Oni Boyfriends: Mori & Uji (special preview)

I grew up in Rakshasa Country, far away from my family’s ancestral lands. My mother had left there before I was born, traveling with a small band of other women to form a brothel there. They traveled from their native island of Shimokobe which rested between the ocean and the Cobra Strait. I was born in Rakshasa Country some years later. Aside from the other women there, I never knew any other Oni. I was separated from my heritage, and I grew up knowing more about the Rakshasa than anything else.

When my mother passed away, Madam Seki taught me a traditional craft from back home. She made beautiful ornate masks which she sold to customers who wanted to keep their anonymity. Granted, the ones she made for them were quite simple compared to the ones she taught me how to make. She started me out making them from clay, then she taught me how to carve. I was so passionate about the craft, I learned all I could. I learned what different faces meant, what the colors represented. I even went out into a part of the market and had one of the old Rakshaa women teach me to make paints from pigments and spices.

I set up a small shop during the Festival of Color to sell my wares; hoping to make enough money to travel to Shimokobe and continue my education about my beloved craft. At first, it seemed no one was interested in them, but once the festival started I began to sell quite quickly. By the end of the night, I had nothing left and plenty of money to begin my journey to my native home.

Madam Seki was hesitant to see me go, she warned that back home I might be well received, and in fact, I should try to hide my identity and past. She told me I should claim to be Half-Orc rather than Half-Oni. She then gave me some clothes that had once belonged to my mother and gave me her hair pin for good luck and protection. I had seen her threaten several customers with that pin, so I knew how to use it.

I bought passage across the Cobra Strait to Shimokobe. Unfortunately I could not enjoy the journey as I discovered I suffered horribly from sea sickness. I wasn’t quite right even when we docked, it took me a couple of days and some thin broth to get me on my feet to travel again.

The port of Shimokobe was only my first stop. Most of the Oni lived further into the island and along the mountains further north. I was able to find out that a lot of the master crafters I was looking for would be closer to the mountains where clay and wood were more readily available, but right now the weather would be frightfully cold. I wasn’t worried, not taking into consideration that all my life all I knew was the hot sun of Rakshasa Country.

The further north I went, the more I understood the folly of my mistakes. I used my mother’s clothes to bundle up, but that did me very little. The caravan I was on stopped in a small village to pick up supplies, so I went to go find warmer clothing for myself. That was when I saw a vision of my mother. I saw her standing beside a building, wearing that beautiful dress covered in blossoms and butterflies.

“Come here, my darling Kiri. You look so cold.” Her voice was faint against the wind, but I recognized it instantly.

“Mama,” I step towards her, reaching out my hands. “Mama-” I take another step and crack through thin ice. I sink like a stone with all the clothes bundled around me.

I wake to warmth and a weight upon me. There is also a bright light swinging above me, so this must be the afterlife. I did not think the light would be moving so much. I raise my hand to try and catch it, but it feels too far out of reach. Something falls from the light and hits my chest and I see a red face surrounded in white comes into my vision, although it is quite blurred.

“God?” My voice cracks. I reach up and touch. “Your fur is much softer than I thought.”

“Soso, get off of her this instant.” A deep, powerful voice shoos away God, and then a big red hand falls onto my forehead. “Good to see you awake, little stranger.”

I grunt and turn my head, chasing the warmth of their palm. “Where am I? Am I dead?”

“Almost were, but I think we got you out of the woods.” The big red shape sits down beside me and I can start to make out their appearance. “You were lucky I was close by when you fell through the ice, young lady.”

“I thought I saw my mom,” I murmur. “I was so cold.”

“You were probably hypothermic before you even went through the ice,” he says. “But not to worry, Uji and I have been taking good care of you.”

I rub my eyes and I can finally made out his big, moon like head. His skin is blood red, shocking at first. He has huge tusks jutting out of the side of his mouth and curling upwards. His sharp red ears are dotted with jewelry, as is the center of his flat nose. His white hair is pulled back into a ponytail at the back of his head, accentuating his massive widow’s peak where spiked horns sit in the peaks. He has really long, thick arms, and he’s quite rotund in the middle.

“Uji went out to get some ginger for you, he’ll be back shortly.”

I know I am staring, but I have never met a male Oni before. “And you are?”

“Morikazu,” he chuckles. “But you can call me Mori.” He lays a thick hand on his chest. “Who might you be?”

“Kiri,” I say as I sit up in bed. Mori instantly puts a blanket around my shoulders so I stay warm.

“What on earth are you doing here Kiri?” Mori asks. “So unprepared for the cold weather here.”