[One Shot] The Boy with the Oni Mask
Title: The Boy with the Oni Mask
Rating: K
Word Count: 1,585
Disclaimers: I do not own any of the characters used here. They belong to their respective owners, namely the creators of Eyeshield 21.
Summary: Despite what the people around Mamori say about her American heritage, she intends to embrace all parts of it, and that includes Halloween. But it seems she's not the only one fascinated by this strange American tradition...
Notes: Written for this month's hiruma_x_mamori's prompt!
I'm not sure if me defining Halloween as an American tradition is the right thing, cause admittedly we have a different version of Halloween in Asia, and it's linked to the Hungry Ghost Festival. So Halloween feels more like a Western thing and I'm not sure if it's celebrated heavily in places like Europe as well. Feel free to correct me on this, but for the sake of this story, I'm keeping Halloween as something American and hasn't quite been accepted yet in Japan.
I've also kept a few Japanese words here in this story. The main ones you need to know is Oni and Gaijin. Other than that, this story shouldn't be that hard to get. I have another story about Halloween which is just simple and nothing much. Feel free to read it here. I hope you enjoy the offerings. Happy Halloween everyone!
Credits to moodylollipop for being awesome as always. ^^
~*~
Eight year old Mamori was used to the taunts she got for being a quarter American. While there was no doubt that she was born Japanese, her blue eyes and light brown hair often attracted stares without fail.
Regardless of what the other kids said about her, that she was fake and only wanted attention, that Americans are terrible people and that she should go back to where she belonged, Mamori's mother had taught her to be proud of her heritage and who she was. So she accepted all cultures, both Japanese and American.
Her favourite was Halloween, as she could spend more time with her mother sewing and creating a costume. This year, she would also help make a costume for her friend, Sena, the only friend she had who was used to her unusual heritage and actually eager to give this American tradition a go.
Mamori would be dressed up as a witch from The Wizard of Oz and Sena would be dressed up as one of the monkeys that accompanied her. It took her a long, hard week, but when she finally finished the costumes, she couldn't stop talking animatedly about it to her mother right until the very evening of Halloween.
Her mother had prepared a list of houses Mamori could visit for Halloween. They were all neighbours and friends who were more than happy to support Mamori and Sena's Halloween. Sena came over soon after and Mamori could not help but squeal at how cute Sena looked in the monkey suit. Sena looked sheepish, but warmed up to Mamori's excitement and was soon eager to go.
Plastic pumpkins ready to be filled with candy in tow, Mamori held on to Sena's hand and led him to the first couple of houses where they were greeted warmly by their neighbours and given quite a lot of lovely candies. It would have been a happily uneventful night but for the trouble they met when they were about to go a little further down the neighbourhood.
Three bullies had just past by and noticed Mamori's strange attire. "What's this? A cosplay? Is there a school festival happening nearby?" one of them with a cap cocked on his head said with a big grin.
"Ah! It's that Anezaki girl with the little pathetic boy always needing her protection!" a tall, skinny boy said.
"Sena isn't pathetic!" Mamori shouted as she shoved Sena behind her. "Go away! Shouldn't you all be at home? We have to get going before it gets really dark!"
"No! We want to know what you're up to!" the third pudgy boy shouted as he approached Mamori, looking into her plastic pumpkin. "You're dressed weird and you're walking around with candy? Are you giving them out?"
"I'm not!" Mamori stood her ground, crossing her shoulders and trying to be as brave as possible. "Tonight is Halloween, so Sena and I are off to gather candy before the ghosts come out!"
"Ghosts?" all three boys cried and began to laugh out loud. "Ah, I heard about that!" said the tall boy. "It's an American thing! You can't do that here in Japan, gaijin. Go back to your home country!"
"Just leave us alone already!" cried Mamori, but the boys came forward and grabbed the plastic pumpkins away from them.
"You can't celebrate Halloween here, gaijin! This is confiscated!" shouted the pudgy boy as he laughed happily.
Sena was in tears when his candy was taken away from him. Mamori was furious right now and wished she had brought a toy broom with her so she could have whacked the boys with it. But with nothing but her bare hands, Mamori rushed forward and tried to grab the plastic pumpkins away from the boys.
The boys quickly reacted. The tall boy held on to the candy and kept it out of arm's reach for Mamori. One boy tried to push Mamori away and the other was pulling Mamori's cape. Mamori struggled as much as she could. She pushed the boy in front of her away and ran forward to grab the candy when she heard a loud rip behind her.
Mamori gasped as she realized what caused the sound. She turned to find the costume she had worked so hard on was ripped, especially at the cape. She fought back tears at the sight. The costume she and her mother had worked on... was ruined.
"How..." Mamori swallowed, trying hard not to cry. "How DARE you?!" she shrieked.
"What's your problem, gaijin?" said the tall one. "It's your fault for tainting this land with your gaiijin traditions!"
"It is YOU who is tainting this land, boy."
Everyone gasped as they heard a voice speak from the top of a tree just next to them. It was getting too dark to see, and they wondered who could be up there. The voice was scary and almost... devil-like.
"Who are you?!" asked the boy with the cap.
"... Do you want to know?"
The three boys gulped.
The voice sounded more and more evil. "... Kekeke! I am the true terror that reigns over Japan, and I come out every Hallow's night. Do not treat today as a day that only happens in America. It happens right here too, and I've come to terrorize anyone who doubts my existence."
"You're not real!" cried the pudgy boy. "You're just someone pranking us!"
"... Trick or treat?"
Sena gasped when he heard this and clung to Mamori's ripped cape. The voice was so terrifying that even the boys turned pale. But Mamori didn't find this scary at all, she was fascinated.
Did someone other than her celebrate Halloween?
"T-trick...?" said the tall boy, who was confused by the question having never heard of it before. But before he could finish the sentence, the strange voice in the tree spoke up.
"Trick it is, then."
Instantly something fell straight from the tree with a loud thud, causing everyone to take a step back and panic. Mamori held on to Sena, making sure he was safe.
And then, ever so slowly, the dark shadow was getting up. The body was covered in grass straws and the face was covered by a familiar Japanese mask, red with black hollow eyes and horns...
"IT'S AN ONI!!!!!" the pudgy boy screamed.
"It can't be! That has to be fake!" cried the boy with the cap.
Whoever was behind the Oni mask was cackling loudly now. "Do you want to witness the true power of an Oni?!"
The air around them seemed to freeze with each word the Oni said. The boys dropped the candy and ran for their lives, shouting and screaming in terror. Sena was too terrified to run, so Mamori held her arms out and protected him. "D-don't come any closer!"
But the Oni merely picked up the plastic pumpkins and the remaining candy. Mamori saw a white, skinny limb appear out of the grass straw outfit, and judging by the size, Mamori was certain that this was a boy. She calmed Sena down a little more and then walked forward to help pick up the rest of the candy.
"Thank you... for helping us," said Mamori as she finally picked every piece of candy and put it in the plastic pumpkin. The boy with the Oni mask merely nodded and got up to leave. "Wait!" Mamori called out, causing him to stop and look at her curiously.
Mamori smiled gently, put her hand into the plastic pumpkin and pulled out some sweets. "Here... you can have them!"
The boy looked at the sweets in her hand and said, "I hate sweet things."
"Eh?" Mamori stared at the sweets in her hand. "Oh! Well then..." Mamori dug into her plastic pumpkin, rummaging through it. The boy was looking curiously at her now, and even Sena approached them cautiously, curious at what was going on.
"Ah! Here!" Mamori held out her hand once more and this time, she had mints and chewing gum in her hands. "If you don't like sweets, you can have this then!"
The boy was silent for a moment, as he continued to stare at the mints in her hand. "Why?" he asked.
"Because it's Halloween!”, Mamori smiled. "And it's always great to see another person in the spirit of the season! I really like your Oni mask!"
The boy quietly extended his skinny arm and took the mints and gum from Mamori. He didn't utter a word, but he quickly turned and ran away from Mamori and Sena.
"Mamori-nee-chan, are you okay? He left without thanking you," asked a tiny Sena.
Mamori held Sena's hand and smiled at him. "It's all right, Sena. He's a special Japanese demon and we offered him treats so he wouldn't trick us! Now let's get going... we have one more house to see before we head home!"
Sena nodded eagerly and walked on with Mamori, who was happily smiling to herself. Despite her torn dress and possibly one or two bruises, it felt good to know that she wasn’t the only one celebrating an American tradition.
Upon reaching a place to hide, the boy finally took off his oni mask to reveal his sharp pointed features and messy black hair. He pulled out the mints given to him and stared at it for a moment. Taking the chewing gum, he chewed on it for a while until he grinned widely and cackled, "Kekeke, I think I really will like Halloween."
Rating: K
Word Count: 1,585
Disclaimers: I do not own any of the characters used here. They belong to their respective owners, namely the creators of Eyeshield 21.
Summary: Despite what the people around Mamori say about her American heritage, she intends to embrace all parts of it, and that includes Halloween. But it seems she's not the only one fascinated by this strange American tradition...
Notes: Written for this month's hiruma_x_mamori's prompt!
I'm not sure if me defining Halloween as an American tradition is the right thing, cause admittedly we have a different version of Halloween in Asia, and it's linked to the Hungry Ghost Festival. So Halloween feels more like a Western thing and I'm not sure if it's celebrated heavily in places like Europe as well. Feel free to correct me on this, but for the sake of this story, I'm keeping Halloween as something American and hasn't quite been accepted yet in Japan.
I've also kept a few Japanese words here in this story. The main ones you need to know is Oni and Gaijin. Other than that, this story shouldn't be that hard to get. I have another story about Halloween which is just simple and nothing much. Feel free to read it here. I hope you enjoy the offerings. Happy Halloween everyone!
Credits to moodylollipop for being awesome as always. ^^
~*~
Eight year old Mamori was used to the taunts she got for being a quarter American. While there was no doubt that she was born Japanese, her blue eyes and light brown hair often attracted stares without fail.
Regardless of what the other kids said about her, that she was fake and only wanted attention, that Americans are terrible people and that she should go back to where she belonged, Mamori's mother had taught her to be proud of her heritage and who she was. So she accepted all cultures, both Japanese and American.
Her favourite was Halloween, as she could spend more time with her mother sewing and creating a costume. This year, she would also help make a costume for her friend, Sena, the only friend she had who was used to her unusual heritage and actually eager to give this American tradition a go.
Mamori would be dressed up as a witch from The Wizard of Oz and Sena would be dressed up as one of the monkeys that accompanied her. It took her a long, hard week, but when she finally finished the costumes, she couldn't stop talking animatedly about it to her mother right until the very evening of Halloween.
Her mother had prepared a list of houses Mamori could visit for Halloween. They were all neighbours and friends who were more than happy to support Mamori and Sena's Halloween. Sena came over soon after and Mamori could not help but squeal at how cute Sena looked in the monkey suit. Sena looked sheepish, but warmed up to Mamori's excitement and was soon eager to go.
Plastic pumpkins ready to be filled with candy in tow, Mamori held on to Sena's hand and led him to the first couple of houses where they were greeted warmly by their neighbours and given quite a lot of lovely candies. It would have been a happily uneventful night but for the trouble they met when they were about to go a little further down the neighbourhood.
Three bullies had just past by and noticed Mamori's strange attire. "What's this? A cosplay? Is there a school festival happening nearby?" one of them with a cap cocked on his head said with a big grin.
"Ah! It's that Anezaki girl with the little pathetic boy always needing her protection!" a tall, skinny boy said.
"Sena isn't pathetic!" Mamori shouted as she shoved Sena behind her. "Go away! Shouldn't you all be at home? We have to get going before it gets really dark!"
"No! We want to know what you're up to!" the third pudgy boy shouted as he approached Mamori, looking into her plastic pumpkin. "You're dressed weird and you're walking around with candy? Are you giving them out?"
"I'm not!" Mamori stood her ground, crossing her shoulders and trying to be as brave as possible. "Tonight is Halloween, so Sena and I are off to gather candy before the ghosts come out!"
"Ghosts?" all three boys cried and began to laugh out loud. "Ah, I heard about that!" said the tall boy. "It's an American thing! You can't do that here in Japan, gaijin. Go back to your home country!"
"Just leave us alone already!" cried Mamori, but the boys came forward and grabbed the plastic pumpkins away from them.
"You can't celebrate Halloween here, gaijin! This is confiscated!" shouted the pudgy boy as he laughed happily.
Sena was in tears when his candy was taken away from him. Mamori was furious right now and wished she had brought a toy broom with her so she could have whacked the boys with it. But with nothing but her bare hands, Mamori rushed forward and tried to grab the plastic pumpkins away from the boys.
The boys quickly reacted. The tall boy held on to the candy and kept it out of arm's reach for Mamori. One boy tried to push Mamori away and the other was pulling Mamori's cape. Mamori struggled as much as she could. She pushed the boy in front of her away and ran forward to grab the candy when she heard a loud rip behind her.
Mamori gasped as she realized what caused the sound. She turned to find the costume she had worked so hard on was ripped, especially at the cape. She fought back tears at the sight. The costume she and her mother had worked on... was ruined.
"How..." Mamori swallowed, trying hard not to cry. "How DARE you?!" she shrieked.
"What's your problem, gaijin?" said the tall one. "It's your fault for tainting this land with your gaiijin traditions!"
"It is YOU who is tainting this land, boy."
Everyone gasped as they heard a voice speak from the top of a tree just next to them. It was getting too dark to see, and they wondered who could be up there. The voice was scary and almost... devil-like.
"Who are you?!" asked the boy with the cap.
"... Do you want to know?"
The three boys gulped.
The voice sounded more and more evil. "... Kekeke! I am the true terror that reigns over Japan, and I come out every Hallow's night. Do not treat today as a day that only happens in America. It happens right here too, and I've come to terrorize anyone who doubts my existence."
"You're not real!" cried the pudgy boy. "You're just someone pranking us!"
"... Trick or treat?"
Sena gasped when he heard this and clung to Mamori's ripped cape. The voice was so terrifying that even the boys turned pale. But Mamori didn't find this scary at all, she was fascinated.
Did someone other than her celebrate Halloween?
"T-trick...?" said the tall boy, who was confused by the question having never heard of it before. But before he could finish the sentence, the strange voice in the tree spoke up.
"Trick it is, then."
Instantly something fell straight from the tree with a loud thud, causing everyone to take a step back and panic. Mamori held on to Sena, making sure he was safe.
And then, ever so slowly, the dark shadow was getting up. The body was covered in grass straws and the face was covered by a familiar Japanese mask, red with black hollow eyes and horns...
"IT'S AN ONI!!!!!" the pudgy boy screamed.
"It can't be! That has to be fake!" cried the boy with the cap.
Whoever was behind the Oni mask was cackling loudly now. "Do you want to witness the true power of an Oni?!"
The air around them seemed to freeze with each word the Oni said. The boys dropped the candy and ran for their lives, shouting and screaming in terror. Sena was too terrified to run, so Mamori held her arms out and protected him. "D-don't come any closer!"
But the Oni merely picked up the plastic pumpkins and the remaining candy. Mamori saw a white, skinny limb appear out of the grass straw outfit, and judging by the size, Mamori was certain that this was a boy. She calmed Sena down a little more and then walked forward to help pick up the rest of the candy.
"Thank you... for helping us," said Mamori as she finally picked every piece of candy and put it in the plastic pumpkin. The boy with the Oni mask merely nodded and got up to leave. "Wait!" Mamori called out, causing him to stop and look at her curiously.
Mamori smiled gently, put her hand into the plastic pumpkin and pulled out some sweets. "Here... you can have them!"
The boy looked at the sweets in her hand and said, "I hate sweet things."
"Eh?" Mamori stared at the sweets in her hand. "Oh! Well then..." Mamori dug into her plastic pumpkin, rummaging through it. The boy was looking curiously at her now, and even Sena approached them cautiously, curious at what was going on.
"Ah! Here!" Mamori held out her hand once more and this time, she had mints and chewing gum in her hands. "If you don't like sweets, you can have this then!"
The boy was silent for a moment, as he continued to stare at the mints in her hand. "Why?" he asked.
"Because it's Halloween!”, Mamori smiled. "And it's always great to see another person in the spirit of the season! I really like your Oni mask!"
The boy quietly extended his skinny arm and took the mints and gum from Mamori. He didn't utter a word, but he quickly turned and ran away from Mamori and Sena.
"Mamori-nee-chan, are you okay? He left without thanking you," asked a tiny Sena.
Mamori held Sena's hand and smiled at him. "It's all right, Sena. He's a special Japanese demon and we offered him treats so he wouldn't trick us! Now let's get going... we have one more house to see before we head home!"
Sena nodded eagerly and walked on with Mamori, who was happily smiling to herself. Despite her torn dress and possibly one or two bruises, it felt good to know that she wasn’t the only one celebrating an American tradition.
Upon reaching a place to hide, the boy finally took off his oni mask to reveal his sharp pointed features and messy black hair. He pulled out the mints given to him and stared at it for a moment. Taking the chewing gum, he chewed on it for a while until he grinned widely and cackled, "Kekeke, I think I really will like Halloween."