore on and the end of school was fast approaching, Naruto and Renamon trailed Rika a ways back as she walked to her last class of the day...they were beginning to think that nothing was wrong, for both had sensed nothing the entire day.

Rika was walking down a flight of stairs when Naruto suddenly became very alert, making Renamon take a stance of her own; she knew Naruto could sense energy signatures far better than she could, and by the way his eyes were darting all over the place, he had found their quarry but had been unable to pinpoint its location.

Naruto was now officially bothered; he had quickly picked up on the presence of what felt like a digimon of some sort, but he wasn't able to pinpoint its location, only a general area; such a thing had never happened to him before. 'Father! You have any ideas as to why I can't pinpoint this digimon?'

Inside his mindscape, Kyuubi was frantically wracking his brain for any possible answer. Finally, a possible solution came when he remembered what they were dealing with; digital energy. 'I can only give an educated guess son, but you remember learning about electronics from your clones when we first arrived here, right?'

'Hai, but I don't really see what that has to do with our current situation.' The frustration in Naruto's voice was palpable and Kyuubi understood perfectly...feeling helpless in a situation was not fun.

'Bear with me for a second son. Now remember, digimon have digital energy right? And when they come over from their world, they come through as data? If I remember correctly, if there is something emitting a frequency that is close to or identical to a digimon's frequency while in transit, it could possibly cause the digimon's signal to waver. My theory is that in the case of stronger than normal digimon they could possibly use this to their advantage, making sure their exact location was unknown until it was too late.'

Naruto barely restrained himself from letting loose a torrent of curses...his father's theory made sense, and he had a good idea of just who may be trying to mess with a digimon's signal. 'Yamaki...damn that man to hell! He claims he does this to destroy the incoming wild ones, and yet whatever he is doing is helping them instead! He had better sleep with one eye open if I ever find him again.' Naruto quickly send his agreement to his father; he had to pay close attention to his surroundings. 'Where are you...come on out...damn this is bad, whatever digimon this is, its playing the game very carefu-THERE! SHIT!' Naruto spun around so fast his body seemed to blur, before he launched himself at Rika...but by then it was too late, whatever digimon it was had planned this perfectly. The last thing he saw of Rika was her being dragged into some kind of portal by long, spindly bluish-white hands. Just as the portal closed, his form appeared where it had just been. "DAMMIT! AUUGH!" With his booming roar of rage he followed through by punching the floor, creating a decently sized crater. But Naruto quickly regained control of his emotions; he had a tamer to save, and he needed both him and Renamon to have clear minds in order to achieve this. It was with a barely reigned in temper that he took hold of a still-in-shock Renamon and flashed back into his den...they needed to both be at top awareness to find Rika the fastest.

~~~Scene Change~~~

-(Abandoned Building)-

When Rika regained consciousness from her abduction, the very first thing that crossed her mind was: COLD! Opening her eyes, she saw that she was in some run down looking building...which was covered in ice. This only served to unnerve her even more, mostly because she had the feeling that something or someone was watching her all day...and it got cold every time the feeling intensified. Turning in a circle to look around, she nearly screamed as she found what could only be described as a white demon standing before her. However, she wasn't about to let this monster know he had managed to unnerve her, and so she quickly regained her courage...which was quickly followed by anger. "Who are you, and what am I doing here? Why did you kidnap me?"

What she got in response was a chilling chuckle from the creature before her, before it spoke up. "Ah! Such cold, cruel words! Indeed you are a person after my own ice cold heart. But where are my manners! Allow me to introduce myself, I am IceDevimon...your new partner.

While she was only mildly surprised to find out he was a digimon, his last words made her bristle in anger. 'How dare he! He just thinks he can waltz right in and take Renamon's place does he?' Her eyes gained a glint that only served to make the digimon before her smirk wider, but she didn't care. "What do you mean, my new partner? I chose Renamon, and I will not simply replace her like some discarded accessory!"

The zeal with which Rika spoke about Renamon made a IceDevimon frown slightly...how odd, last he had checked she was just as cold as he himself. No matter, once the problematic digimon was eliminated she would return to her cold nature, and he would have the means to obtain untold amounts of power through the bond of tamer and digimon. But for now, he might as well make her aware of his prowess; after all, it would not do for her to think of him as unworthy.

"Oh come now, just a second ago you were as cold as the ice that surrounds us! Oh well, it will be back one way or another...but for now let me show you just why I am worthy of being your partner!"

As IceDevimon finished, the ceiling which had been bathed in shadows before seemed to light up, and Rika bore witness to what she could only describe as a horrow show. For attached to the ceiling were hundreds of digimon encased in tombs of ice...quite a few were champions, and she even spotted a few ultimates within the mix. Ever single one of them had looks of terror etched onto their faces, each telling a story of just how they came to meet their end. If he had managed to defeat all of these digimon on his own...then she was in trouble.

"Beautiful isn't it? I have to admit, some of these digimon were very hard to defeat, especially that WereGarurumon...but I came out on top nonetheless. With me at your side Rika, this is but the beginning of what can be accomplished!" With his proclamation, IceDevimon proceeded to laugh long and hard, his icy demeanor showing through in the laugh.

As IceDevimon continued to laugh, Rika could only watch him warily and hope that someone would find her soon. 'Renamon, Naruto...where are you guys?'

~~~Scene Change~~~

The aforementioned pair were at this very moment heading towards the abandoned building, though for them they were just heading towards where they sensed her faint signature. It had taken a few minutes and many reassurances to calm Renamon down enough once she snapped out of her shock, but once he made her realize that calming down would help find Rika faster, she put the best of monks to shame with the calm she quickly achieved. It was about thirty minutes after that they finally found the faint traces of her signature in an area on the outskirts of the main city and so here they were, just now arriving in front of the entrance with their energy well masked.

Naruto quickly scanned their the building before him, completely focused on retrieving Rika. It was due to this that he did not sense the four energy signatures approaching from behind. Just before he was about to give the massive metal wall a brand new door, a voice rang out from behind him and Renamon.

"Hey! Hold up a second!"

Silently berating himself for being so unobservant, Naruto turned around and beheld the sight of Takato, Guilmon, Henry, and Terriermon, three of which were out of breath, while the last was perfectly fine perched upon Henry's head. He and Renamon glanced at each-other, silently communicating their thoughts...both seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Turning around once more, Naruto spoke up as he prepared to forcefully enter the building once more. "We do not have time to converse Henry-san, Rika has been captured by a wild digimon and we need to retrieve her." Once more he pulled back his left gauntlet, and once more he paused as this time the desperation in Henry's voice made him pause.

"Wait! Just wait! Let me talk for just a second alright?"

Naruto turned his head so just one eye was peering intensely through the shadows at Henry before he spoke, his words sharp and to the point. "Then speak. Quickly."

Henry seemed to gather himself before he spoke up once more. "Thank you. Now, me and Takato here originally picked up a wild one's signal coming from this area and decided to check it out, and happened to spot one another on the way here. I've taken a lot of time to think over what you've said...about fighting to protect my family...and you're right. I realize now that I was given Terriermon for a reason, and that even though I dislike fighting...running away won't solve anything, so I've come here with the intention to fight a wild one, and so had Takato. After what I saw you do that night in the parking garage, I know you can probably handle whatever we may run into in there...but please, let us do this. Like you said, we were given our digimon for a reason, and the best way to prepare ourselves for upcoming fights is though experience...experience which we will not gain if you do the fighting for us. That being said, give us a chance to prove ourselves tonight, and let us fight as a team."

Everything was silent for a moment as Naruto contemplated what Henry had told him. To be honest he could not be more pleased with how things had turned out; Henry had taken his words to heart, and was now determined to fight to protect those he loved. And Henry was right; he could not fight their battles for them, they needed to learn how to fight their own battles. So, it was with a curt nod that Naruto replied with a voice just barely hinting approval.

"Very well Henry-san, I will let you all battle. However; Renamon, Guilmon, Terriermon, do not tire yourselves out by wasting energy trying to break through these walls to get to Rika...let me do that. Now, if you will all stand back and get ready; I can sense two presences on the other side of this fortified wall and far to the side of us...when I make an entrance you three be ready to ambush whatever digimon we may encounter." When he finished, Naruto turned back to the wall as they all backed up, everyone except Renamon wondering what he was going to do...while she had a decent idea. As his youki formed into a plasma kitsune head around his gauntlet, he ignored the shocked gasps behind him and instead threw his fist towards the wall with a cry of "Plasmatic Blitz!"...while it would take some getting used to, Renamon made a good point when she suggested the name and the strategy of calling out the attack. By doing so, his enemies would assume he had to call out the attack before using it, and would therefore be caught off guard when he did not. As soon as his plasma-covered gauntlet impacted the wall, everything seemed to stand still before a massive explosion rocked said wall, huge chunks of metal flying into the building as the rapid thermal expansion caused by such an intense heat made the wall shatter under its own pressure.

Back inside with IceDevimon and Rika, the demonic digimon watched with a mixture of intrigue and horror as the massive metal wall seemed to simple explode inwards. Looking closer, his eyes widened as he realized that whatever had caused the explosion had melted the metal around the impact zone as globs of molten metal dripped from the gaping hole. At this point he had been expecting something along the lines of an ultimate level digimon or higher to step though...so he was quite surprised when what appeared to be a humanoid figure garbed in cruel looking metallic armor stepped through silently before looking in his direction...or Rika's direction. He did not miss the relieved smile that spread across Rika's face as she saw who it was.

'So, it would seem that she has more allies than I had previously thought, as that is certainly not Renamon...this may be a problem. If it was indeed he who caused such damage to that wall, I need to be very careful in avoiding whatever attack that was.' Before he could ponder any further on this new appearance, he was caught off guard as three attacks shot through the still-clearing smoke around the hole.

"Bunny Blast!" "Pyrosphere!" "Diamond Storm!" The three attacks scored a direct hit on the surprised IceDevimon, their combined force sending him careening into a ice-covered wall, where upon impact he and the ice collapsed in a large heap.

Through the door, Renamon, Guilmon, and Terriermon stepped through, closely followed by Takato and Henry. As Renamon caught sight of Rika, she ran towards her and Rika did likewise, meeting halfway in a hug. Naruto smiled at the scene, internally glad that Rika was alright, but his happiness was soon replaced by his battle mask once more as the ice pile that IceDevimon was under exploded, sending shards of ice everywhere.

"Now that was a cheap-shot...just who are you all? I recognize the fox as Renamon, but you others I don't know." He was genuinely curious...where did all these people and digimon come from?

It was Takato that decided to step up, and spoke with a boldness that contradicted the slight shaking of his knees. "We're the tamers! I'm Takato, and this here's Henry, with our partners Guilmon and Terriermon! You made a big mistake kidnapping Rika like that!"

IceDevimon listened halfheartedly to the brat as he spoke...so these were the legendary tamers huh...he wasn't impressed. The only one he was truly curious about was the one he perceived as the greatest threat here...and the only one who was not introduced.

As if reading IceDevimon's mind, Naruto spoke up, his voice back to its chilling monotone. "You need not know my name, digimon. This fight is between you and the tamers; I am merely a spectator in this conflict tonight."

'How very interesting..' IceDevimon thought. 'He refers to me as if he was not a digimon himself, yet that attack was far beyond the capabilities of any human...it does not matter, if they choose to underestimate me then by all means let them do so.' His conclusions reached, IceDevimon spoke up once more.

"And what exactly do you expect three rookie level digimon to do to me? As you can see, I have defeated ultimates...what chance do three mere rookies have in besting me?"

At the digimon's response, Naruto merely leveled a stead gaze at the demon-like digimon before speaking one last time. "You'll never know if you don't fight them." And with that Naruto stepped back, signaling to the others that the time to fight had begun.

Almost immediately the same three attacks as before were launched at IceDevimon, but this time he was prepared, and deftly evaded the attacks with ease before launching one of his own with a cry of "Avalanche Claw!", which threw a barrage of ice shards at Guilmon whom was sent skidding back as he took the hit.

As the fight raged on with the three rookie digimon throwing everything they had at IceDevimon, Naruto simply sat back and observed. While he was mainly doing this to honor Henry's request, he had another very good reason as well; this was a perfect time to see how they worked as a team...and he sighed as he realized the work that was ahead of him. Many times their attacks would come close to hitting an ally, causing said ally to momentarily lose their focus which IceDevimon took advantage of each time. Out of the three, Renamon was holding up the best as he expected...but even she was being outclassed by this champion, even with her gravity seal released. It really did not surprise Naruto...years of fighting experienced shinobi has honed his ability to read others to a fine point, and he could tell that while the digimon before them was a champion, his strength and experience in battle practically made him a low to mid ultimate level...Renamon simply wasn't ready to take on that kind of power and experience at rookie level yet.

Renamon silently cursed as IceDevimon's Tundra Freezescored a direct hit on Guilmon, turning said encasing said digimon in a block of ice. Glancing over to her left, she saw that Terriermon wasn't much better; his stubby legs and short stature made it difficult for him to avoid attacks, and so was looking quite beaten at this point. She herself wasn't feeling too good at the moment...while she was able to avoid his attacks, he was just as able to avoid hers. When she moved in for close-combat, his superior speed would cause her to quickly retreat...and his hits hurt. As she dodged yet another Avalanche Claw, she was taken by surprise as IceDevimon used his attack as a diversion to get behind her with his speed, and thus she was unable to dodge when he yelled out "Frozen Claw!". She yelled out in pain as his attack sent her plummeting towards the ground, where she impacted with a crash against the ice.

IceDevimon landed on the ground not too far from the downed Renamon, feeling quite proud of himself. While taking out three rookie level digimon typically would be nothing to brag about, these were three tamer rookie digimon...and that Renamon was very good...her speed was near his own! Nonetheless, he had emerged the clear victor in this little scuffle; it was time to claim his prize.

"Quite the noble fight you three put up against me...how amusing. Though you caught me unawares with your first combined attack, you should have realized that trying to take me on is foolishness." Turning around to face Rika, he spoke up once more. "Behold my power Rika! With me as your partner there is nothing you cannot do, embrace that icy heart that I know resides within you!"

As Rika listened to IceDevimon, she admitted that not too long ago she would have been very tempted by his offer; she knew very well that he was strong. However...that was then and this is now; she had learned her lesson well from Naruto, and she refused to abandon Renamon like that. While Renamon was not as strong as IceDevimon, she was also still a rookie...and she had been able to see that her training with Naruto was paying off. The last and most important fact was the simple fact that she did not want to lose her growing relationship with Renamon; she was her very first true friend and she desperately wanted to keep it that way...not to mention she knew very well that if she lost Renamon she lost Naruto as well, whom she was starting to see as a protector of sorts...almost like an older brother. So it was with these things in mind that she responded, her famous scowl firmly in place.

"Don't delude yourself! You may be stronger than her now, but she's still a rookie, while you're a champion! And besides, contrary to what you keep trying to convince me, I have emotions and enjoy having Renamon around as a friend, I highly doubt I'd be able to say the same about you."

Her response brought a scowl onto IceDevimon's face. 'What is this? Where is that cold child I had observed on many nights, what has happened to her?' As he went over what she said, he realized that both his problems and his solution lied with Renamon. 'The girl is attached to Renamon is she? Then I will simply cut that bond; she may hate me for it but that is good...we can use that hate to bring back her icy persona, and together we will be unstoppable!'

"So that is your answer? Very well, I see I have no choice in this matter." The tamers relaxed slightly at this, thinking that just maybe he would take the hint and leave. "If you will not choose me by choice...you will choose me simply because I will be your only option! "Avalanche Claw!"" As he finished, he turned towards Renamon who was struggling to get up and launched his attack...she would not be able to dodge it at this range.

Naruto prepared himself to intercept the attack, but paused when he noticed two things. One, the sheer look of determination on Renamon's face; one that stood tall in the face of overwhelming opposition. Secondly was the small fact that Rika's d-power was lighting up like a beacon. As he noticed this last fact he smiled; he had a good idea of what was about to happen.

As the storm of ice shards rushed towards her, Renamon was fighting will all her might to get up. 'Move dammit! It can't end like this, not now, not here! I've finally managed to become Rika's friend...her very first friend, and on top of that, I've met my mate! NO! I refuse to die here, I will survive this, I WILL protect that which is precious to me!' Unbeknownst to Renamon, while she was having her mental rant a brilliant white light surrounded her, getting brighter as her resolve grew. Likewise, as Rika watched in horror as the attack approached Renamon, she was desperate for something, anything to save Renamon...and something heard her pleas.

Just as the attack was about to impact, Renamon felt indescribable power wash over her, whispering enticing promises to her. She did not resist; right now she would accept anything to protect what she considered precious. As the light was seemingly absorbed into her, her body lifted slightly off the ground and a very familiar synthetic female voice was heard coming from Rika's d-power.

DIGIVOLUTION

As with Terriermon's digivolution, Renamon worked in tandem with the device, calling out, "Renamon digivolve to..." and just as before, Renamon's fur seemed to simply peel off until she was naught but a digital wireframe, which the attack simply flew through. As everyone watched, the frame warped and stretched into a larger, quadrupedal form, and Naruto's eyes bugged out when he noticed the frame had what appeared to be nine tails on it. As the frame finished distorting, the skin and fur seemed to weave itself back onto her as well as the armor she wore as Renamon...it would seem that it being on her during a digivolution caused it to become incorporated as part of herself. When all was done, she gave off a great roar before proclaiming her new form "...Kyuubimon!"

At her proclamation Naruto couldn't help it, his jaw dropped. 'No freaking way...father, are you seeing what I'm seeing?' Judging by the spluttering he could hear, he assumed so...and sure enough.

'Yes...but I can't say I quite believe what I'm seeing...she looks like us in true form! Obviously without our vicious facial markings or fearsome visage...but besides that, she could easily pull of being a yellow, mini version of you! Sure there are differences, such as her muzzle being more triangular and her tails quite are bit shorter than your own..but still! And to top it all off, her name in this form is Kyuubimon, practically proclaiming that yes, she is somehow...in some way based off of you, just female.'

Naruto could only nod as his father's conclusions in agreement, still trying to get over the sheer similarities that he shared with Kyuubimon.

Back with the newly proclaimed Kyuubimon, she was euphoric at the moment. 'This power! This is what I need to protect that which I deem precious! Though I won't be able to use The Puppetmaster style in this form, I can still feel that my physical training has passed onto this form as well...and it seems that my gift has as well...thank you Naruto-kun' The quickly took a moment to look over her reflection in the ice, and what she saw pleased her. Physically, she resembled a very large, nine-tailed fox with a massive white mane of hair, and flames on her paws and the tips of her tails...the irony was not lost on her. On her forehead and on where her legs met her body, the yin-yang symbol proudly showed itself for all to see. Her armor had changed accordingly; while the helmet had not changed in the least, the rest now draped across her back and wrapped around her underside in a snug, yet comfortable fit. It was now all chain-mail with the royal purple fabric over it, yet it did not hide her form any; it was almost like a second skin. The armor only barely extended down her legs; stopping just before it covered the yin-yang symbols on them. Her inspection done, she turned her head towards IceDevimon and smiled a very eager smile, which caused him to step back.

Aforementioned digimon was meanwhile desperately trying to deny what he was seeing. 'She digivolved? Impossible, how did she accomplish that here, in the human world?' Glancing behind him and seeing the wide grin on Rika's face combined with the now just faintly glowing d-power, the answer became all to clear to him. 'That device! So this is the legendary power of the tamers at work...I will have that power!' He was cut off from his inner monologue as he heard a shout of "Fox Tail Inferno!" He had just enough time to whip around before he was slammed by nine blue fireballs, causing him to yell out in pain as he was thrown painfully into a wall.

Kyuubimon waited to see if her direct attack had finished him, but remained alert...she knew that he would take any chance he was given. When he emerged from the ice, she allowed a small smirk to work its way onto her muzzle...he was pissed...good. If she kept him enraged, he would be far easier to beat because he would not think things through; once more she silently thanked Naruto for his teachings on warfare, and how psychological warfare could be what decided the outcome of a fight. With this in mind she spoke up, hoping to rile him up further.

"Now what's the matter? Don't tell me just one attack was enough to hurt you so much after all your bragging? I would have thought the 'all-powerful IceDevimon' could take more...seems I was wrong." Just as she hoped, her tactic worked. IceDevimon's face twisted into an ugly sneer of hatred and his eyes seemed to glow red as he responded in a voice filled with rage.

"Silence you wench! You just caught me by surprise once again, you will not do such another time!" With that he started his barrage, launching everything he could at her. Ice shards rained down upon the area, jagged claw marks littered the floor and streaks of ice lined the floor from his frigid gaze...yet Kyuubimon seemed to just nimbly avoid all his attacks...and it only served to enrage him further.

As for Kyuubimon, she continued her dodging, silently thanking Naruto for moving the tamers and other digimon to a safer distance...the area around her was quickly becoming a warzone. As he continued to sling attacks at her the smirk on her face grew...he was becoming reckless; the time to finish him when he left himself open was near. It was a few more minutes of nimbly avoiding his attacks when she noticed that his movements were becoming sluggish, a sure sign of wearing down. As she observed this, she decided to use the same tactic he himself had used on her. With a cry of "Fox Tail Inferno!" she launched nine blue fireballs at him, and watched as he had to shift his attention to them as they tried to follow his movements. Seeing her chance, Kyuubimon sprinted behind his position, jumped onto a wall and rebounded off of it towards his location in the air. As she neared his form, she started to somersault in midair while the blue flames in her paws ignited her entire body until her form was a massive spinning ball of flames. She called out her attack just as she was about to impact him. "Dragon Wheel!" She saw the look of unhindered fear on his face just before she impacted, and upon crashing into him, he only screamed in pain for a second before exploding into a red mist, which she quickly absorbed as she landed.

As Naruto saw Kyuubimon defeat IceDevimon, he could not have been more proud; she could not have used his teachings better if she tried. Like he taught her, she attempted to enrage her opponent and it worked beautifully. Then, she waited for him to tire himself out while she herself conserved her energy. And finally, when IceDevimon had tired himself out, she used her first attack as a distraction from her true attack, using the surroundings to launch herself at his airborne position...oh yes, she had made him very proud. As the digimon and tamers cheered and ran towards Kyuubimon, Rika especially, he allowed himself a slow sedate walk toward her, content on letting the others congratulate her first.

Kyuubimon took a few deep breaths, allowing her adrenaline-induced battle state to wear off and looked around...she was surrounded by a warzone. As she continued her observations, she was startled when something crashed into her side and hugged her. It was then that she became aware of the cheering of the tamers and digimon, and the muffled sobs of joy coming from Rika, whom had buried her face in her mane of white fur. She smiled softly at the sight as she once more thanked Naruto...before she would have merely said something like "As I expected." but now here she was, crying tears of happiness out of relief she was okay...speaking of which, it was time to reassure her.

"Shhh...hey now, its alright; I'm fine, see?" Rika removed her head from the mane of fur to affirm Kyuubimon's statement. Upon seeing that indeed, she was fine, she realized that they were not alone...and she had just cried in front of an audience. Whirling around, her face promised death to those who did not comply as she talked in a low tone that send shivers down the spines the digimon and tamers it was directed at.

"What you saw will never be spoken of...EVER! Do I make myself clear?" Everyone simply nodded their heads in acknowledgment...even Guilmon recognized the threat and nodded like everyone else. When she heard a chuckle from behind her, Rika was about to turn around before she felt a hand ruffle her pineapple-like hair in a way reminiscent of an older sibling and huffed...figures he wouldn't even be phased by her death glare.

Naruto just chuckled more as he saw the look of annoyance in Rika's eyes...ahh it was fun messing with her. As he passed her, his attention went away from Rika and onto Kyuubimon, ignoring the incredulous looks the others were giving him. Kyuubimon finally seemed to notice his presence as well, and with a smile she approached him as he approached her. When they finally met, Kyuubimon nuzzled Naruto's face affectionately while he gently stroked her face, completely ignoring the intense gazed of the others around them. After a minute Naruto finally decided to speak up, his voice carrying an odd combination of pride and amusement.

"I see you put my teachings to good use, it was an excellent use of tactics...I'm proud of you Rena-chan...or should I call you Kyuubimon? I must say, this new form is...incredibly ironic."

Kyuubimon merely chuckled at this, for she herself found her own digivolution to be quite the surprise. She finally broke away from Naruto and backed up a second before she was suddenly consumed by a blinding light once more. When everyone looked at her position once more, she was once more Renamon. It was then that everyone finally took note of the new suit of armor she now wore...and just as quickly glanced over at Naruto's armored form, finding the similarities in the metal. Finally, it was Rika who found her voice and spoke up.

"Renamon...what's with the armor, and why does the metal look just like Naruto's?"

Her response was to simply move over to Naruto's side, where he wrapped his arm around her hip and pulled her snug against him, causing those who were watching to go wide eyed at the intimacy. She looked at Naruto and both seemed to have a quiet conversation before Naruto tilted his head to the side in thought for a moment, and then nodded. At this, Naruto turned his attention back to the others and answered in Renamon's stead.

"To answer your question, the armor was a gift from me. From where I come from it is customary for a Sensei to gift their student with an item of the trade they have taught them in. Because Renamon is my protegee and I have been teaching her the ways of a shinobi, and more specifically close combat, I felt it would be appropriate to give her a custom armor, one I designed myself."

At his answer Henry was the one who spoke up, finally getting to ask a question he had been curious about ever since his harsh verbal thrashing from Naruto.

"Hold up just one second Naruto...you said you were teaching her the ways of a shinobi...but its been hundreds of years since a shinobi has been seen, and even then they were myths. Just how is it that you're one...and while we're on the matter, how exactly do you have slitted eyes? If we're going to be seeing a lot more of you, I for one need to know I can trust you...and I can't do that if I know nothing about you."

Naruto sighed in exasperation...he may have fixed Henry's passive ways, but his observations were troublesome to say the least. Fortunately, he had already planned for this, and was already going to inform the tamers at least partially of what he was. With this in mind his demeanor changed and his eyes gained an icy hue once more; all traces of the warmth he shared with Renamon long gone, and then spoke up.

"Very well, as I do plan on 'being around' quite a bit I will divulge some information about myself to all of you, digimon included. However, it shall not be here...you never know who may be watching. I want everyone to either get a tight grip on me or one someone who is holding me; I will take us to a place that I know for a fact is safe from prying eyes and ears."

While everyone was surprised and confused by Naruto's request except Renamon, they slowly complied, Henry, Renamon and Takato taking firm holds on his left arm, back and right arm respectively, with their respective digimon or tamer grabbing hold of them. Before they could even question Naruto, he made a handsign, and everyone was quickly surrounded by a vortex of flame before dissapearing.

~~~Scene Change~~~

-(Underground Training Cavern)-

The massive cavern's soft blue ambiance was disrupted momentarily as a crimson-colored vortex of flame appeared and deposited its passengers onto the stone floor.

Naruto looked around the cavern with barely hidden surprise...although the general layout was how he remembered it from the clone's memories...where in the hell did the plant life come from? It would seem that he had underestimated just how well plant life could adapt; the massive stone columns that supported the roof of the cavern were almost completely swathed in a forest-green moss...in fact, the alcoves carved into the side of the cavern for the water and calming effect were covered in it as well, with the thickest moss being closest to the flowing water. Looking around at all the lively green moss that was no doubt thriving from the access to water and a cool temperature, he had to say that the cavern he created had a mythical presence to it with the inclusion of the soothing calm blue lighting.

While Naruto was doing a good job of hiding his surprise, the other occupants didn't bother; they all had their jaws hanging open at what greeted them, especially Renamon, whom had thought she had seen the extend of his den...apparently she was wrong, and very much so.

"Naruto...why have you never shown me this before?" Her voice carried just the smallest hint of sadness and disappointment in it, but Naruto caught it nonetheless. He nearly smacked himself for not mentioning it to her sooner, but it had simply evaded his thoughts with all that had been happening.

"I'm sorry Rena-chan, but this was done over the time we have been training by a small army of clone I had made; this is the first time I have seen it in person as well."

His answer drew the attention of Terriermon, who was just until then openly gawking at the massive underground space.

"Wait! Are you telling us that you made this...this insane cavern by yourself, and while you were training Renamon? Excuse me if I call you out on that...and what in the world did you mean by army of clones...are you an alien?" At the end he hid behind Henry's legs, expecting Naruto to turn into some kind of monster. Henry for his part could only face-palm...it would seem he needed to restrict not only how much zombie movies Terriermon watched, but sci-fi movies as well.

Naruto chuckled at the amusing scene, but upon remembering just why he had taken them here, his eyes grew cold once more and he spoke up in a no-nonsense voice.

"To answer your questions, yes I am saying I made this cavern...yet I myself didn't." At this he drew very confused faces from all except Renamon. To alleviate this, he simply made twenty shadow clones for about a minute, enjoying how everyone except Renamon was gaping once more. When he dispelled them, he spoke up once more. "I think that answers you second question about a clone army and just how I built this place. Now before I continue, I want two things from all of you with the exception of Renamon; she already knows what I am about to say. I want your word that what I say and show will never be repeated unless you have my blessing to do so, and secondly I want you to ask no questions until I am finished. Can you all do this?"

He waited until everyone had given their own personal word on it, even Guilmon. Of course, Henry was the last to finally give his word; it would seem he was the most cautious of the group, which served Naruto just fine. Once he had everyone's guarantee, he walked to Renamon's side and turned to face the group before speaking.

"Very well, now that I have your guarantees I can reveal some of myself to you. To answer your previous questions Henry, the way I can be a shinobi is because as I have said before, I am not from here. But I do not mean this by this country...I mean this as in I am not from this dimension." This earned him the expected shocked looks, but he was pleasantly surprised when no one spoke out. "As for my slitted eyes Henry...I believe that when we spoke before I indicated that I was not human, but it seems that my words were not believed. Fortunately, I have the means by which to prove my claims."

With this he slowly unclasped his mask that was attached to his helmet, letting it fall away to show his deep whisker marks and smirked, showing the large fangs his mouth concealed. Ignoring the gasps, he took off his gauntlets as well, revealing that his gauntlets were not the only things that were clawed; his hands were too, drawing yet another round of gasps. "As you can see I have features no normal human can have, yet I will show you irrefutable proof in a minute, but before I do I will answer your questions on yet another matter. I can see that you all are curious at how close Renamon and I are, and a few of you may have already speculated one it." At this his gaze wandered to Terriermon briefly, who had the humility to look away sheepishly. "However ironic it may be, Terriermon's speculations are probably the most accurate out of everyone's. For you see, the reason why Renamon and I are so close is quite simple: we are mates." This drew the loudest gasps yet, and Rika in particular looked floored with the information. "Now I know what you're thinking, how exactly is that possible? Well it would happen to tie in with what I am. For you see, while I may not be a digimon..." He trailed off and changed into his hybrid form with a swirl of flames "...I am a Kitsune."

After he and Renamon awakened everyone except Guilmon, who had managed to stay awake with this odd expression on his face, he explained the world he came from, but did not tell them about his clan or the fact that this was still not his true form; such things were not necessary at the moment.

With the explanation finished, all was quiet for a good five minutes before Takato spoke up in a stunned tone of voice. "...So, let me get this straight. You're from another dimension...one filled with ninjas and the villages they live in. To top this all off, you are a kitsune, a creature that these same shinobi can summon if they have the Kitsune contract?"

When Naruto nodded, Takato merely gave out a simple, "Oh." before fainting once more, which drew a chuckle from Naruto. While it certainly wasn't the whole story...hardly any of it in fact; all of what he told them was technically true. Now that he informed them of all he planned on telling them for now, he turned to his next objective; Guilmon. He had been sensing something off about the dinosaur lately, and he was going to find out what. Besides, he had been thinking a lot about small things he noticed in the dinosaur's actions, and had a theory, but wanted to make sure he was right. So, while the others were busy talking to each-other, Naruto approached Guilmon who was peering at Takato's downed form worriedly. When he was close enough for Guilmon's sensitive hearing to pick up his voice, Naruto spoke in soft tones.

"Guilmon, may I have a word with you?" When all he received in reply was a confused tilting of the dinosaur's head, he motioned to an area behind one of the massive pillars and slowly walked there, and not long after heard Guilmon's claws softly clicking against the stone floor behind him. Upon arriving at the location, Naruto turned around and peered at Guilmon, who fidgeted under Naruto's now quite fearsome visage. Seeing this, Naruto surprised Guilmon when he smiled and knelt down to the dinosaur's eye level while placing one paw on his shoulder, and spoke up.

"Guilmon, there are a few reasons I want to speak with you, but I will cover the most pressing one first; it may be just my imagination but I doubt it...Guilmon, why are you hiding your true self from Takato?" When Guilmon's eyes shot wide open at this, he knew his prior observations were dead-on. He spoke up in a softer voice this time, understanding the need to be gentle with this matter. "Is it because of his personality? I know how he views you; as a child...and we both know that physically such a thing is true...from what I have gathered, he literally drew you, did he not?" After getting a meek nod in reply, he continued. "As I thought, but while you may be considered a child, I have seen instances where you let you mask slip and showed a far more mature side. I know that some of your mask isn't really a mask; for someone your age, it is completely understandable to be somewhat childish...but why hide the more intelligent side?" He was surprised when Guilmon's muzzle shifted from an expression of surprise to shame as the dinosaur shifted his gaze away and down to the floor. It was quite for a moment before Guilmon responded...and while it was quiet, it was not in his typical childlike vocabulary, though his voice stayed the same.

"...I didn't want to lose him. You see, while he may have created this body of mine, he did not create me...my soul. I don't know how I know...I just do...but I know that the digital world is for the most part a violent place, where only the strong survive and the weak serve only as stepping stones. When my eyes looked at my tamer for the first time, I could instantly tell what he was like just from the expressions he made. The way his eyes lit up with joy, the way he spoke with all the innocence of a child...he was pure, and still is. I realized then that he thought of me in a similar way since he was holding a paper with a drawing of me on it...and wanting to please my tamer, I acted as expected; like a child would. What confuses me is that while I do have moments when I really am acting my age, for the most part I'm acting. When I see certain things; digimon in particular...I am reminded of things I know I have never seen and places I have never been...and it confuses me." Guilmon looked back up at Naruto, hoping to find at least a little bit of understanding, but was very surprised when understanding was not the only thing in Naruto's gaze. Oh no...Naruto was examining him with such an intensity that it made him squirm under those solid blue eyes.

Meanwhile with Naruto, his mind was in overdrive...Guilmon's confession was shocking...and it wasn't the fact that he wore a mask that shocked him...no, it was that Guilmon was seeing and remembering things he had never done and places he had never been. It had managed to wake his father as well, and both of them were going over that this could possibly mean.

'How could he be remembering things he had never done? The only thing I can think of is reincarnation, but such is a myth...and a highly questionable one at that, considering Shinigami-sama wouldn't take to kindly to that.'

'I have to agree, the reincarnation theory is sketchy as best...but what else could cause such things? Maybe hallucinogens...but to our knowledge he hasn't had any kind of contact with such...wait! Naruto, take a good look at Guilmon's chest!'

Naruto did as instructed, and was getting confused by what his father was getting at. 'What does he want me to look for? All I see is a symbol that looks like the...others..' But even as he thought this, he realized he was wrong. All the other small black triangular symbols on Guilmon looked like they belonged, and were simply that; either one or a few triangles next to each other...but the symbol on his belly was unlike the others. For one, the triangles were arranged in a pattern unlike any the rest of his body had, with the outer triangles' inner tips touching the center triangle's tips, while a circle outlined the center triangle. Hell for a second he thought it looked just like..and then it hit him.

"A seal..."

He didn't realize he had whispered it out-loud, but judging by the fact that Guilmon looked at him in confusion at the same time his father agreed with him, he had. He met Guilmon's confused gaze with his own piercing one, and spoke in a carefully controlled voice.

"Guilmon...I have a favor to ask of you. I think I may know where these mysterious memories are coming from...but to confirm this, I would need to take a look inside your mind."

The answer shocked Guilmon...how in the world could someone do that? "How would you do that? I didn't even think such a thing was possible!"

"It is possible with the assistance of one of my jutsus...there is no limit to what you can do with them. But anyways, I will be able to enter your mindscape with a jutsu; your mindscape is a representation of your mindset...but I will not do this without your consent. If I were to force this, it would be paramount to mind-rape."

Guilmon may have been young, but he was surprisingly good at reading people, and this carefully hidden skill of his paid off now. He could see that Naruto was being truthful...and even if he couldn't see it, if Naruto had ill intentions, then he wouldn't have asked his permission. So, his answer was in the affirmative. "Alright, I'll let you do your mind thing...what do I need to do?"

Naruto gave Guilmon's shoulder a soft squeeze in support before answering. "You just need to find a comfortable position for this; you will be unconscious while I take a look around inside your head. I could use a jutsu that would let you manifest yourself in your mind as well...but if my theory is correct, such would be bad right now. Now, simply close your eyes, and I'll do the rest."

Guilmon closed his eyes, trusting Naruto to do what needed to be done, and Naruto honestly was touched by the trust that was just bestowed upon him...he silently vowed not to take advantage of it. He performed a long string of handsigns before he whispered his jutsu and tapped Guilmon on his forehead. "Mind Art: Subconscious Resonance" With that, both he and Guilmon slumped forward as one entered the mind of the other, and one simply lost consciousness.

~~~Scene Change~~~

-(Guilmon's Mindscape)-

The first thing that Naruto heard was a rumble...but it was not of anything he recognized. Upon opening his eyes and standing up, he realized that Guilmon's mindscape was what appeared to be a truly massive network of caves and caverns...that rumble seemed like the earth itself was groaning. 'Heh...and I thought that MY mindscape was spooky before I fixed it...his is the depths of the earth iself!' But regardless of how spooky it may have been, Naruto started to explore the place with his youki lighting up the massive cavern around him...it was the only light available. While there was no doubt hundreds of different ways to go, he simply kept going down the route that led the deepest; he had found his father by doing the same.

It took him a good thirty minutes of running at a decent pace before he felt what was once deep rumbled now resonate at his level; he was near. Pulsing his youki, he got the general layout of what was ahead of him, and found that the small cave he was travelling down soon ended and expanded into a cavernous room, that while not the biggest he had encountered, was still massive. However, unlike the other caverns, this one had only one way in, and he was in it.

As he finally emerged out of the small cave and into the cavern, he flared his youki even more to light up the area. When his eyes rested upon what was there, he spoke the first thing that came to mind.

"Oh...you have GOT to be fucking kidding me!"

Ending Notes: And there we are, chapter 6 complete and extra long, just as I promised. Once more, sorry for the week-and-a-half absence, but I have given my reasons in my first comments. However, I will not be posting the next chapter of "Awakening of the Serpents' Avatar" all well today...I had planned to, but a small surgery forced me to postpone. As it is, hopefully I will release my other story's chapter by Sunday. But for now, I can honestly say I have bled to finish this chapter on time, lol. I literally opened up my chest wound yesterday when I tried to write more and had to go back to the ER...but we managed to close it back up, and I managed to finish this chapter today. So hey, if ya read it and you like it, say so! I'm gonna pull a cheap shot here...I bled for you!...damn that was cheesy, but true in some very, very vague sense. Anyways, I should hopefully have the next chapter up by next Friday, I want to keep my updates to the weekends. Now onto responding to my reviewers!

Holyfoxboy: Thanks for the support and compliments!

Hades45: Heh, I must admit I did enjoy writing that scene...Yamaki was an ass in the series.

The-wandering-scribe: To answer your questions, Renamon had a little interaction with the clan in this chapter, but she will be seeing more of them. As for the difference between Naruto and Renamon...you'll just have to read! :D As far as lifespan goes...we know that Naruto is essentially immortal unless he takes an near-instantly fatal hit, and Renamon is made up of essentially data..and I've yet to see a digimon die of old age, therefore I'm assuming that unless they are deleted, they are essentially immortal; just look at the sovereigns. As for Kyuubi becoming a grandfather...dunno, you'll just have to read! ;P Besides, anything like that won't be happening for a long while yet.

Nulled Lucied: Lol, I've got an addict! -cackles maniacally-...anyways, its already been started and posted, and I'm going to continue working on the next chapter just after I post this; enjoy!

Gallantmon228: Heh, seems we agree on many things! Thank you for the compliments and your continued support, it really means a lot to me to find out people truly enjoy my stories.

Magician Girl Mirani: Heh, don't worry, Naruto set Henry straight. And I plan on him having at least one of these talks to all of the tamers; they need to work together, and he's going to be the glue that holds them there. I do plan on him training everyone at least to some extent, of course there will only be so much he can do with the tamers, but they will improve at least a little. And next time you have a rant session send me a message, I'll gladly join in lol. As always, thank you for your continued support, and be happy in the knowledge that my Dumbledore rants will now be put to good use in my new story! :D

Vandenbz: It would seem that you, like Gallantmon228, agree with me on many things! Thank you for all the complements, and I hope you're pleased with the extra-long chapter! ^^

Dark Raven 19: Thanks!

Cmcwiki: Indeed, I was quite content after I was done writing it.

DarkIncubisKing: lol, no problem about not reviewing this story; you just did! As for Henry...yeah, I definitely agree there, but Naruto fixed him up!

Amaterasu's Vassel: The reason Naruto does not walk around in his hybrid form is because he is paranoid. While the chance is incredibly slim, there is always the possibility of someone bumping into him...and no illusion can hide the distinct feel of fur brushing you when what you saw was skin.

Sh8ad8ow: Here you go, and thanks!

Trife: I'm glad you find it so interesting! As for the length, yes it will indeed cover the D-Reaper, and hopefully go beyond that, though to what extend I do not know. As for when he will resume his true form...you certainly aren't the first to ask, but my answer will remain the same: you'll just have to read, I know its frustrating, but if I gave everything away I would take away from the full experience.

Jaredhimself31: Gah! You used that word again! Meh...anyways, yes the jutsu is indeed nasty...and it has a nifty name now!

Deathsilver: Thanks! And nope, no partner for Naruto.

Jlargent: Whoa hold up...two Renamon? Where? -glances around spastically-

Silber D. Wolf: Thanks for the support!

Childofthelord: Well...I dunno about writing like a paper was due...but I wrote until my wound opened and I bled all over the place, does that count? :D And yeah I can imagine that scene to be quite hilarious given the proper context.

Dark kitsune king: Thanks for the compliments! And yeah, I wonder why hardly anyone writes this pairing...it may be hard, but has insane potential.

Robert Donahue: Thanks!

Storylover213: Here you go!

Aurikki: Thanks for the compliments!

CajinAsian: Thank you for the compliments! And as stated before, you'll just have to continue reading to find out just when his true form will come into play...though that would be quite amusing.