The Curse of Mochi Oni

Kitsune watched as the full moon rose over the crystal clear pond surrounded by cherry blossom trees. A gentle breeze comforted her face. She touched her cheek as to remember who she was. To hold this image of herself in her mind.

The crickets chirped as a swarm of fireflies danced over the pond, reflecting their light on the mirror still water.

The breeze stopped and an eerie stillness overcame the whimsical scene.

The change stirred inside her. She stretched her legs and arched her back as her fingers curled into the palm of her hand.

It was happening again, as it did every year on this night as the full moon rose above her.

She looked up and cried out but was unable to make a sound. The stars swirled in the heavens and she shrunk into the silken folds of her Yukata.

She looked at her hands now paws and heard the footsteps of a familiar beast.

Before her stood the Mochi Oni, his fur the same mousy brown as her own. She groomed her small muzzle and whiskers with her tiny paws nervously as he approached.

The great rabbit demon towered above her as he scooped up her silken robes and began to dress.

“Now little kitsune on this night you run for your life as atonement for my mochi you stole.”

Kitsune pleaded with her eyes.

“It is just one night little kitsune, as we agreed.”

A rustle came from the bushes.

Mochi Oni reached into the sleeve of the yutaka and retrieved a small bundle wrapped in pink cloth.

“An offering?” he mused.

Her ear twitched and swiveled catching the sound of breaking branches. The animals were near.

Mochi Oni opened cloth and found 3 golden inari. The sweet scent of the sacred tofu tantalized his nose and made his mouth water.

“I accept your offering of this delicious delicacy. Mark that tonight will be the final day of your atonement. You will change back into a kitsune only after I finish the last grain of rice.”

Kitsunes muscles tensed as the sound of a creatures yip cut through the stillness.

“But for now you must run, for your siblings are hungry.”

Kitsune ran into the woods, the laughter of Mochi Oni trailing behind her.

A flash of orange blurred in her periphery and the sound of rumbling feet behind her just at her heels. Although she tried calling out to her fox siblings, they did not hear her begging to stop, that she was one of them.

She had swiftness in her feet and her heart thumped madly in her chest. The night was young, the moon was high and Mochi Oni continued to laugh.

The woods were dark and foreboding, but Kitsune was not afraid. She knew every inch of the forest, every tree and every bush. She had grown up here, chasing fireflies and playing with her siblings.

But tonight was different. Tonight she was alone, with only the sound of her own heartbeat and the occasional yip of her siblings announcing their swift meal.

She ran and ran, her paws pounding the ground, her heart beating faster and faster. She could feel the energy of the full moon coursing through her veins, giving her strength and speed.

Through the brush the faces of her kin reflected the light of the silvery moon. They were close now.

She spotted a fallen tree and made a quick plan. She would jump over then track back and hide beneath the fallen branches hopefully tricking her clever siblings. It wasn’t much of a plan but it was her only one.

She flew over the log and pivoted under the fallen branches were she sat still and silent. She waited and listened to the sound of galloping foxes trailing further and further away until she was left with the chirping crickets.

For a moment she rested, grateful for her swift rabbit feet.

A crack in the woods stirred her heart. Perhaps it was just a fallen branch? Then another. A muzzle reached into the branches snapping its teeth. She narrowly escaped the sharp teeth of the fox. All around her she smelled the familiar scent of her kind and they were closing in.

She was trapped!

Instinct took over as Kitsune climbed up through the branches and bound down the trunk of the fallen tree. In a leap she soared over the circle of foxes and sprinted away onto the night.

“Yes!” She thought. “Perhaps I will live through another night!”

The moon shone bright through the forest trees illuminating a hole in the ground just a little further. She could stay there and be safe.

She ran faster than she had all night, perhaps faster than she ever had. It was close now, only a few more strides.

Suddenly she the ground was no longer under her feet. Her body suspended in the air held tight in the jaws of a fox.

“No!” She cried out as her family gathered round.

The hunt was over, her heart pounded as her family moved in for the final kill. She watched the moon above and begged for a miracle.

For a moment everything was still. She felt the cold ground beneath her skin and blood trickled from her neck.

Skin?

She reached out and saw her hand infront of her. Her family backed away in confusion at what they had witnesss.

“This must mean?”

Without another thought Kitsune stood on her two feet and ran back to the pond.

There, in the folds of her pink, silk Yukata was a small mousy haired rabbit.

Kitsune smiled a sly wide grin at the little rabbit. It looked up at her with pleading eyes.

“Atonement for eating my sacred tofu Oni Mochi.” She mused as she picked up her silk robe.

“But just for tonight. Now run, for my siblings are very hungry.”

The flashing eyes of her fox kin shone back at the small rabbit. With a yip they began the chase. The rabbit ran into the forest as Kitsune’s laughter echoed through night.