It was the tradition that a young man be bestowed gifts when he came of age at nineteen. It was no different in the court of King Munakata Reisi. Today, it was Fushimi Saruhiko whose coming of age was to be celebrated. The Captain of the Guard could not have been more impassive about the celebrations.
Well known for his lethargic attitude and his apparent dislike of everything that did not involve sleeping, Captain Fushimi was an excellent and efficient commander once he got down to work. Cold, calculating and cynical, the only people he seemed to talk to were the King himself and Kusanagi Izumo, a tavern owner.
It was not much of a surprise that he was called away from the festivities held in his honour that night to receive a special gift from the King. Of course, he grumbled under his breath about having to follow the King to one of the back entrances to the palace to receive his gift. They soon arrived and were greeted by a man unfamiliar to Saruhiko.
"This is Chae. He is the one who has graciously helped me to find your gift."
Saruhiko gave the man a once-over and nodded curtly. He then noticed a smaller figure in the shadows.
"What's that?" he asked, pointing to the figure.
With a clatter and the clanking of chains, the figure was thrust forward into the light and fell onto its knees. The figure was a small boy with reddish-brown who, upon closer inspection, had a fox's ears and tail.
"A kitsune," Chae proclaimed. "You might think that it is rare that you'd find one chained up and sold as a slave, but they're more common than you think. Catch a litter, train them from young and they make excellent slaves. He will follow your every order without complaint and he is bound to silence. Never allow him to speak to you; his kind are cunning tricksters and he will use his words to poison your mind and influence you to set him free. Now hold out your hand, and I will give you control over him."
Saruhiko did as he was told and watched in silent awe as the slaver placed what looked like a star brought down from the sky in his palm, folding his fingers over it to form a fist. When Saruhiko opened his fist, the star was gone.
"You now have complete control over him."
Saruhiko nodded and looked down at the rag-clad boy. "Does he have a name?"
Chae opened his mouth to answer, but he was beaten to it.
"Yatagarasu," came a whisper from the boy.
The slaver immediately raised a hand to strike the boy, but was stopped by the King, who was watching the exchange.
"That is enough. He now belongs to Captain Fushimi and the Captain is perfectly capable of disciplining his own slaves."
Saruhiko nodded as Chae dropped his hand. He held out a hand to the boy.
"Come, Yatagarasu. I will show you where you may sleep."
Tentatively, the boy took the proffered hand and allowed Saruhiko to lead him to his quarters.
Back in his own quarters, Saruhiko conducted his own appraisal of Yatagarasu. The boy was thin, far too thin, and his body showed signs of abuse. Saruhiko sighed; it was going to be a while before the kid adjusted to his new surroundings and stopped trembling like a leaf. Leaving the boy standing in the centre of the room, he strode to his wardrobe and pulled out a towel and some of his old casual clothes that he hadn't worn in years. Despite all the stories about him being a cold-hearted, sadistic bastard, he didn't believe in mistreating someone, human or not.
"Here, kid. The bath is down the corridor. Have a nice soak and wash up properly. And I'm probably going to call you Yata for now. Yatagarasu is just too long. You're supposed to be my slave, but I see no point in mistreating you just because your status is lower than mine."
With that, Saruhiko turned away from Yata, only to whip his head around again the moment he heard the clanking of chains.
"Tch, that won't do. I can't have you walking around in chains. You'd irritate me to no end."
Saruhiko bent down to inspect the chains around Yata's ankles. Clicking his tongue again, he stood up to retrieve a few pins from his writing desk. Efficiently, he picked the locks on the chains, freeing Yata's ankles before taking the towel and clothes from him to remove the chains on his wrists. A mildly satisfied look spread itself across his face as Yata began to flex joints he probably hadn't been able to for months.
"Go and bathe, kid." Saruhiko, not unkindly, held out the towel and clothes to Yata again.
Flashing him a grateful look, Yata took the bundle and made his way to the bath. Saruhiko removed his heavy blue coat and hung it over the back of the chair at his desk. He retrieved a loose tunic and pants to wear to sleep later. For now, he'd wait till Yata was properly settled in the small room he had in his quarters for a servant. Considering it was the onset of winter, he'd need thick blankets and warm clothing. Saruhiko sighed. He'd lend Yata some clothes for the time being, and a fleece for him to use as a blanket. He rummaged further in the piles of clothes he couldn't be bothered to fold for something that wasn't too big for the kid.
Just as Saruhiko managed to extract some of his old clothes, there was a knock at the door and Yata peeked around the crack he made when he opened the door. He was wearing Saruhiko's old clothes which were too big for him, making him look even more vulnerable. Saruhiko barely suppressed the urge to walk over and ruffle his hair, opting instead to motion for Yata to come in.
"It's getting cold, so I'll be lending you some of my old clothes until I can get someone to get you fitted for some new ones. I've got a fleece you can use for a blanket until I have one brought in for your room." He motioned for Yata to hold out his arms for the bundles of clothes and the fleece. "Follow me."
Taking two candles from his room, he led Yata to the small room at the end of the corridor.
"This is your new room. You can have access to all the rooms in my house, just try not to mess up anything. If you need anything, just find me and ask me." Saruhiko paused and his brows furrowed slightly. "If I give you permission to speak, you should be able to speak, right?"
Yata nodded.
"Very well. You have permission to speak to me in private. Just don't try anything funny like trying to trick me with words. I've become rather adept at figuring out who's lying to me and who's not."
"Yes, Master." Yata bowed his head.
"Tch, don't call me Master. It makes me feel old. I guess you can call me Fushimi or Captain, whichever you feel comfortable with."
"Fushimi…" Yata whispered almost to himself, testing the name and how it felt rolling off his tongue. He hadn't been allowed to speak for at least a year, and speech felt unfamiliar to him. He turned his liquid amber gaze to Saruhiko. "Thank you."
Saruhiko gave a small smile. "Don't thank me, thank the King. He's the one who gave you to me."
With that, they put the clothes into the small cupboard the room held and Saruhiko tucked Yata into bed. He blew out one of the candles, leaving it on Yata's bedside along with a small box of matches for him to use in future. He'd have to restock his candles soon; they were running out, thanks to his slightly nocturnal preferences.
As he walked back to his room, his thoughts were filled with questions about Yata. How old was he? Surely he couldn't be that much younger than Saruhiko himself, if his appearance was anything to go by. His scratches and bruises needed to be treated too. What exactly had happened to him? Saruhiko sighed. He'd get some salve from the apothecary for that. And that kid needed to put on some healthy weight. Right now, he was all skin and bone and Saruhiko's clothes hung loosely off his frame. The Captain sighed as he pulled the covers up over himself. He'd think more about this tomorrow. And maybe he'd make a list of things to do regarding Yata. Maybe he'd eventually train the kid to be a groom or something.
But, for now, sleep.