Oni – demon

Surprised? I know I am. Leavesfallingup reminded me about this story, and I wanted to try and come back to it. At least for a small update. I forgot how much of this I had done. I didn't like where I was going with it, so I rewrote the second half. I think I'm comfortable enough to work with this premise. It's a bit more serious, but there's a better atmosphere for romance. My muse is so weird.

As usual, thanks Runa!


A small rap at the door made Ren open his eyes, breaking his concentration as the brush ran over his cheeks. "Excuse me, Wood-san? Is the herder ready?" A deep masculine voice came through the crack in the open door. "I was asked by the Tentei to give Hikoboshi a review of the stage before show time."

"Good timing Magpie-san. Hikoboshi's ready." Pulling the large blush brush away from the actor's face, Jerry smiled brightly as she looked at her favorite LME actor. She stopped standing on her tip-toes, something she always had to do with Ren, no matter the chair's height. "Now I just have to go and find Darling. Ta ta Ren-chan! – I mean Hikoboshi-san."

Taking her leave, the door widened to allow Jerry to pass the stage hand, tall, broad, and familiar. Although his name was almost never spoken, the permanent human fixture by the president was unmistakable in his stripped black & white turtleneck, black pants, and small black ponytail. The only thing that literally stuck out was his nose – now a beak. Among the time Ren had spent working with Lory, Sebastian almost never spoke. Yashiro had asked him if the butler was mute.

"Please follow me, Hikoboshi-san."

Unsteadily getting to his feet, Ren clopped along in his foreign geta sandals, following behind the ever-stoic Sebastian as he gave him a broad tour of the backstage and its working.

"This is where the Tentei will appear. His voice will be magnified on stage, so do not jump when his voice first appears."

Even though the butler kept his sentences straight to the point, Ren had never heard the butler speak more than two sentences before. 'Please wait' and 'Follow me please' were the only four words that brushed past his lips more than once.

"Orihime will be swept up at the separation, so please be careful during that scene."

His facial expression never changed as he spoke, and his tone was always flat. It was the work of a deadpan butler, and he pulled it off as if a veteran. Ren felt more and more unsure about the entire situation. The day had grown stranger and stranger as it went on, throwing the actor in situations he could have never predicted, even in his subconscious.

"The cows are animated. They can move their heads, and slide up and down. It will all be handled by controllers underneath the stage and above the rafters, so they should not get in your way. If you interact with them, they will interact with you."

Finally breaking, Ren asked what was on his mind. "What is the president planning? Who will be playing the princess? What is he expecting of tonight?"

The server paused, but the pause was so brief that Ren knew he was expecting to hear those questions. The responses came out so smoothly it was as if the butler was reading from a well-known scene's script; one reciting, and the other acting spontaneous. "The President plans for the citizens of Tokyo to have a good night. We were instructed by the Tentei to only refer to his daughter as Orihime-sama. Orihime-sama is only Orihime-sama tonight. And you can only be Hikoboshi."

Finally cracking the small façade, Sebastian turned to look at the familiar actor. "Are you nervous, Tsuruga-san?"

Ren eyes widened a little in surprise; the sudden humanity in Sebastian's character was very unlike him. Ren responded by smiling in handsome embarrassment, looking away as his cheeks flushed. "A little. This is not a situation I'm used to."

"I was told to leave you with two pieces of advice by the Tentei & The President."

"Yes?" Ren asked, unsure.

"Make my daughter happy, or I shall release a wrath so deep that the very depths of Hell will become jealous...And do not let yourself get in the way of true love."


Kyoko watched the administrator in interest, as the members behind the curtain scurried around her. "Places people! We're starting in one minute!" The stage director cried out, running around the back. He carried a walkie-talkie and barked orders through it, as well as in person, as time ticked down. It was dimly lit behind the heavy stage curtain, and her eyes had taken a while to adjust to the darkness. Despite the difficulty seeing, everyone was able to avoid stepping on the voluptuous costume Jerry magically assembled, which trailed far behind her.

The backstage was much livelier than an acting set, which was usually pretty orderly and calm before filming started. Everything would already be placed, and people were only making touch ups to the actors, or polishing their equipment to assure the best take. She had always thought of acting in the filmed sense, but acting on stage, in front of real people, Kyoko's resolution firmed.

She would not let down her fellow Japanese citizens, especially the Tashio and his wife, who had forgone their potential busy night to watch their tenant's work. She would act her part and fall in love. She would banish her spirits for tonight. Take down the emotional barricades that kept the idiot's memory away from her. There were too many people depending on her tonight to let that old wound re-open.

~Mama! Mama! Don't Let Us Go!~ The demons clung onto her very shoulders, crying with caution. ~He's always here! He wants to hurt you! We just want to protect you Mama!~

Kyoko picked the set from her shoulder, and kissed them appreciatively. "I promise I'll stay strong without you. It's just for a night."

~Mama! Mama! Don't do it! Please! DON'T LET US GO!~

As soon as the spirits dissipated, another one appeared, grinning evilly as he perched on her shoulder. Kyoko's hand batted him away, but the clever miniature devil simple batted his bat-like wings, and floated to her other shoulder.

"What are you doing? A plain girl shouldn't be in such nice clothing. It doesn't fit you."

"Shut up Sho-oni."

"It's not my fault you're plain and boring."

While people ran around behind her on stage, the actual performance area was pretty empty. There was only one man on it, fiddling around in the dark with the props on stage. She couldn't make out much about him: only the fact he had long legs, a strong slim frame, and was wearing a dark colored yukata.

It had to be Hikoboshi, the actor she would be relying on and acting with. Kyoko wondered if she should introduce herself before the play started. He hadn't come by to introduce himself earlier and she had never acted with a person without being formally introduced to them first. She wondered if she had time.

"How could you not find out who you were acting with? You're plain and unprofessional. You were better as a maid."

Clutching at her chest, the demon smiled as his words turned into a sharp needle and jabbed at her unprotected heart. Kyoko gritted her teeth before turning it into a mocking smile, as if nothing had happened. "I had to get into costume. What do you know Sho-baka-oni?"

"I know more than a talentless, plain maid pretending to be an actress."

A small red bead blossomed from the puncture, as the needle retracted and stabbed again. This time Kyoko instinctively clutched at her chest, which made the demon flap his wings and laugh with glee.

"Thirty seconds! Orihime! We need you out in place!"

Emerging from the opposite side of the stage as the lights dimmed, casting the stage further in shadow, Kyoko carefully walked into place. She could see the image of the man's head look towards her, but all the details were shrouded in darkness.

"Twenty seconds!" The stage manager shouted.

She walked to Orihime's weaving station, surrounded in cashmere and silks that looked too expensive to see the light of day, much less the stage floor of an outside theatre. Hikoboshi moved to his set of prop cows on the other side, twinkling like the star cattle they were supposed to suggest.

She sat on the cold floor, and took a deep breath in the darkness. Her hands somehow glowed in the faint light, perhaps a magical quality Jerry had instilled into her wand kit.

It wasn't just make up. It was everything. Acting in general was a magical world. A fantasy castle. A world she could live in. She just had to get there.

"You still believe in magic and witches? How pathetic."

A third pinhole found its way through her defenses, allowing another red dot to form over her heart. The three spots were like the droplets of condensation along a cold glass.

Jumping over the castle gate, she could see the princess mannequin among the mental rose garden, decked in jewels and lace and everything the old Kyoko could have ever wanted.

It's not pathetic. I'm Princess Orihime. I am a princess and I am about to meet my prince.

"Stupid. There's no prince in the entire universe who would settle for a princess like you."

The new dots were larger in size, pricking in sets of two now. Instead of forming small spherical circles, the spots allowed a small steady stream to spill.

Rose fragrance ticked her every sense as the impoverished girl made her way into the maze's arched blooming entrance. Her potato sack dress held many discolored patches, and her feet were covered in nothing more than extra burlap and string. Orange hair laid long on her back, knotted and twisted in an uncombed mess. It would be the ultimate metamorphosis - a useless pawn to a mighty queen, if she could get to the dress before it all collapsed.

I'm taking part of the old Kyoko back. I need to believe in love.

"Do you want to be hurt again? You really are just a silly love obsessed girl."

Refusing to move, Kyoko focused harder on the task at hand. She blinked back the moisture in her eyes, and turned towards the male figure on the other side of the stage.

Time began beating around her like a clock, as she ran from one dead end to another. The connection from heart to mind was instinctual, one knowing when the other was in danger. Somehow the dress's presence was known, but it didn't seem to get much closer.

I can fall in love. I will fall in love.

"No one knows you better than I do. I could never love you. Why would anyone else?"

Small cracks began to connect one puncture to another, demanding her attention as the ache intensified. Once frozen and buried, things quickly began to thaw and spill. The liquid began to pour more freely, as the memories of things suppressed began to hit against the crystal heart's jail.

Biting her lip in distraction, Kyoko shielded her face and ran straight through the thorny hedges. The sharp points scratched at her skin and ripped her patched up peasant's dress, but the maze gave way as she fell through the last barrier and to the feet of the magnificent ball gown. An almighty shield.

I am not Kyoko. I am Princess Orihime. I AM THE PRINCESS ORIHIME.

The stage curtains began to rise, and a hush fell over the audience.

"The story of Tanabata."