Demon Gate

"How's this for formalities, little Satou?" Higa chuckled. "I'm going to teach you how to act like a proper Oni, it's unnatural to be so stiff and prissy."

She held him there until he ceased his struggling, Satou letting himself sink into her bosom, her tight grip on him loosening. He could feel her warm breath blowing in his hair, he could feel her skin against his own, softer and smoother than her fearsome appearance would have suggested. He wondered if all women felt this way, or was it just Higa? Would the Lady Sasaki have skin as soft as this, would she hold him as tightly, if at all?

Such displays of physical affection were not customary in his culture. Even between two married people it was considered at best in poor taste and at worse a huge social faux pas. He never saw his parents embracing one another, they never shared a hug or a kiss, they just performed their roles as dutifully as a laborer tilling a field. It was as if love was a job for them, and was that not exactly how his mother had described it to him? She had told him that on some days, marriage was like being an ox pulling a plow in a field. Was that what he wanted for himself? An eternity of tolerance and compromise?

Satou felt a sudden surge of longing for Higa, mixed with dread. He didn't want to marry Sasaki. He had known that from the moment that he had met her, with her strange face paint and her black teeth, but he had never felt it more strongly than he did right now. What was he going to do? Even if Higa agreed to it, which didn't seem remotely likely, his family would never allow him to reject Sasaki and marry an Oni of all things. Their union was about more than just marriage, it was about unifying their two shōen, to benefit both communities along with hundreds of people. How could he refuse that responsibility?

Higa released him from her grasp, smiling at him as he wrung his hands, his face burning. She reached down and closed her hands around his, encompassing them entirely in her giant, red fingers.

"Stop fussing," she laughed, "there's no need to be so shy. What's the matter, don't people hug each other where you're from?"

"Not often," he replied, averting his eyes as she peered down at him. He was behaving just like Sasaki had, it was programmed into him by a lifetime of social conditioning. She hooked her finger under his chin and turned his face upwards, forcing him to meet her gaze, Satou staring into her golden eyes as she batted her snow-white lashes at him.

"We're going to have to work on your confidence. Tell you what, I'm going to give you the full Oni treatment, a crash course. You're going to be the toughest human in your village, how about that?"

"Why?" Satou asked, "why does it matter to you that I'm shy?"

"While you might dress like a little lord and you mind your manners like your life depends on it, I don't think that's who you really want to be."

"N-No?"

"Nope," she said, tapping her finger against his chest. "I think there's the spirit of an Oni inside you. I think you want to be out here in the wilderness hunting and exploring, not taking part in tea ceremonies and bowing until you throw your back out. Why else would you be out here, with me?"

She grinned at him, knowing that she was right because of the way that he was peering up at her. They had hardly spent a day together, and she already knew more about him than his own family did. Was she just that perceptive, or was he that obvious?

"Headbutt me," she said.

"What!?" Satou exclaimed.

"Headbutt me," she insisted, tapping her finger against her forehead. "That's what an Oni does when he gets into a confrontation. He locks horns, and he stares his opponent in the eye until they back down."

"I...I can't do that," Satou stammered. "It wouldn't be..."

"Proper? Forget proper, me and you are gonna be improper from now on. Come on, you really think that a puny human like you could hurt me? Watch my horns though, don't want you getting stabbed." She crouched down low, resting her hands on her knees and presenting her head to him, her two pointed horns angled upwards so that they were out of his way. She pointed to her forehead again. "Come on kid, headbutt me. Do you want me to teach you how to be an Oni or not?"

He steeled himself, trying to look determined, and then leaned forward to tap his forehead against hers. It was too light, and she laughed at him, slapping her knee.

"That was terrible! Come on, like you mean it this time."

He hesitated for a moment, then did it again, much harder this time. Their heads knocked together with a thud, and he stumbled backwards, clasping his forehead.

"Ouch," he grumbled, rubbing it as he looked back at Higa. It was like headbutting a tree, she hadn't even flinched.

"That's more like it," she said, exposing her tusk-like teeth as she grinned at him. "You got a hard head kid, you might make a half-decent Oni yet."

"Yeah?" he asked, her smile contagious.

"With a little more practice maybe you can proposition me properly. Oni do it with headbutts, not with poems and flowers." He reddened again, and she laughed at him, rising to her feet. "The sun is setting," she said, looking to the sky which was now turning a shade of pink. "It's going to be a warm night again. Are you heading back down the mountain, or are you staying overnight? There's a place for you on my furs if you want it."

He wrung his hands again and glanced back over his shoulder, looking down the slope of the mountain. It was a difficult offer to refuse, but he had told his father that he would be back home for supper. If he failed to return, his parents might organize a search party and get the whole village involved. He didn't want to cause any undue worry.

"I...should get back," he said, his disappointment obvious in the tone of his voice. "I told my parents that I would be back before supper and I'm not really supposed to be up here..."

"Oh, so you're rebellious and you disobey your parents, but you still have to be home in time for supper?" He nodded, and she sighed. "Alright, I'll walk you back to the pool. You can find your way home from there."

"I could come back once my parents are asleep," he offered. But she shook her horned head, her mane of white hair bouncing with the motion.

"Even little Onis need their sleep, kid. If you spend all night running up and down the mountain, you'll be exhausted. Get some shut-eye, I'm not going anywhere until hunting season ends. Tell you what, every day I'll go down to the pool around the same time, when the sun is at its apex. I'll hang around for a little while, and if you show up, we can hang out. Sound good?"

He nodded enthusiastically. He would have to find more excuses to visit the sluice gate. That might be difficult, but it was worth the risk to be able to spend more time with Higa.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, "I was supposed to pick flowers!"

"What?" Higa asked.

"I told my father that I was heading up the mountain to pick flowers. I need to bring some back with me."

"We can find some on the way back," she said, taking him by the shoulder and steering him around. "Come on kid, on your way."

CHAPTER 5: KISS FROM A ROSE

"Are you feeling well, Satou?" his mother asked as he prodded at his food with his chopsticks. "You aren't eating very much."

Her voice snapped him out of his daydream, and he resumed his meal. He couldn't tell her that the reason that he had lost his appetite was because he had dined on venison during his time on the mountain of course.

"I'm fine mother, I was just...distracted."

"Those flowers that you picked," his father said, gesturing to the bouquet that was now sitting in a vase in the middle of the table. "They don't look any different from the ones that grow down in the valley."

"No, these ones are...prettier," Satou insisted. "I wanted only the best flowers for Lady Sasaki."

"I'm so glad that you've taken such a liking to that girl," his mother said, Satou grateful for the change of subject. "Such romance in the context of an arranged marriage is rare indeed. You should consider yourself lucky, Satou."

"This is entirely hypothetical of course," Satou began, avoiding his father's gaze as he tried to conceal his nervousness. "But what would happen if...the Lady Sasaki...rejected my advances? What if she refused the marriage because she didn't like me?"

"That won't happen," his mother insisted, "you have nothing to fear Satou. Lady Sasaki is an obedient girl. She has been reared well, by a good family. She is well mannered, dutiful, a proper lady through and through. No one in her position would dare to dishonor their parents and their shōen by refusing such a beneficial union. It would be unthinkable."

He swallowed a mouthful of soup, trying not to look as guilty as he was starting to feel.

"Love plays no part in a marriage of this nature," his father added sternly, "duty to family and to society must come before one's own whims. Remember what I always tell you Satou, those who come together in passion..."

"...stay together in tears," Satou finished.

"Very good. Now finish your soup and get a good night's rest. I want you working tomorrow, you'll need your strength."

"Yes, father..."

***

"You seem even more distracted than usual today," Nagao said, holding the fence post as Satou hammered it into the ground. They were repairing the fence that encircled the farm, used to deter scavengers and animals like deer that might try to eat their crops. The sun was already high, and Satou kept glancing up at the mountain, a kind of tension overcoming him. He longed to visit Higa again. The idea of her waiting around for him beside the pool only for him not to show up was maddening.

"I saw the Oni again," he admitted, "I spoke to her this time."

Nagao sighed with exasperation, standing up and wiping his brow.

"Will you heed no one's advice, young Satou? I warned you not to go exploring beyond the sluice gate a second time, and you did exactly the opposite! If you were my son, I'd box your ears."

"She's not what you think!" he insisted, "she isn't a vengeful monster that wants to destroy us. She's kind, reasonable. She didn't try to eat me or trick me, or anything of the sort. She hasn't caused any earthquakes or plagues. She's just visiting the forest to hunt during the spring."

"She is a yokai, a mystical creature," Nagao said. "They are mischievous Satou. Just because she didn't immediately try to eat you doesn't mean that she won't try something later! For all you know, she might cause a rock slide to crush the whole village, or she might conjure a blight that kills all the crops."

"The Oni was kind to me, she fed me, she seems to want to teach me."

"Teach you?" Nagao asked quizzically, "what does she want to teach you?"

"About her people and her culture, at least that's what I think..."

He glanced longingly at the mountain again, Nagao shaking his head and muttering to himself as he retrieved another fence post from the pile.

"I know that look," the old man grumbled, digging a furrow in the earth with the pointed end of the post. "I've seen it enough times to know that no amount of arguing is going to sway you. You're smitten with her, aren't you?"

"She's like no one I've ever met before," Satou admitted, "she treats me differently to everybody else. She understands me. The way she acts, the way she talks...I can't stop thinking about her. I dream about her."

"Young love," Nagao sighed, "as beautiful as it is destructive. You haven't forgotten that you're engaged to the Matsuyo girl, I assume? Let me guess, you don't like her? She's too demure for you, too prim and proper?"

"Nagao," Satou began, "I-"

"Remember Satou, that as the heir to the shōen you have responsibilities and duties that go beyond your own happiness. Granted, being the lowly peasant that I am, I cannot imagine what it must be like to be compelled to marry someone that you don't love. The lower classes of society might not get to enjoy the same luxuries and privileges as those at the top, but there is balance in all things. We enjoy freedoms that you do not. Do you have any idea what will happen if you refuse the Lady Matsuyo's hand?"

"I don't," he admitted, "I have no plan. I don't know what to do, I don't know what will happen. All I know is that when I met the Lady Sasaki, I felt nothing for her. I might as well have been engaged to a tree or a rock. But when I'm with Higa, the Oni girl, I feel alive in ways that I never have before. It's like there's a furnace burning inside me, like I can feel the blood coursing through my veins. Food tastes better, the world seems more colorful, and the thought of being without her makes my guts twist into a knot. What should I do, Nagao? How can this be wrong if it feels so right?"

"I remember when I met my wife," he replied as he leaned on the post and stared into the distance, his eyes losing their focus as he dredged up old memories. "Nothing could have kept me from her. Your heart has switched places with your brain, and it's making the decisions now. You're in the prime of youth, you're experiencing all of these emotions and feelings for the first time. It's like being drunk on sake, you feel like you could move a mountain if it meant winning her heart, like she's worth risking everything for..."

Satou was surprised that Nagao understood how he felt. The old man was wise indeed, he had lived a long and fruitful life, accumulating so many experiences.

"You were never one to heed my advice before," Nagao continued, "and you certainly won't listen to me now. But I have to try to get through to you, Satou, I owe as much to your father. If you commit to this, if you go down this path, then you will put not only yourself but your entire family in a very difficult position. They have vouched for you, they have gambled their honor on the notion that you will be obedient and dutiful. The inhabitants of both our shōen are depending on this union to improve our quality of life, to elevate our position as a community."

Satou began to speak, but Nagao cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"I know that you didn't choose this, none of us can choose to whom we are born. But never the less, it is your duty to take care of your people. Do you understand that? Your father didn't act impulsively, he didn't get where he is today by chasing dreams. He did what was necessary, regardless of how he felt about it, and a result there are dozens of families here who live in peace and security under his guidance."

"Will you tell him?" Satou asked, his eyes turned to the ground and his head bowed. He wasn't accustomed to being scolded by Nagao. The casual and friendly way in which he did it somehow made Satou feel worse than when his father subjected him to another one of his stern talks.

"I promised that I would keep your secret," Nagao replied. "If I went back on my word, the spirits of my ancestors would rise from their graves and haunt me for tarnishing their good name."

Satou breathed a sigh of relief, glancing back up the mountain again.

"She's waiting for you, isn't she?" Nagao asked. Satou nodded. The old man rolled his eyes and held out his hand, gesturing for Satou to pass him the hammer. "Go on then, but it would be wise to return before your father comes looking for you. He won't miss you for a few hours."

"You mean it?" Satou asked, his expression brightening. "But...will you be alright on your own?"

"I'm not so old that I can't repair a fence without your help," he grumbled, "now off with you. I don't agree with what you're doing, but I know that you'll do it anyway. The best I can hope for is that you'll get over this girl and come to your senses in time for the wedding."

"Thank you, Nagao," Satou exclaimed, practically hopping with excitement. He composed himself, then gave the man a more sincere bow to express his gratitude, Nagao waving for him to stand.

"I'm only an old farm hand, boy, I'm not worth such formalities. Now off you go, and take the forest path lest someone see you."

Satou nodded enthusiastically, jogging off in the direction of the dense woodland that surrounded the farm.

***

The ferns rustled as Satou pushed through them, arriving at the border of the clearing. He peeked between the trees, his heart racing, not just from his hurried climb but because he feared that he might have missed Higa. She had told him that she would only wait there for a short while.

He was relieved to see a massive puff of white, only her hair and her red shoulders visible from where he was standing. She was lounging in the water with her back to him, resting her elbows on the grassy shore. Satou could see her cloak and her clothing lying on the grass nearby, which meant that she must have shed them before entering the water. He watched her for a moment, wondering if it would be intruding to announce himself right now, but the snap of a twig alerted her to his presence.

She reached a hand over her shoulder and beckoned to him with her finger.

"Not peeking again, are you Satou? You took your time, I thought you might not be coming today."

"I'm sorry," he stammered. "I wanted to come sooner, but I had some trouble sneaking away."

"Oh, you're being rebellious again today? Come join me. It's a hot afternoon, and the water is wonderfully cool."

He hesitated, then emerged from between the trees, his face already reddening as he made his way over to her.

"It's so nice to be able to bathe here" she sighed, leaning her head back and enjoying the spray from the waterfall. "It's easy to work up a sweat while hunting, especially since it gets very hot and humid down at this altitude. I'm used to the snow-covered mountain tops, I'd never come down to the tree line if it wasn't where the best game is found."

He approached the edge of the pool and stopped beside her, Higa turning her head, looking up at him with a toothy grin that was becoming all too familiar. The water was crystal clear, there was nothing preventing him from copping an eyeful of her magnificent, red body. He averted his gaze, steam practically rising from his ears as she chuckled at him.

"Now now Satou, an Oni wouldn't avert his eyes when faced with a beautiful woman. We go without clothing all the time, there's nothing to be ashamed of. Speaking of which, you can't very well take a dip with yours on, can you?"

"Maybe I should just...stand at the water's edge," he mumbled.

"Nonsense, you worked up a sweat climbing the mountain, come and cool off for a while. You don't have anything that I haven't seen before."

He considered for a moment, then did as she asked, walking a short distance behind her so that she couldn't watch and shedding his clothes. He stripped down to his loincloth, not willing to go fully nude, and quickly slipped into the water a few feet to her left. He gasped as the cold liquid touched his feet, sliding down until he was sitting on the rocky bottom. The water reached his neck, while barely serving to cover Higa's bosom due to their difference in stature. At this angle the sun was reflecting off the surface of the pool, obscuring what lay beneath, and he felt a little more comfortable.

Higa was right, the water was pleasantly cold, and the spray from the waterfall felt lovely against his face. It was nice to be able to wash off all of the sweat that he had accumulated during his hike, those heavy clothes didn't do him any favors. He allowed himself to relax, sinking a little deeper, blowing bubbles as the water reached his mouth.

"That's gonna chafe, you know," Higa said as she gestured beneath the water at his loincloth. "Better let it dry in the sun for a while before you head back down the mountain."

Satou didn't reply, enjoying the peace and tranquility, enjoying being around Higa again. All of the tension that he had felt during his time away from her had evaporated the moment that he had laid eyes on her again, like surfacing for a gulp of air after holding his breath for a long time.