Origin

Almost everybody in Onigashima knows the story of the villainous Momotaro. The one that invades villages, kills families, and spreads propaganda amongst the humans, encouraging them to hate the oni. He stole everything the oni of Onigashima had, and told his village that he had defeated them. However, this was a humiliating fight for the oni clan, and they have started to hide these parts of history. Despite Momotaro being a famous hero among the humans, many of the younger oni didn’t know about him, while the older oni exchange looks of discomfort at the mention of him. But when Heaven sends down a human savior, Hell will send a demon avenger. 

“Come on, Ume. I thought you liked staying with Jiji.” Umetaro’s mother nudged him along as they walked up the front steps. His mom had tried to make it a tradition to visit his grandparents in Onigashima every year, but they had fallen behind after one summer. This was their first time seeing them in nine years. His mother gripped his arm a little too tightly, both to pull him toward the door and out of anxiety that her father would be mad at her for not visiting for so long. Her claw-like nails dug into his skin and he tugged his arm out of her grip. She knocked loudly on the door and it was quickly swung open by a bald old man. He had two large horns jutting out from his forehead, with large piercing yellow eyes. Despite being well into his eighties, he still had a strong brow and four large fangs. 

“Umetaro! Oh, you’ve gotten so big, haven’t you! Your horns are coming in!” His grandfather exclaimed as he pulled him in for a hug. Umetaro frowned as his grandfather ruffled his purple hair. He couldn’t stand being treated like a child; he was 15 years old now, and a full grown adult. His grandfather turned his attention to his mother. “And you! What happened to every year? Do you know how long it’s been, Honeko? Ten years almost!” He turned back to Umetaro. “Your mother never even calls me. You know that? I get so lonely here!” He stepped to the side and held the door open. “Come in, come in! Ume, your Baba just made more stew.” 

Umetaro slid off his shoes and dragged himself into the house. His grandfather was always mad about his mom never calling, and she apologizes, but still never does. 

“Sorry, dad, I just came to drop Ume off. I’ll be back tomorrow at noon.” Honeko adjusted her purse strap on her shoulder and kissed her son on the forehead. He quickly rubbed it away with his sleeve. 

“You better make time when you come pick him up! Why do you travel all the way here and not spend time with me?” His grandfather grumbled as Honeko just waved her dad off and she walked back to her husband waiting at the front gate. His grandfather turned to Ume and frowned. “So sassy, that girl. Your mother will be very thankful when she’s my age and you come visit her. You better visit your mother when she’s old!” Ume tuned out his grandfather’s rambling and looked around the house. It was different than when he last saw it. Of course, he could see much more of it now. There were old antiques sitting on the shelves and decorating the kitchen table. The furniture was old, faded, and ripped. The paper on the shoji doors had become colored with age. He walked over to the tokonoma. All the houseplants were half dead except for the ones sitting in this alcove. There were charms and small carved statues carefully placed together, and in the middle sat an old, but decorative katana. 

“Oh, you like swords?” His grandfather came over to look at the sword with him. “That’s called a katana, Ume. Did you know that?”

“Yes, I know that.” His mother had been forcing him to take kendo since he was eight. He never liked the way the human kids would make fun of his oni features, but his mother stressed it was important to not lash out at them. Oni had a bad reputation among the humans, but Umetaro wasn’t sure why. Humans weren’t as afraid of oni as they used to be, but rather viewed them as primitive beasts. For some reason she felt it was their responsibility to break those stereotypes. She lectured him about how oni had histories of crafting clothes with tiger skins and building strong weapons, and how humans are “ so closed minded with discriminatory ideas!” Despite this, Jiji always assumed he didn’t know anything about his heritage. 

“Smart boy! This katana has a lot of history in it, you know.” Jiji leaned in close and whispered to him as if there were other people around. “I used this katana to fight Momotaro.” He made an expression as if he had just revealed a huge secret that nobody was supposed to know. Old people were always so dramatic. “You know who that is?” Umetaro stayed silent. He knew Jiji was going to go into a long story about it, but if he could avoid it, he would. “You don’t know? Your parents don’t teach you kids anything, huh? Come, come, I’ll tell you.” Apparently he couldn’t. He sat himself down and prepared for another long, boring story that would inevitably happen every time he visited. 

“Momotaro was a human of great power. He sailed over to this very island in a ship and attacked us. We heard his bird calling out to us; we had no idea what was going on! And then he came onto the island with his dog and his monkey and started wreaking havoc on us. He wasn’t like any other human I had fought before, but I was out there right at the front! Other oni will tell you they fought his dog or his monkey, but I fought Momotaro himself. He was so ugly! The human women loved him, I don’t know why. He had a peachy complexion and stood two heads shorter than an oni of the same age. His arms had such little muscle, they looked almost deformed!” Jiji held up his arms and flexed. “I bet I could still beat him. Oh, but our chief was so cowardly! He knelt down and begged him for forgiveness and now humans think they have power over us. They think we’re weak, Umetaro.

“They took everything. They broke into our castle and killed our families. You’re lucky I’m alive! Some of my friends weren’t so lucky.” He sat still and silent for a moment, observing his old katana. “I regret that we lost.” Umetaro looked up from the floor. He was picking apart the tatami mat, but Jiji was too lost in his memories to notice. “I made your Baba a beautiful jeweled necklace. It had rubies. Rubies match her horns so nicely. I dreamt that one day she would give it to your mother, and your mother could give it to you. I’m sure you could get a nice wife if you gave that to her!” Ume kept picking at the mat. This story started to sound familiar. They briefly covered it in elementary school, but he never learned anything else about it. 

“Oh, Ume, I would do anything to get that necklace back, you know that? I dug up all those rubies myself. Oh, she loved that necklace. They thought we stole it! Humans say such awful things about oni. They said we were too monstrous to make something so beautiful. And they took all my hard work. I have never stolen anything in my life, Ume. Never.” It strained Ume’s heart to see his grandfather so sad. Of course, he wasn’t going to show that he was listening and invested. It would only prompt Jiji to tell more stories in the future, and it would tear down his angsty, careless teenage persona. But at the same time, he had never heard such grief in his voice before. “I heard they have it held in Momotaro’s old home. The bastard kept it for himself! He gave the rest of our treasures to museums in Japan, but he kept my hard work for himself. I’m still strong, I assure you, but I don’t think I could make that journey all the way to Okayama.” Ume stuffed the straw back into the hole he dug in the tatami. 

“What if I got it for you?” 

“No, no, you couldn’t. You need to eat dinner, come.” Jiji stood up slowly, groaning as his old body straightened itself up again. He slowly made his way to the kitchen. 

Umetaro went to bed that night with a newfound distaste for humanity. He knew the oni hated them, but now he understood why. Now that he thought about it, he had never actually met a human that he liked. They would make fun of him and his family for being oni, and always thought they were better just because they were human. How could they have the nerve to still say that when they had done such horrible things to the oni in the past!? If he wasn’t so exhausted from the trip over here, his anger would have kept him up for hours. When he finally drifted off, he dreamt that he left to find old Momotaro. He found a large peach tree that nearly glowed. It sat next to a river and the leaves fell into the water. He followed the river to a large house with a small garden of crops. On the back porch of the house sat Momotaro, old and wrinkled now. He had no more muscle and lost all his hair. Underneath his robes, around his neck, sat his grandmother’s ruby necklace. Umetaro woke up the next morning and begged his grandparents to go to the humans’ village to find Momotaro. It didn’t make much sense, but something told him he had realized something extraordinary, and he couldn’t let this pass.

“Because of a dream you had? Ume, please, you’re 15 now. That was just a dream.” His grandmother scolded. 

“I can get it back, I promise! I know how to protect myself; I just need some food for the way.” He pleaded with them to let him leave. It was a while ago, but it angered him to know how his family had been hurt. His grandfather walked up to him and laughed. 

“You’re adventurous, Ume, just like me! Baba, you gotta let boys get their energy out. Just let him go see. I think he should at least try. Pack him some onigiri.” Jiji laughed and pat him hard on the back. His grandmother scowled. 

“You’re just going to let him go run off on his own? What are you going to do if he gets hurt? You’re going to tell Honeko you let him run away?” His grandmother argued. 

“Ah, you need to relax! He won’t get very far anyway. He doesn’t even know his way around the island.” His grandfather began to pack him some food instead. 

“What if he gets lost? How do you know if he’s in danger or not?”

“Baba, you have to let children play.” His grandfather wrapped up the onigiri in a cloth and left the kitchen. He led Umetaro to the tokonoma and handed the sword to him. “You need to be careful with this. It’s very special to me. But it fought Momotaro once, and I know it wants to fight again! Bring it back to life!” He smiled and wrapped the sword in its covering, then put it over Umetaro’s shoulder. 

Umetaro packed some extra money, just in case, as well as a map of Onigashima and a warmer layer. He picked up the wrapped onigiri as he left, and said his farewell to his grandparents. “I promise to come back soon.” He quickly turned and ventured out on his journey. He heard his grandparents still arguing in the background. His grandfather had convinced his grandmother enough to let him go, and reassured her Onigashima was safe and that he was old enough. Umetaro wasn’t sure if he meant it or not when his grandfather joked “He’ll probably come back in a couple hours after playing in the yard.” It didn’t matter now, though. He would prove them wrong when he came back successful. He wasn’t a child anymore, and he knew he could get the necklace back. 

He was just barely off the street his grandparents’ house was on when a frog jumped in front of his path. He was about to step around it and keep walking when he heard a small voice. 

“Hey! You look like you’re going somewhere!” He ignored it. He had to focus. “Excuse me, but I think I could help you more than that map. I know everything about this village. I can get you where you need to go and back safely.” Umetaro stopped and knelt down to look at him. He was wary, but what harm could a frog do? 

“Are you sure you want to come? It’s dangerous; especially for a small animal like you.”

“I know that I can help you. Please let me come along!”

Umetaro contemplated whether he should consider bringing the frog with him. It was another mouth to feed, and what if it wasn’t a great companion anyway? He’d feel bad if it died too… 

“I have been all around this island! I can give you shortcuts and even warnings if someplace is dangerous! I know where you can find the best ponds, too!” The frog chirped up.  After a bit of convincing, Umetaro agreed, and gave the frog a piece of onigiri. The frog hopped onto his hand and perched itself on his shoulder. It led him through alleyways, fields, neighborhoods, part of the island that he’d never even seen before. It had taken most of the morning, but they had finally reached the ocean. It was a long travel to the shore of the island, but the frog assured him that was the fastest way, despite being tedious. 

“This is as far as I can take you.” The frog admitted. “I know this island very well, but I have never been anywhere else. I won’t be able to guide you any further. However, since you were generous enough to feed me, I can wait here for you to return, so that I can lead you back home.” They were nearly at the dock where Umetaro planned to find a boat, when he heard a rustling in the grass. Suddenly, a small tanuki rolled out into the path in front of them. It waddled itself up to its feet and shook out its fur. 

“Tanuki, do you know how to get onto one of those boats over there?” Umetaro gestured to the boats filling with passengers and leaving the shore. 

“What’s in it for me?” The tanuki sat and flicked its tail. The frog pleaded with Umetaro to not accept the tanuki’s help. 

“Tanuki are dangerous! I would rather you take me along with you to the humans’ village than have you travel with him!” 

Umetaro reassured the frog. “A tanuki cannot hurt an oni like me. If you’d like to come along, I’ll make sure it doesn’t hurt you either.” Umetaro ignored the frog’s angry squeaks of protest. He turned back to the tanuki. “All I can offer you is some onigiri and a place as a companion on my journey.” The tanuki took the food and graciously accepted to come along. 

“I’ve seen people give slips of paper to that man up there.” The tanuki gestured to the staff member stamping tickets. “They come out of the shop with them.” It then tipped its head to a small shop just before the road ends. “I can’t get one for you, though. They speak some kind of jibberish and I can’t understand it.” 

Umetaro headed over to the shop and found the small ticket booth inside. They spoke in a local demonic language, a dialect of Onigashima. Umetaro ordered a ticket and headed off to a boat. Animals weren’t allowed onboard, so he hid the frog in his bag and the tanuki shapeshifted into its human disguise. It dug an old ticket out of the trash and snuck its way on using that. 

The boat ride was rocky and difficult. Umetaro used what little resources he had with him and on the boat to plan their next moves. He decided that he would ask the locals directions and they would help him get around. After all, what if Baba was right, and his dream wasn’t a premonition at all? Once he was able to find Momotaro, he’d challenge him to a fight, and get him to hand over the treasures he stole. All he’d have to do then is take a boat back to Onigashima, and the frog could lead him back home. 

However, when they arrived, he did not take into consideration the fact that humans greatly disliked oni. He was not able to find anyone that was willing to talk to him. 

“Excuse me, miss--” He approached a human woman the way he usually would, but she ended up snapping back a harsh “What do you want?” at him. That was the most attention he got from anyone. The other humans at the dock that were getting on and off the boats simply ignored him. At best, they’d glare at him for interrupting their travels and continue on their way. 

He sat under a tree to rest, eat, and rethink his plan, when he heard a distant cry for help. The tanuki used his hearing to locate the crying and lead Umetaro to the sound. They found a crane that was caught in a trap nearby. It was tangled in some ropes hanging from a tree and looked exhausted from its struggle. Umetaro quickly cut it down and began to untie it. The thought that humans would catch an animal and leave it here to suffer only made him angrier about them. How careless can humans be!

“Oh, thank you very much!” The crane said, regaining its balance and smoothing its feathers. “I was afraid nobody would help me before someone came to check the trap!”

“It’s no trouble.” Umetaro answered. He began to gather his things to set off again when the crane stopped him. 

“Wait! I am greatly indebted to you! Where are you three headed? If you need a companion with flight, I could assist you!” The crane sat patiently in front of them. Umetaro turned to the frog and tanuki, but got no complaints. 

“We’re headed to find Momotaro. Do you know who that is?” 

“Yes! Indeed I do! I’m afraid I don’t know where to find him, though.” 

Umetaro reached into his bag and pulled out another onigiri. “Eat this to regain your strength. Fly up and see if there is a village nearby.” The crane quickly swallowed the food, and took off into the sky. After a few seconds, it came back down.

“There is a town not too far from here. If we follow the river downstream, we should get there quickly.” With the crane’s instructions, the group set off down the river. Eventually they came across the outskirts of a small town. They were able to see a small marketplace bustling with people. Umetaro began to walk toward a booth to ask for help, but the tanuki stopped him. 

“Umetaro! You can’t just approach them the way that you are. They do not trust you because of your horns and eyes. But they would surely trust another human, and wouldn’t assume ill intentions of them! I’ll go find someone.” The tanuki quickly shapeshifted itself into a human form, and scampered off to the river. Umetaro, the frog, and the crane tailed behind. There was a man washing his clothes, and they decided to ask him what he knew about Momotaro. 

“Excuse me, sir! I am new to this village, but I came here in search of the great hero Momotaro. I heard that this is where he lived. Could you help me find him?” The tanuki pleaded.

“Momotaro? He lives on the outskirts of the town. If you go further downstream, you will find the main village, and then even further is Momotaro. He lives at his family’s old farm.” Umetaro was amazed that this idea worked! He was grateful to have the tanuki on the journey with them. It still angered him that humans were so distrusting, but he would get his revenge when he retrieved his grandmother’s necklace and won his fight against Momotaro. The group left the river and headed to the market in town. It seemed very primitive compared to the ones on Onigashima. The buildings were falling apart, and the food didn’t look very good. 

Umetaro saw an old woman at an old fruit stand. This booth looked shabbier and older than all the others that surrounded it. Umetaro had run out of onigiri, as he had given them all to his companions or eaten them himself, so he decided to stop by. Thankfully, the fruit was very cheap, so he could buy enough to last them for the rest of the trip. He asked the woman, “Why doesn’t your stand have a roof? Do you still sit here and sell when it rains?” She nodded. She sold the fruit that she grew in her yard. It was an easy way for her to make money. She just had to set up a stand outside of her house, and she got a decent amount of customers, but you can only earn so much with fruit. 

“I don’t have enough money to hire someone to fix it, and since my husband died a few years ago, I don’t know how to do it myself.” He felt sorry for the old woman, and she reminded him of his grandmother back home. Before he could make his decision, the tanuki told her, “This boy knows how to fix it! Would you mind if he helped?” The tanuki smiled at Umetaro, and now that he was stuck in that position, he had to fix it for her. Umetaro feared the tanuki was trying to set him up for a trick, and although he agreed to help the old woman, he remained cautious. 

“I would be very grateful if he could!” With the old woman’s approval, Umetaro began to weave the straw of the roof back together. The tanuki helped gather materials and the frog helped to hold them in place. The old woman tried to offer more fruit to him as a payment when he finished, but he insisted he already had enough. He only asked her if she had any more information about Momotaro in return. She told him that she only knew he lived downstream outside the town, and there was a big peach tree that marked that they were getting close. He thanked her and they continued further into the town. He was thankful that the old woman didn’t seem hateful of oni at all. It was a pleasant surprise, but the embarrassment of being ignored by all the humans at the shore still nagged at him. Most humans were still awful, but he supposed there could be a few exceptions. They were nearing the end of the street when they were suddenly called out to by a young woman. There was a family that was moving into a new house and they needed help. 

“Excuse me! Would you be able to spare a couple moments to help move the furniture into the house?” They looked over to the voice, and saw she was speaking to him. A human man was helping them, but he seemed to be struggling, even with just a couch. His grandfather was right; humans were very weak. But in a way, they seemed almost pitiful. He noticed the woman continued waving at him. Damn, they’ve already seen him look! He reluctantly walked over and carried one of their tables into the house. The man stared at the tanuki, still disguised as a human, expecting him to help. It smiled at him and hid around the corner.

Inside the house, Umetaro saw two small children running around. They were careful to avoid their parents coming in and out of the house, but they stopped when they saw this new stranger. The young girl pointed and yelled “Oni! Oni!” at her mother, to which her mother scooped her up and pulled her aside. She promptly scolded her for being rude to strangers. Apparently this was a common problem the girl had been having. When they had finished moving everything inside, the family thanked him and gave him a small charm. They claimed it would help him with his journey, and although he didn’t believe in it, he put it in his bag and thanked them anyway. 

“That family seemed to be very grateful for your help, Umetaro!” The frog croaked on his shoulder. Umetaro could hear the charm bell lightly jingling in his bag, and it felt almost comforting. Have humans had a change of heart? If they stopped teaching their children to hate oni, maybe that could bring a brighter future for his race. 

The four of them continued through the town. Umetaro kept mental notes on the human village; it’s better to be more informed. For one, they really were quite weak, which confused and angered him. If oni are stronger, what gives them any idea that humans are superior? There also seems to be change in their society, they’re opening up their minds. The buildings were shabby, the food is different, there’s less vegetation in the city, there’s crying in the distance… there’s crying in the distance? 

“Umetaro! What is that?” The frog seemed panicked and the tanuki, now back in its natural tanuki form, was trying to find the sound. 

“Ignore it, we have to focus.” Umetaro began moving forward again, and the animals reluctantly followed him. Around the corner was a graveyard, and in it was the young boy that was crying into his sleeve, aimlessly walking around. Umetaro didn’t notice the child until they bumped into each other. 

“Ah, I’m sorry, mister.” The boy rubbed his eyes and turned around. Umetaro was about to just keep going, but it hurt him to see such grief in someone. He started to walk back to him. 

“What’s the matter?” Umetaro still mentally scolded himself for letting a human hold him back again. Children couldn’t be too much trouble, could they? The child continued to sob into his hands.

“My fish just died. I’m trying to find his favorite flowers. This is the only one I could find.” He held up a wildflower to show them. Umetaro wondered how fish could have favorite flowers, or if they could even see colors, but he shook it off. Kids are kids. 

“Sorry. I don’t think we can help you.” He felt he was too curt in his response, but gestured to the animals to keep walking. “I hope you find what you need.” They continued down the trail. Soon, the frog quickly began to tug at Umetaro’s sleeve. 

“Look, look! Aren’t those the flowers the young boy was looking for?” The frog pointed to a field to their left, covered in the small wildflowers. 

“I believe they are!” The crane said. Umetaro sighed and instructed the crane to fly in and get him as many of the flowers he could. The crane did as he was told, and brought back a large bundle of wildflowers. He held them tightly in his hand, but was careful not to crush them, and without a word, turned back around down the trail. The animals hopped, flew, and scampered behind him. 

“Where are you going?” The tanuki asked. 

“If we found the flowers we should give them back to the kid. It’s the least we can do.” He was irritated that they were getting held back again, and told himself that this was the last time he would get distracted. When they arrived, the child was delighted and sincerely thanked the group. He stopped crying and walked back off to where he had buried his fish. 

“We can’t get sidetracked again.” Umetaro left it at that and led them back down the road. 

Finally, they had made it out of the town and were following the river downstream. After a long hike, they spotted the peach tree that the old woman spoke about. It matched the peach tree that he saw in his dream, with leaves falling into the water and dropped peaches on the ground. It wasn’t long before they came across an old traditional style house, lined with trees and a small garden filled with crops. 

“This must be it.” Umetaro said. He turned to the crane. “Fly overhead and see if you can spot him. I think he should be on the back porch.” Umetaro was amazed that his dream could have actually been correct! The crane did as he was told, landed in the back, and there sat an old man. He returned to Umetaro and upon learning Momotaro was there, he ordered the tanuki to call someone to answer the door in his human disguise. As both of Momotaro’s grandparents had already passed long ago, Momotaro himself had to answer the door. He looked just as he did in his dream. He was old, had lost all his hair, and looked very frail and weak. He didn’t look as ugly as Jiji had described him, but he definitely didn’t look very strong. He surely wasn’t as strong as he could have been when he attacked the oni. The only exception was the ruby necklace. Umetaro thought he would have it, but he had no such thing. He wore simple clothes and shoes, and nothing more. Before Momotaro could ask this visitor why he was here, Umetaro approached him. 

“An oni! What do you want? What are you doing here? None of you should have ever returned! I told you not to bother the humans ever again!”

“Momotaro, you have something that belongs to my family and I am here to take it back. What happened to the belongings you stole from us?” Momotaro stared at him in shock. Umetaro took the katana out of its bag. “If you refuse to cooperate, I’m not afraid to take it by force.” 

Momotaro reached for his own katana that he had kept close to the door. “You’re not getting any of it back. I’m going to defend my village, oni, just as I did in my youth.” He held the sword in front of him and prepared to fight. Umetaro unsheathed his katana as well and gestured for the animals to stand back. He hated humans, he hated what they did to the oni, and he especially hated Momotaro. He quickly aimed for Momotaro’s head, swinging down at him. Despite his age and frail-looking body, Momotaro simply stepped aside and dodged it. This old human really was something if he could still keep up like this. Out of anger, Umetaro lunged forward, slashing his sword at Momotaro. The sudden charge toward him caused Momotaro to fall backwards, and Umetaro held his sword to Momotaro’s throat. 

“You know that I could kill you here, right? I’ll let you go if you tell me where my grandparents’ stolen belongings are!” Umetaro towered over the now collapsed old Momotaro. 

“I don’t have it.” Momotaro answered. “But I will tell you this: you won’t get very far if you go looking. I will protect this village and these people until my dying breath.” 

“You still think that? Even as you’re sitting here at the end of my family’s katana?” He poked the end of the blade harder into his neck, not enough to severely hurt him, but as a threat. He could see the old man stiffen and hold his breath. Momotaro’s eyes traveled to the hilt of the sword and widened at the emblem marked on it. 

“So you’re part of that clan? Your grandfather initiated almost every heist on our village. He was the one that lead the oni into Okayama and burned down our houses. He was the one that stole from our villages and killed our people! I was avenging my own family and friends who died at his hands!” There was a crack in his voice and a hatred in his eyes as he glared at Umetaro. “I see you’re continuing your family’s barbaric tradition. Whatever you stole, you have no business getting back. The treasures have all been returned to their rightful owners. I suggest that you give up and go home.” Momotaro grasped his sword next to him in the grass and swung Umetaro’s weapon away. He groaned as he got to his feet. 

“What are you talking about!? Oni do not steal! My grandfather wouldn’t kill anybody!” Umetaro whined and grabbed the material of Momotaro’s clothing. 

“Your grandfather killed many humans! He tried to kill me! I recognize that sword, oni. It was stolen from our village! You are a child! Not a warrior. You are lucky I didn’t kill you. Go home, and don’t bother us again.” Momotaro sheathed his katana and trudged back into his house. He slammed the shoji door behind him without another word. Umetaro and the animals stood outside in shock. He refused to believe his grandfather could have ever been a terroristic murderer. He looked at the katana in his hands. How many people has this sword killed? He remembered Jiji’s recollection of the fight with Momotaro. He said he could still beat him if he wanted to. 

Umetaro refused to leave without getting what he came here for. He had traveled all this way, and he had to get his grandmother’s necklace back. He stepped onto the porch and yanked the door open. 

“Momotaro, I am not here to hurt or terrorize your people. I only want to get back what is mine. Oni are not monsters!” Umetaro yelled into the house.

“Why would I believe you? You come here with a sword and you threaten me? You oni might not know this, but attacking someone in their home is indeed trying to hurt and terrorize them!” 

Umetaro was about to step into the house and find Momotaro when there was a small voice calling to him. 

“Mister! Mister! I finally found you!” The voice called. Umetaro turned around and it happened to be the small boy from before. He was holding a small bag with food in it. They were simple things, like a dumpling and some fruit, and he could tell from the way it was wrapped that the child wrapped it himself. Momotaro, upon hearing a child outside, came back out to the front and grabbed his sword. He was ready to kill this oni for attempting to harm a child, but he found the child very happy and energetic, trying to offer the oni something. 

“Mr. Momotaro! Can you lead me back to the village? I don’t know my way.” Umetaro was holding the small bag and the child actually seemed to like him. 

“Of course.” Momotaro nodded at the child. “But let me take care of this intruder first. I have to keep you safe.” Momotaro began to reach for his sword when the child screamed. 

“No! Mr. Momotaro, he is my friend!” The child held his hands out to stop him. Umetaro was surprised, since he didn’t consider a child he met once to be his friend, but sometimes kids befriend anybody. Momotaro let the child continue, but kept a steady hand on his sword. 

“Look!” The child pulled out a wildflower from his back pocket. “He got me these. There was this BIG field I saw on the way over here, but I wanted to give him that first.” He pointed at the bag of food in Umetaro’s hand. “He can walk back with us! And I can show you the field.”

“I see. In that case, I will lead you back to the village now. Oni, you can follow.” Momotaro gestured for the child to lead the way, and he followed behind so he could see Umetaro and the child. The whole time, the child spoke excitedly to Umetaro. Slowly, Momotaro became less anxious about having an oni in his presence. 

“Right here!” The child whipped around to face Umetaro and Momotaro, and gestured to a large field of flowers. “There’s a lot of them! I didn’t even know this was here!” The child ran ahead of them, filled with excitement. He skipped a few meters ahead on the trail until he stopped them again. “This is where my fish is buried. Look what I did!” He knelt down next to the “grave.” There were flowers decorating the plot, with a small rock in the middle serving as a gravestone. After he gave them a short tour of the area he was playing in, he started off down the trail again. 

They soon reached the bustling town, which was more lively now that more people were out. The child held tightly onto Momotaro’s hand and dragged him through the town. Many people stopped Momotaro to thank him or to try to talk to him, since he was still very renowned in his village. He had to regretfully inform them he was in a hurry, and they apologized and went on their way. They saw a little girl with her family at the market, and she waved to him. Upon spotting Umetaro, she jumped and yelled, “Hello Mr. Oni! You’re the strong man that--” Her mother turned around before she could finish her sentence to yank her arm, and began to scold her. The young boy ran over to the girl, who they realized was a friend of his, and he proceeded to show her the flowers he had. 

“Thank you for your help today.” The mother said to Umetaro. “My husband has a back injury that he’s recovering from.” Was that the reason he was struggling with the couch? Umetaro thought. The woman continued. “I apologize for my daughter, she struggles with behaving properly around… different people.” Of course, different. Momotaro interrupted Umetaro’s thoughts. 

“Did he help your family with something?” Momotaro asked. The woman nodded. “And he did not hurt you?” 

“Of course not. He just helped us move.” She picked up her daughter and paid for her groceries. Momotaro nodded, and she headed to the next booth. The boy grabbed Momotaro’s hand and pulled him along. Soon, they heard someone call for Momotaro. 

“Momotaro! Oh, it’s so good to see you!” When they looked over, the old woman at the fruit stand was calling to them. “I see this young boy found you. He was looking for you!” She gestured to Umetaro. He shyly smiled and waved back at her. 

“Why would you lead an oni to my house?” Momotaro was filled with anger. “Did you not see that he isn’t a human? Do you not remember when the oni came to attack us?” 

The old woman simply pointed to her roof. “Look, Momotaro. Can you believe he was able to do this? He said he could, so I let him! He fixed my roof, and that is enough for me. Talented young man.” She folded her hands in her lap and nodded. Umetaro was a bit surprised the old woman even remembered him. 

The young boy kept leading them to his house, as he lived at the far end of town. He instructed them to wait outside, and he ran inside. Momotaro turned to face Umetaro. 

“Oni, I have underestimated you. I didn’t think your kind knew how to do anything but be cruel. But you’ve helped many people today, I see. Unfortunately, I cannot help you. I cannot give up our belongings to an oni.” Umetaro’s heart sank. How could he have come all this way and still not find what he needed? 

“Why not? It isn’t yours in the first place!” 

“Because you are still an oni. If the people knew I was giving things away to our enemies, they wouldn’t trust me anymore. I cannot lose their trust.” 

Umetaro thought for a moment. If Momotaro wasn’t going to hand it over, he would have to make a deal. He felt the crane tugging at his bag. 

“Umetaro… This belongs to the humans, doesn’t it?” The crane held onto the sheath of the katana. Umetaro looked between Momotaro and the crane, considering his options. This sword was very special to Jiji. He might be able to come back with the necklace if he gave it up, but which did Jiji value more? Of course, it only makes sense to return what is rightfully theirs if he wants something that is rightfully his. 

“Momotaro…” Umetaro held out the katana to him. “You said this belongs to the humans. I will give this back if you can give me my grandmother’s ruby necklace. Do you know where it is?” 

“Oni--”

“Umetaro. Call me Umetaro.” 

Momotaro hesitated; he had never referred to oni as anything but “oni” before. “Umetaro. I cannot accept that. It will seem like a threat to the entire village if I trade with you.” 

“Is the village’s opinion the only thing causing your hesitation? Because that can be changed. If you trust me enough to trade with me, and that is your only obstacle, then you can tell the village the oni are not dangerous anymore.” Umetaro pushed the sword at him again. 

“I cannot just lie to the people!”

“It won’t be a lie! I am the first oni that you’ve seen since you came to attack Onigashima. There have been no reports of oni being here since then, have there?” 

“No, I don’t believe there have been.” Momotaro answered. 

“Then I am the first one. And I did not hurt the humans. You’ve met every human I have interacted with today. They were all sincerely thankful for my help. Generations change, Momotaro. The humans are changing, too.” He nodded toward the boy’s house. “The children don’t fear me. You shouldn’t either.” Umetaro took the katana out of its bag and held it up to Momotaro across both of his hands. “My grandfather said he used this to fight you. I did as well. Now I’m giving it back. If I promise that the oni won’t disturb the humans again, will you return my grandmother’s necklace and teach humans how oni really are?” 

Momotaro slowly took the sword from him. He looked over the hilt, the emblem, and ran his fingers down the side of the sheathed blade. He reached his hand out for the bag and Umetaro gave it to him. 

“I’ll accept your offer, Umetaro.” Momotaro gently placed the strap of the bag around his shoulder. “Unfortunately, I don’t remember where the necklace was moved to. However, there were multiple treasures whose owners could not be found. Many of them are still stashed away in my home. We will look for it there.” 

Before they left, the young boy ran out of the house with another small bag of food and handed it to Momotaro. 

“Thank you, Mr. Momotaro!” 

Momotaro thanked the boy for the gift and led Umetaro back to his house. As they stepped to the front porch, he allowed Umetaro to enter first, but only so he could keep an eye on him. Umetaro carefully took off his shoes and set them aside, and Momotaro led him to a room in the back. He slid open the closet door, and inside was a large sack filled with jewelry, expensive fabrics, and decorative pottery. 

“Stay here.” Momotaro instructed. He had Umetaro stand in the middle of the room, and he sat sideways as he searched through the bag, so he could see Umetaro out of the corner of his eye. Umetaro watched as Momotaro pulled out various treasures from the bag. There were knives engraved with a name he didn’t recognize, a kimono made out of such fine silk that Momotaro was careful when moving it around, an extremely decorative bowl, and several small carved statues. Momotaro soon pulled out a necklace with a large ruby in the middle, smaller rubies extending out on the chain from either side. 

“Is this it?” Momotaro asked.

“May I see it?” Umetaro knelt next to him and observed the engravings on the necklace. On one of the silver parts, there was a familiar family crest printed onto it. “This is it! This is my grandmother’s necklace!” Umetaro held it up to the light and the gemstones twinkled in the rays of sunshine. 

“Take it.” Momotaro pulled himself up to his feet and began wrapping up the bag. He carefully placed it back in the closet-- he could lift the whole thing by himself, even at this age-- along with the sword that Umetaro gave him. He began leading Umetaro out of the house. “I’ll take you to the shore.”

“Oh, I can find it myself.” Umetaro looked at the frog. 

“I will take you to the shore.” Momotaro insisted. He still felt uneasy about having an oni in the village. They walked mostly in silence until they reached the shore. “I have misjudged you, Umetaro, and I have misjudged your kind. We haven’t had an oni attack us in over 65 years. If you are what the next generation of oni look like, I will try my best to change the people’s views and mine.” 

“Thank you very much.” Umetaro lifted the necklace. “My family will greatly appreciate this.” Momotaro nodded and Umetaro turned to find a boat. As they were heading over to board, the crane stopped them. 

“Wait! I cannot come with you. I live here, in Okayama.” 

“Ah, that’s right!” The frog exclaimed. 

“I forgot about that.” Umetaro reached into his bag and kneeled down in front of the crane. “Here, take this. I am very grateful for your help today.” He handed the crane some of the fruit that the old woman had given him. 

“Thank you, Umetaro. Safe travels.” The crane picked up the fruit and flew off. 

The boat ride home seemed to be smooth and pleasant. Umetaro had stored the necklace in his bag, and held onto it tightly. He would occasionally open the bag and turn the rubies over in his hands to see the light reflect off of them. The frog and the tanuki did their best to adjust to the movement of the boat on the floor. 

“Perhaps I misjudged you as well, tanuki.” The frog admitted. 

“Really?” The tanuki glanced at the frog. 

“You’ve been very helpful to our companion on this trip. You did not try to interfere once. I didn’t expect that of a tanuki.”

“We’re playful, not evil.” The tanuki grinned. 

The trip back was shorter than the trip earlier. They arrived back on the beaches of Onigashima and they said their farewells to the tanuki near the bushes by the dock. 

“I’ll give you one too.” Umetaro pulled out another fruit from his bag and handed it to the tanuki. It quickly grabbed the fruit with its tiny paws and began chewing into it. Umetaro smiled as they left the tanuki with its treat. 

“I will lead you home.” The frog croaked, perched on his shoulder. 

When they arrived at his grandparents’ house, Umetaro reached a hand up to his shoulder and gently placed the frog on the ground. 

“Thank you especially, for your help today.” Umetaro pulled out his last piece of fruit and handed it to the frog. “I wish you luck on any future journeys that you make.” 

“I hope to see you again.” The frog said. Umetaro left the frog to its food and ran up to the front door. He was gone for the whole day, and he was excited to show his grandparents his victory. He opened the door and--

“I told you not to let him go--”

“I thought he’d be back by now!”

“This is why we don’t visit!”

“Honeko, please--”

Everybody paused and turned to him when they heard him close the door. They didn’t even notice him come in. Immediately, his mother rushed to hug him, and quickly turned to scolding him. 

“Umetaro! Where did you go? I was so worried!” She pet his hair and cupped his cheek in her hand. “And why did you leave for so long? I told you I would be coming back at noon! Do you know what time it is? The sun is setting, Umetaro! Why didn’t you tell Jiji where you were going? You just ran off on your own? That isn’t okay with me; why did you think it would be okay here?”

Umetaro broke out of his mother’s embrace and pulled out the necklace from the bag, holding it high above his head. His grandparents gasped and his grandmother was the first to come and take it from him. 

“Where did you find this, Ume? Is that where you went all this time?” She hugged the necklace close to her chest. 

“Yes! You, you won’t believe it-- I went all the way to Okayama, and I met Momotaro! And I got this back from him, I went all the way there and got it back--”

“You went to Okayama!?” His mother almost screamed at him. 

“You met Momotaro!?” Jiji yelled in disbelief. “Well, you must have! Look at that!” His grandparents were gathered around the necklace. 

“What is that? Dad, what is that?” Honeko peeked her head over her parents. 

“Honeko, look.” Jiji held it up for her. “I made this! I made this for your mother! It was lost when Momotaro came to attack. But Ume brought it back to us!” He smiled the biggest smile Umetaro had ever seen on his face. “How did you get it back? Did you kill him?” Jiji clenched his hand into a fist, as if he wanted to punch Momotaro then and there. 

“No, actually…” Umetaro held out his empty hands. His grandfather quickly realized what he was missing. 

“Ume! Where is the katana? Did you lose it? Did you lose our family’s katana!?” His expression had changed from pride to furiousness in a matter of seconds. 

“No! Jiji, I… I had to trade it to get that necklace back.” Umetaro admitted. He held his hands up to stop his grandfather before he could retaliate. “Hey, it wasn’t even ours in the first place! You stole it, didn’t you?” His grandfather didn’t say anything, but his face was almost red with anger. 

“I trusted you with that katana. I thought you knew what you were doing, but you do not!” The room went silent. The intensity of his grandfather’s anger permeated the atmosphere around them. 

“Jiji…” Umetaro gently lifted his grandfather’s hand holding the necklace. “If this is our family crest… why was a different emblem on the sword?” He could see a feeling of defeat show in his grandfather’s face. His grandmother wrapped her arms around his shoulders. 

“Sweetie, it’s okay. Look at this. Your hard work, your beautiful artwork is back in our home. Isn’t that good enough?” She held her husband’s hand with the necklace. 

“Dad, it wasn’t even yours in the first place.” Honeko came over and placed her hand on her father’s shoulder. 

“Jiji, I fought him with it! I got this necklace back because I won!”

“You won?” His grandfather looked up at him. 

“Yes! I won! I fought Momotaro, and I got him to give it back! But, I could only get him to do so by trading the katana. Jiji, if we wanted to get what belongs to us, we had to return what belonged to them.” 

Honeko smiled and hugged Umetaro. “I’m so proud of you, Ume.” She pinched his cheeks like she did when he was little. “You’re so strong!” Umetaro pushed her hands away and turned back to his grandfather. Honeko held onto his shoulders. “Dad, this is what I mean when I say oni need to build a better reputation for themselves. They need to communicate with humans instead of just stealing things!” 

His grandfather sighed and looked as if he was deep in thought. “We shouldn’t have to conform to what humans expect us to be.” 

“I wasn’t conforming.” Umetaro said. “He gave the necklace back. Did you think you would ever get that back, Jiji?” His grandfather didn’t say anything, and just stared into the wall. “He said he would tell the humans to respect us. The children there aren’t afraid of me. The people there are nice and generous.”

“See, dad, things are changing!” Honeko nudged her father on the shoulder. Umetaro’s grandmother put the necklace back on. His grandfather smiled upon seeing her wear it again. 

“Rubies suit you so nicely.” He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the cheek. Honeko had Umetaro collect his things and waited with her husband by the door. Umetaro heard his grandfather start telling his mother about his fight with Momotaro, and his mother retaliating by telling her father to be respectful of humans. 

“If we treat them badly, why would we expect anything different in return?” She yelled over his protests. He pulled his bags down the stairs and met his parents at the front door. 

Umetaro waved to his grandparents as his mother ushered him outside. His mother leaned down next to him as they walked out of the front gates. 

“We’ll buy him another katana. One that’s actually his.”

The sun had set by now and the cool wind gently rustled the plants outside. The moonlight fell on the houses of the neighborhood and brightened the roof tiles and stone walls lining the gardens. He could hear crickets chirping and frogs croaking. He’d never felt more proud of himself or so accomplished. Maybe he’d never met a nice human before, but he felt more hopeful after today. The world felt at peace.