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“Alright, Miwa-chan. It is time for bed,” Mama smiled, gently smoothing the dark bangs from her daughter’s forehead.
“Aww, Mama,” the five-year-old pouted, puffing out her cheeks, “I don’t wanna go to bed! I wanna stay up with you! You’ve been gone all day!”
“I- I know, Miwa-chan. I am sorry,” Mama smiled. Miwa hated it when Mama smiled like that, the smile that she used when she was trying to hide how sad she really was.
“But guess what?” Mama whispered, her dark eyes crinkling at the corners, and Miwa felt her annoyance fade as she giggled and squirmed, eager to learn Mama’s secret.
“What?” she whispered too-loudly back.
“Your f-father does not need me tonight, so I can tell you an extra bedtime story.”
Miwa squealed in excitement, ignoring the way her legs ached as she kicked them so quickly that she nearly sent her kakebuton flying off. Mama laughed and fixed the bedding, gently tucking her back in. “Can you do ‘Momotaro’? Please Mama? Please??”
“Of course, Miwa-chan,” Mama smiled, and Miwa let herself relax, because that was finally her real smile, not her sad smile. Grinning herself, the five-year-old snuggled deeper into her futon, watching her mama with bright, golden eyes as she settled beside her and began running the tips of her fingers through the girl’s hair. “Mukashi mukashi,” Mama began, “there lived an old married couple…”
.oOo.
They were very happy together, because they loved and cared for one another. But they were also very sad, because they did not have any children to complete their family.
One day, the old woman went to the river near their home to wash their clothes. As she washed, she discovered a giant peach floating down the river towards her. The old woman was surprised, but pleased, believing that it was a gift from the kami. She brought the peach home with her so that she could eat it with her husband, but when they cut the peach open, they found a baby boy inside!
.oOo.
“Mama, wait, can you make Momotaro a girl this time? Like me?” Miwa interrupted eagerly.
“Of course,” Mama laughed, smoothing her fingers through her daughter’s hair again. “They cut the peach open, and they found a baby girl inside! Is that better?”
Miwa nodded happily and settled back down to listen.
.oOo.
The old man and woman were thrilled, as they finally had a child that they could call their own. They named their daughter Momoko, or Little Peach. The old man and woman loved Little Peach very much, and did their best to take care of her, raising her to be a kind and wise young woman, as well as a strong and brave warrior.
Now, near the land where Little Peach lived, there was an island called Onigashima, a place where oni and other monsters lived, monsters that would travel to the mainland to hurt people so they could steal their treasures. Little Peach saw all of the wicked things that the monsters were doing, and it made her very sad to see the people she cared about getting hurt. Little Peach decided that she would put a stop to the wicked ogres, so, with her parent’s blessing, she took her father’s sword and armor, as well as some supplies for her journey, and set off to stop the oni.
As Little Peach traveled towards Onigashima, she stopped at a river to fill her canteen. As she knelt by the river, a kappa came out of the water! ‘Who are you?’ the kappa asked, ‘and why have you come to my river? Are you a naughty child that I must steal away?’
‘No,’ replied Little Peach. ‘I am Little Peach, and I am going to Onigashima, to stop the monsters that are attacking my people.’
The kappa laughed. ‘To face the monsters of Onigashima, you must be very strong indeed! Prove your strength against me, and I will help you in your battle.’
‘Very well,’ said Little Peach. ‘Then I will face you.’
Little Peach battled the kappa, fighting until they were both exhausted, but neither of them decisively won their contest. As they finally sat beside the river to rest, the strong kappa laughed again.
‘Alright, Little Peach,’ he said. ‘You have proven your strength. I will join you in your journey.’ And so, Little Peach and her new kappa friend traveled together, ready to fight the monsters of Onigashima.
As they traveled, they came upon a magical forest, rumored to be filled with yokai and other such creatures. The fastest way to reach Onigashima was through the forest, but many travelers that dared to enter never reached the other side, so Little Peach and the strong kappa were unsure of which path they should take. Just as they were about to take the route around the forest, they heard a voice calling for help, coming from inside the magical forest. And so they went in, even knowing that they might get lost.
Inside the forest, they found another kappa, wounded and surrounded by oni. Together, Little Peach and her friend fought off the monsters, saving the new kappa. Once they were safe, Little Peach gave him food and bound his wounds.
‘Thank you for saving me,’ the kappa said. ‘What are you doing in my forest?’
‘We are traveling to Onigashima, to stop the monsters there,’ explained Little Peach, ‘but I think we might be lost.’
‘You have helped me, and now I will help you,’ the kind kappa smiled. ‘I will lead you through my forest, and help you fight the monsters at Onigashima.’
So Little Peach and her two friends journeyed onwards, until they left the forest and began to climb a high mountain. Before long, the three friends reached a crossroads with two pathways. There, another kappa sat in a clear mountain pool.
‘Kappa-san,’ Little Peach asked, ‘can you tell us which path we should take to pass over your mountain?’
‘Well that depends,’ the kappa replied. ‘The path on the right is an easy one that leads through a beautiful meadow. The path on the left is very difficult, and leads through dark caves. Which one do you want to take?’
Little Peach’s strong and kind kappa friends immediately moved to take the right path, but Little Peach stopped them before they could start walking. ‘Which is the path that leads to Onigashima?’ she asked.
‘That would be the path on the left,’ the kappa told her.
‘Then that is the path we want,’ Little Peach replied.
‘That is a very good answer,’ the wise kappa smiled. ‘I will go with you to help you on your journey.’
Little Peach and the three kappa continued their journey up the mountain until they reached the caves the wise kappa had spoken of. Just as he had said, the caves were very dark and dangerous, with the wind howling through them, and Little Peach and her friends were very scared. Still, they knew that they had to go through the caves to reach Onigashima, and they had to reach Onigashima to protect the people they cared about, and so they pressed on.
‘I will lead the way,’ the wise kappa called. ‘Everyone, stay close so you do not get lost.’
At first, Little Peach could still see the outlines of her friends, but as they got deeper into the caves, she realized that she could not see them anymore, nor hear them due to the wind, and she froze in fear. Because they could not see nor hear either, Little Peach’s three kappa friends did not realize that she had stopped, and they accidentally left her behind. So Little Peach stood in the darkness, afraid and alone, until she heard a new voice call out to her on the wind.
‘What is wrong?’ the voice said. ‘Are you lost?’
‘Yes,’ Little Peach whispered back. ‘I am lost and I do not know where my friends are.’
‘Well,’ the voice replied, ‘will standing there help you to find them?’
‘No,’ Little Peach replied, ‘but what if I get even more lost than I am now? Then I might never find my friends!’
‘That is a possibility,’ agreed the voice, ‘but if you stay there forever, then you will definitely never find your friends. So then, what will you do?’
Well, Little Peach paused, and she thought, and she decided that, even if she was scared, she still wanted to try and protect her friends and family, and so she stepped forward. It was still dark, and it was still scary, but Little Peach felt a little better, so she took another step, and another, until she finally emerged from the darkness. There, she found not just her three friends, but a fourth kappa - the voice that had encouraged her in the cave.
‘Well done,’ the brave kappa smiled at her. ‘Your friends have told me about your journey. I would like to join you as well.’
Together, Little Peach and the four kappa warriors journeyed the rest of the way to the sea, where they built a boat to reach Onigashima. Many monsters were waiting for them when they reached the island. The kind kappa leaped ashore first, dashing about to distract the monsters while his friends got their boat to the shore. Then the wise kappa snuck into the monster’s fort to open the gate while the brave kappa protected him, and finally Little Peach and the strong kappa rushed in to join the fight. It was a terrible battle, but together the five friends defeated the oni, and made them promise that they would never harm anyone ever again.
Then Little Peach and the kappa warriors took the treasures that the monsters had stolen and returned them to their people. The five friends were hailed as heroes as they journeyed back to Little Peach’s home, but none were prouder of her than her mother and father, who, when they saw her returning, ran to embrace her.
.oOo.
“And they all lived happily ever after,” Tang Shen whispered, smiling sadly as she smoothed her daughter’s hair, listening to her soft, steady breathing. Miwa had already fallen asleep, exhausted after a long, hard day of training. Shen would have to make it up to her, and tell two stories another night. At least Saki had some manner of business tonight and would not be calling for her. She was safe, and she could be here to ensure her child was as well.
Even if only for this one, fleeting moment.
Blinking back bitter tears, Shen curled close to Miwa, resting one gentle arm over her sleeping body and tucking the other under her own head. With one last, fortifying breath, Shen forced aside her tears and leaned over to press a soft kiss to the top of Miwa’s head. “Sleep well, my Little Peach.”
Then, just as she had done every night for nearly five years, Shen whispered a silent prayer to the four kappa warriors that had tried to save her family that awful night. Please, she pleaded. I know I did not heed your warning, and I am prepared to accept my fate. But please. Please watch over my daughter.