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The red oni looked at the slow snowflakes ascending from the sky. Outside of the wooden shelter, trees and roads were already painted white. Every sound was muffled and distant. He felt like they were isolated… more than usual, at least.
Sighing, he adjusted the woolen blanket that was resting on his shoulders. He knew he could just close the sliding door to block out the cold, but Takuya loved the winter atmosphere and he was willing to suffer a little for him.
“You’re trembling, Itto.” Said blue oni sat down next to him and moved his own blanket to cover the other’s legs.
“I don’t mind.” Itto shrugged, focused his gaze to the silent wood.
They sat in silence for a few moments before Takuya decided to speak again. “I wonder if everyone will be able to reach the main shrine… It sure snowed a lot last night.”
Itto sighed again. As if he cared about what was going to happen today. To him, it was an ordinary day.
But it really wasn’t a normal standard day.
Teyvat was a nation where humans and yokai coexisted in a very thin harmony. In a form of protection, the fox spirits had decided to keep their two worlds separated and allowed only a few clans to interact with humans. Oni were among those. Since they were stronger than most of the entities, they had been designated as guardians of the forest and they were able to move around as they pleased if humans or yokai needed help. Itto and Takuya protected a small part of the forest in the south and their wooden house was right next to a small shrine. Their life was mostly made of solitude since everyone saw them as guards or warriors and feared them.
Twice a year, the entire yokai population of the forest moved around the many shrines to offer gifts and gratitude to the spirits that had helped them during the previous months. Last time somebody had visited their shrine, Itto had been only a child and he was sure that poor tanuki had just been too scared to admit he had come to the wrong temple. Their job was essential for the balance of the forest, but nobody really cared about them.
So, even if that was a special day, Itto knew that it had nothing to do with them.
“Yae Miko will summon us if there’s any problem, don’t worry.” He stated with a small smile.
“I’m not worried, but…” Takuya stopped talking and turned to look in the direction of the shrine.
“What…”
“Shut up and listen.” The blue oni interrupted him and Itto would have scolded him if it wasn’t for the fact that… he heard some movements. “There’s somebody.”
The duo moved on the opposite side of the room and opened another sliding door only a few centimeters. From that position, they could see the unkept courtyard that preceded the shrine. There, struggling with weeds, branches and snow, a figure was trying to proceed.
“Is that a kid?” Itto asked in a whisper.
“Short people do exist.” Takuya nudged him before looking at the man. “Judging by his ears and tail, he’s from the Shiba clan.”
They kept observing him. He was wearing a quilted hanten jacket that made him look more voluminous than what he probably was. The man was quite short in stature and the snow reached him almost at the tights. Even if he wasn’t that near, they could hear him curse under his breath every time he had to dig a little in the snow to move.
“Do you think he got lost?” Takuya asked and tilted his head.
“If he’s a dog spirit as you said, he can smell us. It’s impossible that he got lost.” Itto moved toward the inner corridor that connected their house to the shrine. “Let’s see what he wants.”
“What? Itto! Wait!”
Ignoring his brother’s protests, Itto kept walking and when he reached the shrine, the stranger had just passed the small torii gate. He had shaken the snow out of his clothes and it seemed like he was trying to catch his breath.
Their shrine was different from the others. There were no bells to ring or boxes for money, just a few small oni statues and an altar made of stone. Takuya liked to clean the tiny space from time to time, but it was clear the place needed a proper dusting soon. The stranger bowed slightly at the sight of the small sculptures, but then turned to look directly at Itto.
“Do you need help?” The oni asked.
The man shook his head. “No. I’m a member of the Shiba clan and I’m here to give you some gifts.”
“Gifts?”
“Yes, a few months ago you and the blue oni helped my people. It’s the least I can do.” He replied and started to pull a few packages out of his big backpack. He stopped when he noticed that Itto was tilting his head in confusion. “You… Don’t you remember?”
“Not really.” Itto admitted with a chuckle.
The inugami just sighed. “Some careless humans had accidentally set a clearing in the south on fire. The flames reached my small village, but you helped stop the fire before it could damage the forest.” The man was unwrapping the packaging while explaining. “You also helped many of my people escape from crumbling huts.”
Oh. Itto had a faint memory of that episode. He was sure that they were able to stop the fire only because some rain spirits were kindly invited by Yae Miko to join them.
As if the shiba had read his mind, he continued speaking. “My family thinks that we need to thank only the rain God and his spirits if we still have our village, but…” He lowered his face and crumpled up the paper that used to cover his gifts. “...you helped as well. You deserve our gratitude too.”
Appreciation. That was a new thing for Itto. He was surprised that somebody had even remembered his and Takuya’s efforts. After years of being ignored, he felt kind of proud of his work and he welcomed the feeling.
“What did you bring, young shiba?” Itto asked, moving closer to the offerings.
“Oh, I made a few trades with humans in the last months.” The dog spirit smiled and pointed to the only bottle present on the table. “That’s amazake.” He then moved his hand to the other two packages. “I didn’t know if you preferred salty or sweet snacks, so I added both senbei crackers and…”
Itto looked up to see the man’s flushed face. He looked embarrassed. “And…?”
“Uh… Everybody knows that oni have problems with beans and I wanted to bring some manju buns.. “ His pointy ears lowered a little. “...but humans only had those with red bean filling. So… I asked them to teach me how to make them and I prepared a few with chestnut paste instead…”
“You… made these?” Incredulous, Itto took the wooden box in his hands.
“I don’t know if they’re actually good, but my brothers said they were fine and…” The shiba stopped talking abruptly and he turned his face towards the courtyard.
The oni mimicked the action. A distant voice was calling a name. Gorou.
“They are looking for me.” Gorou explained and quickly put the backpack on. “I’m sorry to leave in such a rude manner. I hope you’ll enjoy my offering, mighty oni.”
Mighty oni? Itto tilted his head in thought. He liked that title. Smiling, he looked at the manju buns still in his hands and then moved his gaze back to the inugami. “Why don’t you come back to discover if I have actually enjoyed them?”
“Visiting your shrine again… would be an honor.”
“Well, then. Don’t make your family worry anymore.” Itto chuckled and pointed with his chin at the exit. “See you soon… Gorou.”
Turquoise eyes focused on his face. A faint blush certainly not caused by the cold appeared on the cheeks of the dog spirit. He nodded and walked away, following the path in the snow he himself had created earlier.
The red oni just looked at him disappear, feeling something fill his heart. He had to get accustomed to solitude during his life, so meeting someone who was willing not only to visit him, but also to hand make sweets for him…
He really hoped Gorou would come back to the shrine soon.