The love they won't allow

The following morning in Yamazawa Village was relatively peaceful. The sun shone brightly. Birds were happily chirping and singing in the trees. A rooster crowed in the distance, ready to kick-start another day. But for Ash and Sakuya, who were busy trying to wrangle up two dozen mischievous baby spirits from an old man's family farm, their morning was a little more chaotic than most.

***

Sakuya was exhausted.

Hungry.

A little frustrated.

Okay, a lot frustrated.

She took a deep breath, stood up straight, and gazed back at the open field.

They were everywhere. Little baby Kawa-no-Kami. Creatures whose appearance could be summarized as little four-year-old girls with slimy, wet, deep-blue skin, webbed hands and feet resembling a frog's, and tangled long hair packed with seaweed and algae. Their hair was also constantly dripping with river water, soaking most of the land, making it difficult to catch them, and making it very easy to eat grass if you tried running after them.

And, again, they were everywhere, buzzing with toddler-like energy.

Three of them were in a corner feeding rice to the farmer's chickens—rice they had stolen from said farmer's barn. Four others were riding the goats like horseys. Five others were chasing a bunch of actual horses they had released from the stables. One was trying to poke a sleeping bull with her stick...

"ASH?!"

Sakuya called out to the white-haired girl standing in the middle of the fray, and Ash simply blinked out of existence, reappeared behind the little girl with the stick, grabbed her, disappeared, then reappeared beside Sakuya.

The baby Kawa-no-Kami girl struggled, thrashed around, and eventually slipped out of Ash's grip. Then she quickly ran back to rejoin her sisters in causing more chaos.

Ash furrowed her brows in annoyance. Sakuya noticed the girl had already started to bleed from the nose. Her teleportation powers were highly effective, especially in combat situations, but they weren't meant to be abused for things like what they were currently doing. Any further stress on her body could cause her to seize up and begin convulsing. She wasn't planning on letting Ash reach that point.

Determined, Sakuya turned, ready to take charge of the situation. And immediately got splashed in the face with water by one of the inhuman toddlers holding a bucket.

The little girl ran off laughing.

Sakuya got angry.

Ash took a cautious step back and blinked out of existence.

Sakuya’s eyes glowed.

Slowly.

Quickly.

Overwhelmingly.

Then an explosion of spirit energy.

"ENOUGH!"

Sakuya yelled as the force of the blast knocked all of the Kawa-no-Kami kids off their feet. One of them got her head stuck in a bucket. The blast was powerful but made non-lethal by Sakuya trying her best to control it at the very last second. She didn't want to accidentally hurt them.

Her eyes stopped glowing, and she utilized the opportunity now that she had their attention. Ash blinked back to existence beside her.

"Alright, every single one of you should listen up and listen carefully, or so help me God, I will spank you—and spank you so hard, none of you will be able to sit down for at least a month, understand?"

All of the children now had their attention focused on her. Even Bucket Head.

Sakuya continued.

"Good. And if you think I am joking, just ask my little sister Shiun. Her butt still has marks from whenever I occasionally beat out the demon that comes to possess her."

That wasn't technically true, but Sakuya needed them to fear her in that moment. She needed them to see her as a ruthless mother figure with no patience—something she promised never to do if Jumo and she ever had kids of their own. Yes. If Jumo ended up accepting to be a part of her world, which she prayed every day would happen, then they were definitely having kids. No compromising.

"Now. I need you all to line up single file and apologize to Farmer Daichi. Then we will all march out of here and go find your mother. Now go. Hop to it. Chop chop! And someone help your sister remove the bucket from her head."

"No! I like bucket!"

***

Sakuya and Ash were now strolling down a dirt road with the Kawa-no-Kami children. Describing what the children were doing as strolling was a bit of a stretch of the language.

They were running back and forth. Screaming, laughing, and playing. But they were listening, and that was all that mattered to Sakuya.

As soon as she got them home, she could go get showered, dress up, and go meet Jumo. She smiled at the thought.

"You're smiling."

Ash's comment completely caught Sakuya off guard. Because of this, she nearly tripped on a rock but quickly righted herself. She didn't know the girl had been observing her.

"Smiling? Me?" Sakuya asked, nervous.

"Yes," Ash replied. "And I know it's because of him."

Sakuya suddenly stopped in her tracks, her breath stuck in her throat. How did... No. The girl was joking. There was no way she could have found out.

"What are you talking about?" Sakuya asked, this time flashing an anxious smile. She resumed walking ahead with quick steps, trying her best to act natural. Ash followed behind.

"Jumo."

That single name from Ash was the tipping point for Sakuya. Literally. She tripped. Again. How did the girl know his name? The ground rushed towards her face.

She fell.

***

Sakuya dusted herself off and resumed walking, with Ash by her side. All of the Kawa-no-Kami kids had run ahead as soon as the river down the mountain came into view. According to Bucket Head—who now wore her accessory like a hat—shortly before she ran off with her sisters, she pointed, and said their mother was down there. So, Sakuya gave them permission to race towards the water.

As for Ash, the girl had figured out who Jumo was from the previous night. While Sakuya was busy talking to him on the phone, the white-haired girl had overheard some of their conversation through Sakuya's bedroom door. According to her, she hadn't come with the intention of spying. She was just concerned and wanted to check up on Sakuya after the rough exorcism with the Ikiryo spirit.

That was when she heard everything. Unintentionally.

"He makes you happy, and I like that," Ash said, her voice soft but cold. "But you should remember—the spirit guardian is meant to marry someone from the village, not an outsider. My mother, the elders, I don't think they will approve if they find out. So please be careful."

Sakuya was quiet after that. Ash's opinion on the matter was a reality check she had been avoiding for quite some time. She didn't just have Jumo to worry about—whether he would accept her, the things she did, and her world. She also had the village elders to worry about as well, including aunt Kanna.

And there was also that part of her tradition. The part that dictated: A spirit guardian must choose a partner, a spouse, from within the territory of Yamazawa, or the surrounding guardian temples. This was primarily to ensure that the power—her power—was always passed down in its fullest form and not eventually weakened or lost to mixing bloodlines.

A spirit guardian's life partner was also meant to play a supporting role, and not just in combat—ritual and spiritual activities as well. Whoever she chose to marry must embody her culture, both in and out. And Jumo, there was no way she was going to intentionally burden him with all of this too.

What was she supposed to do?

Just leave him?

But she didn't want to.

Was that fair?

Was that fair to Jumo?

Suddenly thrusting his life into constant danger just because she wanted to be with him.

Asking him to take on a new identity, a new culture, a new way of thinking and believing—all so they could be together.

Was this selfish of her?

Was this fair?

Remembering these facts, Sakuya suddenly became less enthusiastic about meeting up with Jumo later. Her mood became somber, and she no longer felt like having breakfast or eating for the rest of the day. She just wanted to get the little spirits home and be done.

No matter how much she thought about it. No matter how much she wished for it to be true. She had to start thinking logically.

She might not have a life with Jumo.

She might not have a life with the one she loved.

Because of the elders.

Aunt Kanna.

The village.

Her culture.

Her traditions.

Her duties.

Her life.

It was never going to work.

They were never going to accept him.

They were never going to approve.

It was...

Pointless.

And yet.

She didn't want to just give up.

She wanted to try.

***

Sakuya, Ash, and the party finally arrived at the river, where the mother of the little monsters was already waiting. The fully grown Kawa-no-kami was a spitting image of her children—just a lot older.

Sakuya and Ash bowed their heads in respect as they greeted the older spirit. After exchanging pleasantries, the children began jumping into the water one by one, swimming to the bottom. Bucket Head was the last to leave.

The Kawa-no-kami girl waddled up to Sakuya and, with a sad expression, removed the bucket from her head and held it up to her. She was giving it back, even though she didn’t want to. Seeing this, Sakuya knelt in front of the little blue girl. She didn’t take the bucket from her.

"I'll talk to Farmer Daichi about getting a new bucket," Sakuya said. "You can keep this one. It's yours now."

Smiling, the little girl immediately rushed Sakuya in a hug.

And now the front part of her kimono was drenched.

But choosing to ignore that, Sakuya hugged her back.

When they separated, Sakuya helped the girl put the bucket back on her head like a hat. Then the little spirit girl waved to Ash and Sakuya before leaving with her mother to the bottom of the river.