Fall
The sky above Hikawa Shrine was devoid of clouds, save for a few cottony wisps trailing along the horizon. A light breeze rustled through the trees, scattering the fallen crimson and gold leaves into a veritable carpet all around them, save for the pathways winding through the grounds.
The noise of Tokyo was a distant hum to Hikawa's High Priestess, Hino Rei, as she swept the leaves aside, the sound of the bristles calming; the broom handle familiar against her palms. It was a task she had become rather fond of as she'd grown older, especially as she'd had fewer opportunities to carry it out in recent years, given her status at the Shrine. Sweeping was usually reserved for the mikos who apprenticed at Hikawa—they'd had no shortage of them ever since the whole of Tokyo (and the rest of the world) learned that Rei, only a young priestess at the time, was in a romantic relationship with another woman—who also happened to be the nation's top Idol, Aino Minako. As such, most of Rei's tasks at the Shrine had been relegated to working away behind the scenes, assisting with bookwork and event planning. While she did enjoy the privacy and the chance to keep out of the public eye, she also found that she missed the quiet serenity of the grounds even more.
So, one afternoon, unable to stand the oppressive walls of the shrine's office any longer, she had quietly donned a spare miko uniform, woven her hair into a simple braid, and stepped out into the autumn sunshine to sweep the grounds. Her fellow priests and apprentices had not recognized her, visitors didn't look her way twice. She'd told no one of her ploy, save for Minako—who felt no shortage of amusement that her wife could easily pass for a teenage girl—and had carried out the ritual as often as possible from then on. Besides, it meant that while she was hiding in plain sight, Rei didn't have to immediately deal with some of the more tedious tasks at the Shrine, and was actually rather productive during the day. And, as an added bonus, she often found she was energized at the day's end, rather than exhausted, so evenings at home with Minako were passed in a most pleasurable fashion more often than not.
Of course, since their daughter had been born, that particular freedom had become somewhat restricted, but Rei didn't mind—too much.
Rei smiled at the thought of Risa, their little girl. Admittedly it wasn't a common practice in Japan to name a child after a deceased loved one—many frowned upon it, in fact—but Minako had spent so much time in the West, where it was done with regularity, that when she had suggested the name of Rei's late mother during pregnancy, Rei hadn't even thought twice about agreeing to it. Even Rei's father, strict and rigid as he still was, had dissolved into tears when he'd held his granddaughter for the first time and learned her name.
Risa was four years old now and in school. At Rei's father's insistence, she had been enrolled at Rei's alma mater, as she was hard-pressed to disagree about the quality of the education she had received there. But Rei had still worried that Risa might be bullied, as she herself had been in her younger days. However, the girl turned out to be quite adept at navigating through new situations, and had no trouble at all in keeping her classmates and teachers completely charmed. Rei had wondered out loud once to Minako where their daughter might have picked up such an ability, only to have Minako flick her finger against Rei's forehead and ask, "Where indeed, Reiko?" before kissing her soundly.
Chuckling, Rei paused in her movements and turned her attention to the sky for a moment as she wiped her brow. While it was a relatively cool day, she had been at her task for quite some time, and according to her wristwatch, it would be reasonable to depart for home. Risa would be finished school and Minako would no doubt order something unhealthy and covered in cheese for dinner if Rei didn't hurry home and intervene.
As she walked the winding pathway toward the shrine's main building, she halted in her tracks when she noticed the crunch of leaves under her feet and frowned in confusion when she realized the path hadn't been swept. She glanced up at the looming trees and the light wind still stirring their branches. Rei was certain that she'd cleared this particular walkway already. She sighed and hurriedly brushed the leaves from the pathway, knowing that more would inevitably fall before the day was out.
She began to sense that something was amiss when she encountered another leaf-covered pathway that she was sure she had cleaned off earlier. Surely the leaves were not falling that quickly. Nor were they so selective about where they fell, for that matter—the ground next to the pathways was comparatively bare.
Rei dropped the broom in shock when she heard a child's peal of laughter echo through the trees. It was immediately followed by a whoop and more laughter, but sounded as though it belonged to someone who was older.
And familiar, Rei realized, leaving the pathway behind to move swiftly through the trees.
"Again, Mummy! Throw me again!"
There was a shriek, followed by infectious giggling that Rei knew entirely too well. She made her way towards the nearby small clearing, an idea forming as to what it was that she was about to see.
Sure enough, as she reached the edge of the trees, she spotted her wife and daughter in a large pile of leaves, flinging handfuls at one another, grinning madly as they played. Rei leaned against the nearest tree, not wanting to break the spell just yet, and watched as Minako seized Risa in a playful hold and began tickling her nose and cheeks with a leaf. The little girl squealed and giggled, laughing even harder when Minako discarded the leaf and began peppering her cheeks with light kisses.
Rei couldn't hold her amusement in any longer and both Minako and Risa were clearly startled when she began laughing out loud.
Risa was the first of the two to come back to herself. "Mama!" she called, leaping up and sprinting forward to greet Rei.
Rei knelt and opened her arms, almost overbalancing when Risa ran into them. "Oof. You need to quit growing so fast, my love. At this rate you're going be the one to lift me up." She got to her feet, balancing Risa on her hip.
Risa snuggled into Rei's neck. "I can't help it, Mama. I already told you."
"I know," Rei murmured, kissing Risa's cheek. "I know. You have leaves in your hair."
"Mummy says they're natural highlights."
"Oh, really." She glanced back towards the pile of leaves where Minako still sat, looking utterly contented as she watched Rei and Risa interact. "I see she's sporting a few 'highlights' herself."
"All the rage in Paris." Minako tossed a few locks over her shoulder. "You should try it, Reiko."
Rei chuckled. "It looks better on you. I suppose I have you two to thank for the extra leaves on my pathways today?"
"It was her idea," Risa and Minako said at the same time.
Rei managed to stifle her snort. "Just as I suspected." She gave a firm nod and began trudging towards the pile of leaves, adjusting her hold on Risa as she did. "Very well. We'll start with your punishment first."
In a moment, Rei had Risa cradled upside down in her arms as she began spinning around in circles. Risa cheered and giggled madly, flinging out her own arms like wings.
It didn't take long for Rei to feel the effects of the spin, however, and she flopped down next to Minako in the pile of leaves, holding Risa against herself as she toppled.
"Can we do that again, Mama?" Risa asked, scrambling upright.
"Maybe in a minute, Risa. I'm just a little dizzy right now." Rei grinned, feeling a bit lightheaded as she did, and turned to look at her wife. "Hi."
"Hi." Minako grinned back and gave Rei a light kiss on the lips. "So what's my punishment, Reiko?"
"Tell you later," Rei muttered, gesturing with her eyes to remind Minako that their four-year-old was still within earshot.
Minako's smile was appropriately sheepish. Risa, however, was oblivious to their conversation as she had begun spinning around on the spot, her arms outstretched again before she fell back into another large pile of leaves.
"You two have been busy," Rei remarked, raising an eyebrow.
"She wanted to build two forts and have a leaf fight. I tried telling her leaves don't fly quite like snowballs, but she wouldn't believe me until she tried it for herself. Stubborn."
"Hm. Can't imagine where she gets that from," Rei mused, then shot out an arm just in time to grasp Minako's wrist. "Nice try."
The idol's fingers were still curled, ready to flick Rei's forehead. Then she smirked and Rei realized too late that her grip wasn't quite tight enough to prevent Minako from tweaking her nose.
"That's a bit rich, you calling me stubborn, Reiko," she said.
Rei released her hold and pulled a face at her wife, whose smirk only broadened further.
"What—" Rei's barely formed sentence was cut off by the handful of foliage Minako had just flung into her face.
She sputtered indignantly, knowing her hair was now full of leaves, and stared wide-eyed at Minako.
"Y'know," Minako's eyes glinted devilishly, "it actually looks better on you."
Before Rei could respond, she was hit with a double barrage of leaves, but was soon quick to retaliate, scooping up armfuls and flinging them at Minako, who was giggling like a child as she continued her onslaught.
When Minako leaned too far forward into her attack, Rei was quick to take advantage, seizing the woman around her waist and pulling her so they fell into one another. She flipped Minako onto her back and tried pushing herself up onto her arms without much success, given the instability of the leaves, and promptly fell back against Minako with a grunt. She could feel leaves tickling the skin at her collar and made another vain attempt at pushing herself upright, and then contented herself with resting her head on Minako's chest. She was a bit out of breath from their brief tussle.
"I can hear your heart," Rei murmured when she noticed the steady beat under her ear.
Minako snickered. "Well, I would hope so. Is it reciting Shakespeare again? It does that sometimes. 'To beat, or not to beat—' Hey—wh—agh!"
A telltale rustling had preceded Minako's spluttering, and her flailing arms caused her and Rei to roll down the side of the pile of leaves, landing together in a tangled heap on the grass. Both women looked up from the foliage that had just been heaped onto their heads. Risa was standing over them, wearing a smile that looked uncannily like Minako's.
Risa crouched down and stared inquisitively at them both. "Are you done punishing Mummy now, Mama?"
Minako made a choked sort of noise and turned bright red.
It took all of Rei's willpower to keep from roaring with laughter. "Yeah, she, uh—I think she's had enough. Are you ready to go home, my love?"
Risa nodded as Rei clambered to her feet and extended her hand for Minako to take. "Uh huh. Mummy said we could order pizza for dinner."
Rei's eyes darted to meet Minako's. An angelic stare met her mildly accusing gaze and Rei exhaled softly, shaking her head in amusement.
"That sounds perfect."
O~O~O~O
AN – So I have a niece. She's basically my favourite person in the world and the other day we took a walk and played in some leaves.
I also learned from a commenter (thank you again!) after posting This Time and Unexpected that it is apparently considered somewhat disrespectful in multiple Eastern nations to name a child after the deceased, hence the little note about Minako spending time in the West and getting the idea. Plus, given that many people everywhere consider same-sex relationships to be taboo, let's knock down more walls, eh? ALL THE WALLS. ~ G