Belonging
Chapter 1: Possessions

Disclaimer: I do not own, have never owned, will never own Digimon and its characters. To this day I will sometimes stay up late because something reminds me of Taito and I simply cannot do anything for it but write.

Author's Note: Hello again! I am randomly back because I wanted a spicier Yamato, and this is what happened.

The delicate perfume of cherry blossoms wafting through the gentle breeze of the quiet, starless night made for a perfect evening stroll. The moon was brilliant amid the deep blue sky, despite lavender shadows of clouds that tried to douse the light, as if it were a jealous lover. The haze only served to magnify the beauty of the moon, cloaking the heavenly body with mystery.

Taichi Yagami was on guard duty that evening, patrolling one of the villas of the shogun. He was a lord and carried out his duties faithfully, and nights like this made him smile despite his thirst for adventure. Although there was a whole world outside of the capital, there was no denying the exquisite stillness of the late night, when not a soul was awake, and the only sound for miles were the quiet songs of cicadas. Had he been a poet, he might have written a line or two appreciating this moment.

A rustling pulled him from his reverie, and he snapped his head toward the general direction of the sound. Well, work had to be done, no matter how beautiful the environment. He kept his hand on the hilt of his blade, approaching with trained caution. Perhaps it was just a fox.

Breathing softly and treading lightly, he was nearly impossible to hear. There was a reason he was one of the best guards of the capital. More movement assured that he was getting closer, and his eyes darted to the vermillion columns, wide enough to hide a bandit.

It was dishonorable to strike a foe who might be unarmed; surely, the fighting was over for years to come, or so he'd hoped. And so he announced himself, voice deep and deadly, just above a whisper, but enough to send a ripple through the silence of the night. "I am Lord Taichi Yagami of the Satake clan," he stated with crisp authority, before switching to the more common tongue of his province. "You should come out and surrender; this is not the place to cross, friend."

From behind the pillar, Taichi saw a pale face. He nearly gasped as the figure peeked out, for he had never seen eyes that color in his life. They were the color of a summer sky, and as the creature stepped out, the lord felt his heart skip a beat. The palpitation had likely originated in fear, but it was intrigue that kept him still, for the figure belonged to a handsome young man. Save for the color of his eyes and his light hair, the man could have easily fit in with the court ladies if he so chose; perhaps he could even be a warrior on the field, the kind who used his beauty as a distraction. Taichi felt his breath catch as the man smirked at him, looking smug and perhaps even a little bored. Was this some sort of fox spirit?

He knew that he should draw his sword, but he did not know how he could defend the villa against a spirit. Its residents were certainly more afraid of spirits than they were of bandits, and for good reason: many lives had been lost in the time of the warring states in the fight for unification, and many of them were certain to be restless and stayed connected with the mortal world. His legs felt leaden as the golden-haired man approached, head tilted in what looked like a curious nonchalance. "How laughable to think I would surrender to a human," he chuckled, his voice melodic and silvery. "But you are a courageous one, aren't you?"

Taichi suddenly thought of the feeling of silken kimonos brushing against his skin as the stranger spoke. The haze that veiled the moon seemed to transfer over his eyes, and within moments, the blue-eyed man was before him. When had he moved so close in such a short time?

He was clad in an elegantly decorated robe of forest green silk lazily tied together at the front, revealing just enough of his bare chest with taut muscle to make Taichi want to look away for reasons he couldn't articulate. The movements of his bare feet were graceful and languid, as if he were walking upon water. Tall and lean, they were of similar height, which made it all too easy for the lord to fall victim to that cerulean gaze.

Taichi had listened to stories of kitsune as a child. They were agents of mischief and chaos, and they were not to be trusted, for they could take the shape of any person they wished, just for the fun of it. As the spirit circled his rigid body, he vaguely wondered if his hair was golden because he'd earned his ninth tail, and knew at that moment that he would not be long for this world. For a kitsune with nine tails meant that an ancient being had Taichi in his grasp, and he had little hope for escape. But a whisper of a memory came to him, and he prayed it would work.

It was now difficult to speak. The lord felt like he was fighting his own mouth, which felt sealed shut with dark magic, but he persisted with the faint hope of survival in tow. "Honorable spirit," he managed. "Please, allow me to...to pay respects...to your shrine. If you could just tell me your name...then I wouldn't confuse you with another."

A name held immense power, but fox spirits were also known for their vanity. Sure enough, the spirit scoffed, his pink lips quirked as if he had just heard a relatively clever joke. "Oh, so you know of my kind. You are right, my dear human, to try and take my name from me. But how quickly you've forgotten," he said, wrapping his arms around the warrior from behind, tracing the sharp line of his jaw. "You announced your name to me before anything else, Taichi Yagami. You belonged to me the moment you opened your mouth."

Taichi's eyes fluttered as the spirit ran his fingertips along his lips, as if to physically demonstrate his error. The touch of this creature sent pleasant chills along his spine that made him feel hungry and alive and shameful all at once. Foolish mannerisms! And yet as he stood there, he started to allow himself to fall prey to the golden-haired young man, for his body had never felt so exhilarated before. He craved adventure, and surely, this would be a story to tell if he survived. And if he didn't, well, there were certainly worse ways to die.

"Since you are already mine, you may call me Yamato," instructed the spirit, who had decided to bring Taichi down to his knees before him. Yamato lifted the lord's chin so that he could see the moon reflected in those deep brown eyes, and bent down to brush his lips against the man's forehead. "You will come with me, I think. I've not felt an aura as strong as yours, and I would very much like to keep you to myself."

Dumb with awe and desire, Taichi closed his eyes as he felt Yamato's fingers running through his thick hair, his skin tingling as those hands glided down to the back of his neck. He shivered at this, for he was not aware that his neck was as easily stimulated as other parts of his body, and a soft moan escaped from his lips.

In response, Yamato smiled slyly, kneeling at a higher angle, and buried his face into the young man's neck, murmuring soft nothings against the skin and delighting from the prickles of pleasure that radiated from his victim. "Ah, and a pretty voice frees you from your cage as well, does it?" he whispered, noting the gentle whimpers. He tasted them in the air like a delicacy, the smoky flavor of Taichi's helpless sounds. "You and I will get along famously."

And with that, Yamato stood. Enthralled, Taichi followed obediently, not caring that he had fallen prey to this beautiful creature. He knew that if he wanted to, he could fight it, but at the moment he could not think of a good reason to do so. They walked into the depths of the garden, the smell of cherry blossoms sweet and almost overpowering, and suddenly, all had gone black.

Footnotes:
- This is set in the Edo period (1603-1868), when the Tokugawa shogunate was in power. This takes place after the Sengoku/Warring States Period, and the era was achieved thanks to the efforts of Oda and Toyotomi (and Tokugawa was the beneficiary).
- People in the Edo period were extremely superstitious. Well, there are a lot of superstitions in Japan, and I need to find my notes on some possible reasons behind that. I'm pretty sure that all the deaths from the warring states period had something to do with this one, at least.
- The more tails a kitsune has, the older it is, supposedly. Nine is the maximum number of tails, and after a thousand years, their fur is meant to turn gold and they are supposed to ascend to the heavens as a tenkou.
- And yes, that was a Spirited Away reference.
- Also yes, I realize that after I finished writing this, I'm going to have to really stretch to find a plot. Oh well.