Anything written in this font, please don't put on the page. I've changed the title of my series, from And So It Begins...Again? to Lost Child Found. Thanks. --Karana

Chapter II: Meet Yumiko and Kitsunemon!

The serene little forest located somewhere in DigiWorld was broken by the sudden arrival of eight flares of light. As each one faded, young children took their places. Matt shook his head and made sure TK was next to him.

"I can never get used to that." He sighed.

"Get used to what?" Tai asked from beside him. Matt scowled.

"Nothing."

Mimi looked around expectantly. "Palmon? Where are you?"

"I believe that they should be right.there." Izzy said, gesturing to a grassy patch to the group's right.

With a crash, a horde of Digimon bounded out of the brush, Agumon out in front.

"Tai!" The orange Digimon shouted, racing towards its friend. "See! I told you they'd come back!"

"Oh boy oh boy oh boy! TKKKKKKK!" Patamon yelled happily, hovering around TK's head. Gabumon hugged Matt's legs while Biyomon perched on Sora's head.

"Your face is a welcome sight, Izzy, it's not like everyone around here can understand what I try to explain to them." Tentomon buzzed. Palmon squealed delightedly and wrapped Mimi in a viney hug.

"Hey Joe! Lookin' good!" Gomamon greeted cheerily to his less-than-happy friend.

"Kari!" Gatomon meowed, rubbing her head on Kari's leg. She giggled and patted her Digimon's head.

"Hey everyone, this reunion is all nice and happy and everything, but I think we should make a plan on what we're gonna do next!"

"Come on Patamon, eat some more!"

"I think he's full, TK."

"Gomamon? Has anyone seen Gomamon?"

"I saw him over by the river a few minutes ago."

"Oh, I'm going to sit under that tree over there, I don't want to get sunburned!"

"Tag, you're it, Gatomon!"

"Prodigious!"

"Hey everyone! Agumon and I have a plan!"

Tai had decided that before taking any action, they should relax a little bit. The eight kids and their Digimon companions lounged around, resting up, talking, or (in the case of Izzy) researching stuff that no one else really understood.

"TK, I'm so full I can hardly move," Patamon squeaked breathlessly, his little wings lying rather limp. TK looked uncertain.

"Well, if you're sure."

"I'm very very sure!"

Matt smiled a little at the antics of his younger brother. They had grown a lot closer during the last adventure in the DigiWorld, he surmised. Maybe enough to make up for the years they lost being separated. Hopefully, this one would be the same. Gabumon tugged on his hand.

"Matt!" His Digimon said in his low voice. "Tai has a plan, he wants you to listen!"

Matt rolled his eyes. "Great, another one of Tai's plans." He grumbled to himself, nonetheless going to join the others. Between Tai's ego and Matt's temper, there was always an inevitable conflict waiting to happen.

Everyone sat by Tai, who looked confident. Agumon was by his side, munching quietly on some weird-looking fruit. Out of the corner of his eye, Matt made sure TK was there before he settled down himself. If anything, the adventures here had made him much more protective of his younger brother.

"Hey everyone!" Tai yelled to get his friends' attention. When they quieted down he continued. "I'm pretty sure that even though we beat Myotismon already, there must be some other bad guy here. So before we take on whoever it is, we gotta find 'em!"

"That sounds awfully dangerous. I'm allergic to danger!" That was Joe, of course.

"Oh come on, Joe, it won't be that bad. Besides, I'm here to protect you." Gomamon exclaimed, placing a.paw on his best friend's knee.

"But how will we find them?" Mimi cried, pouting. "We don't even know who it is!"

"I think we should try to go back to _our_ world." Joe said. "That's where we belong, besides, one adventure here is more than enough."

Sora looked troubled. "Maybe Joe's right, maybe we should try to go back."

Matt felt eyes on him and turned to find TK standing behind him. His lip was trembling.

"I don't ever want to go back again, Matt!" He sniffed. "Never ever!"

"Why, TK? Don't you miss Mom?" Matt asked, startled. TK nodded, tears welling up in his eyes.

"But if we go back home, y-you'll go to live with Dad again, and I won't get to see you anymore!" TK burst into tears, Patamon desperately trying to calm him down. Matt stood and hugged TK tightly.

"That's not true, TK, you'll still get to see me. It's okay." He patted his little brother's back.

"Matt's right. And besides, I'm sure your mom misses you." Sora said gently, coming up from behind Matt, who looked surprised and embarrassed that she had caught him being so.so.

~*Kind? Caring?*~ The words rang in his mind clearly, and he tried to squash them immediately. Meanwhile, TK had stopped crying and Tai was trying to regain interest in his plan.

"Of course we can't go back! We were summoned here for a reason!" Tai yelled in frustration.

"I am inclined to agree," Izzy said, nodding, "in Tai's point of view."

Matt was about to say something, when.

_Roarrrrr!_

Suddenly, to their left, there was a loud rumble and a tongue of golden fire shot up.

"What was that?" Tai yelled, running to investigate.

"Tai, wait up!" Agumon shouted, chasing after him. The rest of the group followed.

I glared up at the sky. He wanted me to attract their attention. I must be near the DigiDestined! Oh no, I had to get away before they saw me!

But I was too late. Already one was nearing me, and the rest were not far behind. I moaned and wished I could tell them to leave. But of course, I couldn't. Too much was riding on the successful carry-out of my plan. Instead of trembling, I forced my mouth to twist itself into a smile that bared my hardly-human fangs.

"Come on, Kitsunemon. We've got a job to do."

Tai stood, gaping, at the girl who stood in front of him. She had brilliant green-blue eyes and long, raven-black hair held in place by a golden headband. She wore a silvery-blue Chinese silk shirt, with black pants bound tightly at her calves. Dark gray gloves covered her hands. On her left arm hung a slightly tattered white ribbon. A look of surprise was on her face, making her look young and innocent.

All in all, she was beautiful.

"Tai, what is---" Matt shouted, cutting himself off as he too spotted the girl. But unlike Tai, who seemed mesmerized, he noticed the creature standing by her legs. It was about the size of Gabumon, perhaps a bit bigger. It walked on all fours and had the body structure of a fox. A pair of black wings folded neatly at its sides, it was quite a sight to see because of its odd coloration. The creature was a silvery-gray, with alternating gold and black striped on its legs and back. A short golden horn ran up from its forehead, and two intelligent gold-and-black eyes blinked underneath.

"Um.hey there." He said lamely. The girl tilted her head at him, blinked, then broke into a grin.

"Hi! I'm Yumiko, who're you?"

"I'm." Matt started.

"I'm Tai, that's Matt." Tai interrupted, shaking the girl's hand. She looked a little confused.

The rest of the group finally caught up.

"Wow, you're pretty." TK said to Yumiko, who crimsoned under everyone's stares.

"Er.thanks." She said, glancing around. "Who are all of you?"

"I'm Sora, pleased to meet you," Sora answered politely, "and that's Izzy, and Mimi, and Joe, and Izzy, and Tai's sister Sora."

"Nice to meet all of you. I'm Yumiko, but please, call me Yumi. Oh!" The girl jumped a little as the foxlike creature at her legs nudged her impatiently.

"How could I forget? This is my Digimon, Kitsunemon."

"Kitsunemon, the sly Digimon! She's a nice Digimon, just don't cross her or you'll be on the receiving end of one of her tricks!" Tentomon said, his wings humming. Yumiko nodded, grinning.

"That sounds like a pretty good explanation." She said, patting Kitsunemon on the head.

"Yes, quite good," Kitsunemon agreed, purring. She had a unique voice, kind of like a mix between Gatomon and Gabumon.

"So, um, are you new around here? I don't think I've ever seen you before." Yumi said, running her emerald eyes over the group.

"We've been here once before, we were the ones who defeated Myotismon." Tai said proudly. Yumi grinned.

"Really? Wow. That's.amazing."

Just then Kitsunemon caught sight of Gabumon.

"Sugoi! A Gabumon!" She yelled, leaping towards Matt's Digimon. Gabumon sweated and backpedaled...until he realized what it was.

"Kitsunemon!" The two Digimon hugged. The DigiDestined facefaulted. Yumi just giggled.

"Kitsunemon and Gabumon are related Digimon! They're cousins, I think." She explained. Kitsunemon released Gabumon and looked at the other Digimons.

"Hello Palmon, Biyomon, Agumon, Gomamon, Gatomon, Patamon, andTentomon. Man, it's been such a long time since I've seen any other Digimon! Humans try, but they just can't take the place of fellow Digimon!" Kitsunemon said, glancing at Yumi, who glared at her.

"How long have you been in the DigiWorld?" The blue-haired boy Sora had called Joe asked. Yumi started. She wasn't very sure.

"Two years, maybe three." She finally answered. The other kids gaped at her.

"That long??" Mimi gasped. "Don't you miss Earth?" Yumi looked a little sad.

".Yeah. I don't even remember Earth that well."

"Don't you have a family?" TK asked innocently, staring up at her. For a split second, Yumi winced as though slapped. But it was gone as suddenly as it had appeared, and no one had seemed to notice except Matt. He frowned.

Yumi cursed her and her weak feeble human emotions. What would have happened if the DigiDestined had seen her grimace like that? She plastered a nonchalant look on her face.

"Yes, I have a little sister, about your age, TK. Her name is Kannika." Yumi answered. Sora looked puzzled.

"What about your parents?" She asked, blinking. Yumi looked down and bit her lip.

"Umm, parents? Well yes, I have.had.parents. I don't remember them that well, they died when my sister and I were very young."

"I'm sorry." Sora apologized. Yumi grinned.

"It's okay. I'm kinda a loner anyway."

"Where is your sister, anyway?" Here Yumi almost panicked. How could she tell them where her sister was??

"She's.uh.Nika's back on earth! Yeah, um, that's where she is. She's staying with my.aunt, I'm pretty sure." She lied, feeling extremely guilty for lying. But what else _could_ she do?

"Are you a DigiDestined? Izzy questioned. Here Yumi gave a mental sigh of relief; at least here she could tell the truth.

"Nope, just one little human who accidentally got sucked into the DigiWorld." She answered, brushing back an unruly strand of black hair.

"So Kitsunemon isn't your Digimon?" Tai asked, crouching to peer at said Digimon.

"No, we are best friends though. We met when."

**FLASHBACK**

Yumi, about two years younger, is wandering through a forest.

"Where _am_ I? Where did the park go? And where's Nika?" She wondered aloud. The girl glanced at the large trees surrounding her and shuddered. "This place sure is weir---YAHHHH!"

The reason for her scream was that she had stumbled over a creature resembling a fox with wings. It blinked at her, then.

"YAHHH!"

"MONSTER!!!" They yelled in unison. The winged fox attempted to backpedal, but it was tripped by its long tail and ended up sprawled out on the floor. Yumi giggled in spite of herself. She didn't seem to find it strange that she was talking to an animal.

"You're not a monster, you're a cute 'lil fox!" She smiled. The creature looked at her indignantly.

"For your information, I am Kitsunemon, not a fox! And I am a monster- a Digital Monster!"

"Oh." Yumi blinked. "Well, I'm Yumi, and I'm not a monster either. I'm a person." Kitsunemon cocked its head.

"A person? Like from Earth?"

"Yeah. Wait a sec, if this isn't Earth, where is it?"

"This is the DigiWorld." Kitsunemon answered. "How'd you get here?" Yumi was about to answer when there was a horribly loud crash and a huge Digimon appeared by them.

"Ogremon!" Kitsunemon gasped, black-gold eyes wide in fear. The huge Digimon looked down at the smaller Digimon and laughed.

"Look, it's a little puppy come to play!" The Ogremon laughed, reaching down to grab Kitsunemon, who was paralyzed in fear.

Suddenly, his hand was struck aside by a well-placed stone. Another one hit him squarely in the jaw.

"What?? Who--?" He growled, looking around.

"It was me, you big ugly jerk! You leave Kitsunemon alone!" Yumi shouted, clutching another rock. Kitsunemon snapped out of her trance and looked back at the girl.

"Big ugly jerk?!?! You'll pay for that little remark, missy!" Ogremon snarled, stomping towards her. Yumi gulped and started running, hoping that he wouldn't catch her.

Strange noises came from behind her, and she spared a glance over her shoulder to see a glow emanating from Kitsunemon. The fox growled out, "Kitsunemon digivolved to.Inarimon!" Yumi gasped. Where Kitsunemon had previously been standing was a Digimon that looked very similar except it was huge. She towered even over Ogremon.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size, Ugly?" She howled, baring canines at least two inches long. Ogremon didn't reply, but he did attack.

"Pummel Whack!" A bone crashed down squarely on Inarimon's head. She yelped in pain, then growled low in her throat.

"You asked for it! Fox Flame!" A burst of fire, in the form of a fox, splattered against Ogremon. He simply laughed.

"That almost hurt! Pummel Whack!" This time the bone cracked into Inarimon's ribs.

"Inarimon!" Yumi yelled. "Run away!"

"No! I can beat this guy!" Inarimon yelled back. She spread her gold-tinted black wings and took to the air, where she harassed Ogremon with several more Fox Flames.

Furious, Ogremon grabbed Yumi. "If I can't get you, I'll settle for your little friend here!"

"Sun Blaze!"

Ogremon was knocked back by an extremely strong golden blast.that didn't come from Inarimon.

"Yumi!!" Inarimon cried, landing just as Ogremon's eyes crossed and he toppled over. Trembling, Yumi stood up and her body lost the golden glow it had taken.

"How did you do that?" Inarimon asked, blinking. Yumi shook her head.

"I.I don't know." She admitted. "I just.I was getting so mad, he was hurting you and he was going to hurt me."

"You are a very special human." Inarimon said. The girl started as Inarimon began to glow. The Digimon de-digivolved back into a little walking head with two big black ears and a diamond on her forehead.

"And you are a special monster." Yumi gushed, picking the little Digimon up. "Um, who are you now?"

"I'm Koinumon." She answered weakly. Yumi hugged Koinumon.

"From now on I'll stay with you, and we'll be best friends!" Koinumon blinked, then smiled tiredly.

"That.sounds nice." She said finally.

**END FLASHBACK**

"And that's how we met." Yumi finished, stroking Kitsunemon's head.

"I never did like Ogremon." Joe muttered.

There was a boom, and the heavens seemed to open up. The rain fell suddenly and became a drenching downpour.

"Oh great." Matt grumbled, trying to keep TK dry while simultaneously trying to look like he wasn't.

"There's a cave we can stay in, it's just a little way from here!" Yumi yelled amongst the pattering of rain.

She led the DigiDestined and their Digimon to the warm cave and supplied them with some wood for a fire.

"Sorry I don't have any food," she apologized, "Kitsunemon usually catches fish, but."

"That's okay, we have some food." Tai said.

Later, when all the kids had fallen asleep, Yumi ran her eyes over them.

"Oh man." She sighed, running a hand through her long dark hair. "They're so nice. How can I do this to them?"