The Onibi (Headcanon Fanfic)

Chapter 1

(A/N) I did so much research for this to make sure that we got the gender roles and history right for the time. For context this story takes place in 17th century japan, so things were kind of black and white and the “wedding” mentioned later was a secret because of said gender roles and the overall laws of japan at the time. same-sex relations were only legalized in the 19th century and even now same-sex marriage is illegal, hopefully to change in the future.

*WARNING. MOST OF THIS STORY IS HEADCANON BASED ON THE INFORMATION FROM MASA’S TWITTER. THE ONIBI STORY IS UP TO INTERPRETATION AND VERY DENSE AND COMPLICATED. IF YOU BELIEVE THIS STORY IS FULLY CANON YOU ARE MISTAKEN MY FRIEND. THIS STORY CONTAINS VIOLENCE, SEXUAL THEMES AND WORSHIPED POLYTHEISM* now without further ado: We begin

The sound of a busy market place buzzes the air outside a large mansion. Inside, a young girl fits her obi onto her waist and smiles into her ornate mirror. Her dresser filled with bottles of dutch perfume and accessories. Sitting beside a gold colored comb is a bright red ribbon that appears to form a smile. The young girl picks up her comb and starts to swiftly brush out her light green hair. Smiling, she sets the comb down and picks up the ribbon. She ties it neatly on top of her head and once again looks in the mirror. Suddenly a presence appears behind her. She looks up to see a smiling face of a middle aged woman. She kindly smiles a warm friendly smile, her hair the same color of moss dampened by the morning dew.
“Mai, sweetie. Are you done getting ready?” The woman says with a smile.
“Yes mother, I’m almost finished.” The girl, Mai, replies with a beaming face. The woman leaves and instructs Mai to stay and do her studies. However, today, Mai has other plans.
The clock lays it’s bronze hand on the number 12. It’s finally noon. A maid enters Mai’s room to request her presence at the table. She begrudgingly obliges and trudges down to the dining hall. Mai pokes at her food and slowly eats what’s on her plate. Her mother looks over her sporadic bites scattered on her plate.
“Is something wrong, Mai?” Her mother asks with a worried tone.
“No, it’s nothing mother! I’m just not hungry” Mai responds with a fake smile. After dinner she runs back to her room. Sliding the door open and waiting until her parents both went to sleep. She creeps down the corridors and opens the gate. She moves through the dark town and finds a group of weeping pussywillow vines against the town’s walls. She grabs onto the tree and pulls herself up and over the wall. The rustic farmhouses outside served as an escape for Mai, letting her feel what freedom is like. Venturing further into the forest, she spots 11 large torii arches leading a large temple. Intrigued, Mai walks toward it to investigate. She quietly walks the stairs lined with red arches. Her heart nearly stops when she hears a faint jingle of bells. She flinches and looks around in the dark. Only the moon to illuminate the empty temple garden. Suddenly a figure appears in the distance. A dark kimono contrasted with shining silver hair. The figure quickly turned toward Mai revealing her face was covered by a kitsune mask commonly used in kabuki shows she would frequent. The figure stares for a while and runs into the temple, the clacking of her geta on stone following her movement. Mai is scared and quickly runs out of the outskirts and climbs back into town. She runs back to her room and lies awake in her bed, thinking of what that thing was. The morning comes quickly and she immediately gets herself ready. She felt like sneaking out during the day this time so she could see that temple in the daylight. Sure enough, the red torii stood like guards to the large temple. She walked up clicking her getas against the hard stone stairs. Struck by curiosity she leans into the doorway to see the statues and incense burning. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Her family never went to a place like this before so she doesn’t go inside, in fear of what would happen if she did.  It was strange to her in a way she couldn't express. She stood in the doorway, but doesn’t find anyone or anything inside. She sighs, turns her heels, and heads back to the town.