We might be a little different

In the early hours of the morning, the people of Yamazawa Village were busy going about their day as usual. The marketplace was bustling with activity, as traders and vendors were engaged in commerce with customers. Merchants were trying to sell off their products in wholesale, and for a moment, everything was peaceful. But then, someone screamed.

"Inugamiiiii!"

Frightened, a little blonde girl who had been carrying a tray of onions suddenly stopped to see what the commotion was about. Everyone else did the same. At the entrance of the marketplace, five large beasts were slowly approaching. The little girl's eyes went wide, and she let her tray of onions fall to the ground out of fear.

Inugami. Spirits. Dogs with razor-sharp teeth and nails for claws. Each one was the size of a full-grown cow, and their matted fur was blacker than darkness itself.

At the sight of the creatures, most of the vendors and merchants immediately abandoned their shops and began running home for safety. But the little girl needed to gather up her onions before leaving.

Fighting through the onslaught of panicked retreating footsteps was pandemonium for her. Her onions kept getting crushed and trampled in the stampede. Her hand was stomped on multiple times by the frightened villagers, and it was starting to hurt. But just as she collected the last of the remaining good onions into her tray, she heard it.

Sizzling.

The sound of something burning.

Still gripped with fear, the blonde girl looked up at the developing scene in front of her. The inugami hadn't gotten in yet because of the protective barrier set up by the spirit guardians at the entrance. However, the increase in supernatural activity was causing the magic to overheat. The paper talismans, the ofuda, specifically the kanji symbols drawn on the special paper using Spirit Ink, were starting to glow hot. This was causing the talismans on the wooden gates to quickly burn and disintegrate, meaning she only had a few seconds at best before...

The talismans quickly shriveled into smoke and ashes, and the massive hellhounds did not waste another second as they all rushed toward her for the kill.

***

Sakuya was already on the move.

Zipping back and forth in what could only be best described as a blur, she made sure to grab a few things before heading out—her belt from a hanger, her salts from a table, and finally, her wooden staff resting against the wall in the temple courtyard.

Then she left for the market.

Like a bullet train with no brakes, Sakuya kept up her top speed as she bolted down the mountain to the village below in an incredible burst of motion. She was a flash—shooting past trees, skipping over rocks. All the while, she was completely barefoot. When she finally reached the market, she could see the inugami. There were five of them. And they were all running towards something. Towards a little—

Sakuya swooped in at the last second, picking up the little blonde girl in her arms and shooting away just as one of the hellhounds lunged to bite the girl's head off. It missed. However, Sakuya wasn't completely in the clear either. She briefly lost her footing and, subsequently, her balance. She couldn't stop.

She went crashing into pans and pantries, hugging the girl closer so Sakuya herself would absorb most of the shock. The impact caused her staff to fly out of her hands. The pain was impossible.

"Hey. Are you okay, kid?" Sakuya said through gritted teeth, fighting back the pain. She still had the little girl clutched to her chest as she waited for a reply. Her back was to the floor while the little blonde girl was lying safe on top of her stomach. She could feel the poor child vibrating with fear. She needed to get her out of there.

Sakuya slowly got up while she asked the little girl to remain hidden. She picked up her staff and, nursing a freshly twisted ankle, went to stand in the open. She needed to get their attention. All five of them were already feasting on farm produce, so she quickly turned back and signaled for the little girl to take a different route and run. And as soon as she was satisfied that the girl was safe from danger, she stepped forward and made her move.

***

After boarding the plane, I reached up and placed my suitcase in the overhead compartment above my seat. The action caused the sleeve of my jacket to pull down a bit, partially revealing the tribal tattoos on my skin. A woman beside me saw this—a Japanese elderly woman, to be exact. And the look on her face told me a lot about what she thought of this aspect of my culture.

Although tattoos among Japan's younger generation were starting to become more accepted, the older generation still saw them as problematic. Only certain people possessed tattoos in society—criminals, delinquents, violent gangs, etc., etc.

We’d had this discussion with Sakuya before. I took off my shirt during a video chat and showed her all of it. I had numerous tattoos decorating my entire upper body—tattoos that symbolized healing, tattoos that symbolized power, strength, and resilience. As a kid, I would often fall ill for no identifiable reason. Many of my relatives concluded I was most likely cursed, and because of this, they later chose to stop associating with me or my family. The tattoos were later discovered to help control my strange illness, but by then, the damage had already been done.

My parents had made the conscious decision not to bring another life into this world in fear of them inheriting whatever curse I was afflicted with. So, I remained an only child.

When I told Sakuya about all of this, I was shocked to find her crying. I told her it really wasn't a big deal anymore, that I was healthy and strong, and that everything was alright. I just wanted to be a hundred percent transparent with her because I knew her culture had its views on tattoos like mine. And after sniffling and wiping away her tears, she confirmed to me that nothing had changed between us, and that, in fact, it had only brought us closer.

After stowing away my luggage, I went to take my seat. I pulled up my phone and placed a call to my mother. I knew she was going to be worried for no reason, so I wanted to let her know that I was safe and that we were about to take off. And as the phone rang, I briefly wondered what Sakuya might be doing in that very moment. Most likely everyday temple work. Sweeping, cleaning, or maybe leading some kind of prayer group or...

***

"I AM SAKUYA ALBA, Spirit Guardian." Sakuya took a stance with her staff as she spoke, the inside of her eyes starting to glow.

"Inugami!" she said, addressing the five monstrous hellhounds that had been ransacking the marketplace a second ago, but now focused all their attention on her. "I order you to cease your attack and return to the spirit realm this instant, or I promise you—" She gripped her staff tighter and readied her resolve.

"I will show you no mercy."