Title: Wraiths and Faeries
Characters: Yamato Ishida
Disclaimer: The lullaby is mine, the characters are not. Watch out for fluff.
Word Count: 776
Rating: PG
Spoiler Warning: I'm assuming everyone already knows that Yamato and Takeru's parents are divorced.

In the beginning he'd hated it there. There was something to be said for being known as "the loner kid", and he liked the privacy and space he got from it, but at summer camp everyone was in everyone's face all the time. It was making him feel light-headed and sick. In fact, if he hadn't known that Takeru was going he probably wouldn't have agreed to come.

"Who wants to play soccer?!"

Yamato groaned. He was sick of that bushy-haired, loudmouthed kid asking the same damn question every five minutes. Maybe if he was lucky someone would agree to kick the ball around for a while and he'd shut up.

"Hey, Yamato, was it? You wanna play?"

He raised his head and met the soft brown eyes of the boy in front of him. Very carefully and precisely, so the moron would understand, he replied in the negative.

"Aw, don't be like that. It'll be fun."

...and the next thing Yamato knew, he had been pulled off his rock, shoved in the goal and grinned at. Head spinning, he looked around the field. It seemed that somehow the freak had managed to coerce everyone in the general area into participating, even the nerdy kid and the worrier.

For a moment, Yamato wondered if he even remembered how to play soccer.

"...hey, I didn't teleport us to this weird place! Look, why don't we split up and take a look around?"

"Yeah, that's a smart thing to do: seperate us in case something happens. You're not a very responsible leader, Tai."

"I wasn't aware I was being promoted to leader, Matt."

"Will you two just shut up for a second?! It doesn't matter who is in charge. It's getting dark and I think we should try to set up some shelter."

"Sora is correct," Izzy interjected. "Also, judging by the colour and arrangement of the clouds, it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect rain."

"We can camp out under those trees," added Sora, pointing. "Their leaves are huge. We'll definintely be dry under there."

As the group parted momentarily to look for dry wood, Taichi and Yamato avoided looking at each other.

Yamato looked out over the lake, frowning. He'd never been so angry or as confused as he had in the last few days. When he'd lost his mother and brother to divorce he'd gotten into the habit of not relying on anyone else, but that stupid kid kept getting under his skin. He didn't even care who led the group, so why did he keep fighting every decision Taichi made?

Sighing, he slid his precious harmonica out of his pocket and began to play. Random tunes at first; then he remembered a lullaby his mother had sung to him when he was little and started picking out notes. In less than no time he'd remembered the entire song and figured out how to play it.

The melody was a little haunting without words, but Yamato sung them in his head. ...away with the spirits, my love/they'll give you gossamer wings/fill your dreams with light and hope/and in the gentle light of the moon/dance, my love, in the faerie ring...

"That's a really amazing melody." Taichi's quiet voice startled Yamato and he dropped his harmonica, wincing as it bounced on the rocky ground. "Oh, sorry."

"It's okay," the blonde sighed. "I'm just a little distracted at the moment."

"I can tell," said Taichi, only half-joking. "You're not yelling at me." He bent to pick up the tiny instrument, and Yamato closed his eyes. "What are you doing out here, anyway? It's not safe. A rogue digimon could attack you at any time."

"My mother used to sing to me when I was little," Yamato said abrubtly. "The tune you heard is from an old lullaby."

"It's really hard for you, isn't it?" Taichi asked curiously.

"What is?"

"Seeing your brother again."

Yamato sighed. "It's been a while."

"You don't need to worry about him, Matt. He's strong enough to look after himself."

"Maybe he's stronger than all of us," Yamato mused.

"Hm?"

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking out loud."

Crickets chirped as they watched the moon rise over the lake.

"You should come back to the camp," the brunette said into the silence, not looking over.

"I will. In a minute." Yamato held his hand out, and Taichi gave him back his harmonica.

"Could... would you mind playing the music again? It sounds familiar."

Yamato allowed him his lie and raised the instrument to his lips.

...sleep and dream peacefully/for in the morning when you wake/you'll find you're safe from harm...